I remember listening to Poses (Rufus' true coming out party – musically speaking). I was sitting chasing down some painfully insignificant piece of minutea while working on my taxes, when I realized I was having a great time. A marvelous time. You see I'd just discovered Rufus and anyone that can turn tax preparation into a party is something special.

Since that fiscal year most of the rest of the world has discovered Rufus, and from what I can tell based on my limited time in his presence, it seems like all the accolades and adulation really hasn't gone to his head. Adam and I sat near him in the company of Ozzy Osbournes children at a midnight screening at Sundance, and recently he almost stepped on Adam's hand as he walked past the recumbent film expert as he made his way through the massive grounds at Coachella. Through these and other similar experiences I think I can safely conclude that he prefers to conduct himself more as a regular guy and a fan than insisting on cavorting about as Music Royalty. (The near miss on the hand-stepping was accidental, incidentally.)

As for Release The Stars, I wish I were free to liberate all 5 stars, but as it is clearly his most uninspired work to date, I'm afraid 3 and one half are as many stars as I'll be able to turn loose. Release The Stars is by no means a huge disappointment, on the contrary, the album has it's share of fine moments and Rufus' literary skills serve him every bit as well here as on previous efforts. In fact the difference in quality is so subtle that I'm sure to offend a Rufus-stalwart or two.

Stylistically, the album lands in the middle of the fairway, but he really doesn't appear to have swung the club all that hard. Missing are the breath-stealing moments such as "Art Teacher," "Vibrate," "Poses," "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," and I'm merely scratching the surface. Rather, the run of songs on Release is more akin to the more so/so songs that fill the gaps between the gems on his masterworks.

The problem here is not unlike the problem I had with the recent Fountains of Wayne release, where the songs seem to originate from a paint-by-numbers template and with it a marked lack of novel inspiration. However, with both acts I expect to be duly knocked out by thingles and jingles to come.