Separated at Birth: Rufus & Judy
Rufus Wainwright doesn’t need a Halloween costume: any time he needs to dress up he pulls his Judy Garland alter-ego out of the closet and sails into the night. Wainwright has turned his Garland obsession into a career. To wit: anyone who missed his live, song-for-song interpretation of La Garland’s 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall can experience them thanks to an upcoming CD and DVD. On Dec. 4, Geffen will release the double-disc “Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall” CD collection of the singer’s June 14, 2006, show at the famed New York theater. Also due that day is “Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy! Live at the London Palladium,” a DVD of his Feb. 25, 2007, concert there.
Both sets contain the 27-track re-creation of Garland’s famed performance, with a 36-piece orchestra accompanying on tracks like “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart,” “Over the Rainbow” and “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” The DVD includes three additional tracks: “Hello Bluebird” featuring Garland’s daughter Lorna Luft, plus “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Everytime We Say Goodbye,” both featuring Wainwright’s mother Kate McGarrigle.
