Wainwright began 2007 in characteristically flamboyant fashion, recreating his idol Judy Garland’s 1961 Carnegie Hall show at the London Palladium. While his fifth album, released three months later, wasn’t without its camp asides (notably Tulsa, a cabaret turn dedicated to The Killers’ Brandon Flowers), Release The Stars was a sensual affair, more rich in emotional drama and sumptuous orchestration than any other record this year. His most accessible collection, too, it glimmered with the promise of even better to come from this irrefutably gifted songwriter.
