Though Rufus Wainwright's third album, Want One, is only two weeks old, a fourth is already in the can for a possible spring release.

Following the release of Poses in 2001, Wainwright hit a personal rock bottom in October 2002 after years of alcohol and pill abuse. He entered rehab and on the last day wrote "Want," a song he says "encapsulates something I realized, which is that it's all about the simple things."

That song helped open the door to a double album that was to bear its name, Want, but due to the record industry's lagging sales, the record was cut in half, leaving Want Two for future release.

"I was listening to it as a double album set," Wainwright says, "but the record company wasn't too keen. And also in listening to all of the stuff, I realized that no human mind is capable of really properly digesting that much overwrought emotion. It was just too much for one sit-down, and I realized that certain things would get lost. I tend to really demand for the listener to pay attention, and I didn't want them passing out."

Wainwright says the songs for the Want albums are among his most autobiographical, addressing subjects including his personal struggles, his show business life and his rocky relationship with his parents (singer-songwriters Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle). "I'm not trying to be moralistic or tell other people what they're doing," he says. "I wanted to go down on record, so no matter what happens in the future, I can always look back on this period as a sort of intense journey."

ANDREW DANSBY and AUSTIN SCAGGS
(October 13, 2003)