User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 44 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 44
  2. Negative: 3 out of 44

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  1. JasonL
    Sep 24, 2003
    3
    So sad this record was so far underpar with his first 2. Though I just bought it today I listened to it twice at work ( w/ two diff. pairs of headphones) and once at home tonight. It's very monotonous and has little of the unique energy that I find on both "Poses" and Rufus' first CD. Sounds like someone's been medicated, but by a real doctor this time. It's flat and So sad this record was so far underpar with his first 2. Though I just bought it today I listened to it twice at work ( w/ two diff. pairs of headphones) and once at home tonight. It's very monotonous and has little of the unique energy that I find on both "Poses" and Rufus' first CD. Sounds like someone's been medicated, but by a real doctor this time. It's flat and unimaginative, e.g., he mentions "Trains" in 3 different songs. It's overproduced, in a bad Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" way, with it's chorales and loud, fancy orchestration (tubas farting about). And sleepy. It's very sleepy. The songs sort of wash into the next one, and you have to check the CD players' digital display, lest you think "hey, didn't I already hear this song?". With his first two, I was hooked as the record unfolded, song by song, with my first listening. There's no question of the beauty and completeness of those two. They, in my opinion, are both perfect recordings. I do not know of many recordings l feel that way about. However, "Want One" I find to be a task to listen to. Given, I'm someone who knows what he likes musically quickly. "Want One" doesn't sound like anyone but Rufus (except maybe a couple of moments of Queen and The Beach Boys -Van Dyke Parks influence)? as usual which is why I love his other CD's. I know of no one who sounds like him. I compare my experience w/ "Poses" and my inability to go more than a few days from hearing it to what I felt with "Pet Sounds" (obviously, not a direct comparison; they both just have so much to hear and learn from, and more is revealed each time you listen). I want to like this CD, I really do! I want to add this one on my shelf for the perfect 'Holy Trinity' of Rufus, But as it stands, I'll probably sell it soon after a few more tries. Expand
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 19
  2. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. Want One blows his music up to Cinemascope size.
  2. It's a staggeringly ambitious album with an emotional complexity the like of which is rarely seen in pop music of any era, never mind this one.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    If Sondheim had been reared on old Van Dyke Parks records, he might sound like this. [26 Sep 2003, p.94]