As if it weren’t enough that Obama has finally come out supporting same-sex marriage…now Rufus Wainwright is back…and in full-on ’70s pop songsmith mode with his new Mark Ronson-produced album, “Out Of The Game.” This truly is a good day for America! For those who don’t know, Mark Ronson was the guiding force behind Amy Winehouse’s album “Back To Black,” and while Wainwright is his own artist, Ronson does move him back into the pure pop direction he’s turned away from over the last couple of years. Gone is the over-the-top Judy in drag of his “Carnegie Hall” album…also gone is the orchestral and operatic flair that set the two rococo “Want” albums apart from the rest of his discography. Although all of his releases have something worthwhile to offer, it is nice to hear an album that harks back to his most song-oriented records, “Release The Stars” from 2007 and “Poses” from 2001…especially after the dark, bummer that was his previous album “All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu.” Over the past decade, Wainwright has become one of the finest singer-songwriters on the planet and a true artist in every sense of the word.
