His second concert livestream to be prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic (after
Unfollow the Rules: The Paramour Session
), 2021's
Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios
saw
Rufus Wainwright
revisit
Judy Garland
's famed
Judy at Carnegie Hall
concert. Previously covered by
Wainwright
with a 36-piece orchestra in 2006 for the following year's
Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall
, his 2021 take on the 1961 performance featured stripped-down arrangements consisting of only a four-piece jazz ensemble and guest
Kristin Chenoweth
. The livestream's only in-person audience member was notably Academy Award-winning actress
Renee Zellweger
, with whom
interacts after some of the songs. Far from the whole show, the recording of the
Capitol Studios
concert offers up a 12-track, vinyl-friendly set of highlights from the over-two-hour livestream. It opens with a pair of powerhouse vocal performances on "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "Alone Together" before the contrastingly intimate "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" offers a seductive take on the
Fields
-
McHugh
standard. Lively selections like
Irving Berlin
's "Puttin' on the Ritz" and a zippy version of
Jesse Greer
and
Raymond Klages
' "Just You, Just Me" appear beside such languid entries as "How Long Has This Been Going On" and the torch song "The Man That Got Away." Other notable ballads include the
Gershwin
tune "A Foggy Day" and
Garland
's signature song, "Over the Rainbow," which closes the album. Before that, however,
Chenoweth
makes her appearance on "Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy," which finds
straying from of the original concert set list, just this once. While not an essential
release due to its truncated nature and predecessors like
and the similarly stripped-down
, it holds its charms thanks to the elegant, virtuosic accompaniment of the instrumentalists, and the singer's adventurous mastery of the material at this point.
' release coincides with
's birthday centennial (June 10, 2022). ~ Marcy Donelson