Out of the Game

Assisted by hitmaker Mark Ronson, the taciturn crooner abandons his struggle for stardom in the opening track of this fine and thoughtful soft-rock experiment. While the wildly orchestral "Welcome to the Ball" recalls Wainwright's musically florid days, "Bitter Tears" waxes lachrymose with pipe organ. "Rashida" rocks with the Dap-Kings horn section, and "Montauk" imagines a future family scenario that Rufus' ironic songwriting father, Loudon, might have conceived, albeit with different gender roles.