bluesboy94

DeRank ™: 4,70 • DeAge™ : 4742 days

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Here since 27 july 2012

CD Audio I have it

8 jul 20

Hardin takes a step forward from the first album (which still contains beautiful songs). In this second chapter, there's less blues and more of a softly jazz-inflected folk that perhaps inspired Tim Buckley on "Happy Sad" and "Blue Afternoon." It’s his best studio work, especially since the third is a live album (and what a live album...) and considering that after this brief golden phase of his career (which can be traced back to 1966-1968) he begins a serious decline that will culminate in the cover-only albums of the following decade (with "Shiloh Town" - revived by Mark Lanegan in "I'll Take Care of You" - as his only notable track).
Rating= 4.5

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imasoulman
9 jul 20

Well...sure, nothing compared to the first ones, but 'Suite for Susan Moore and Damion' is still worthwhile.
bluesboy94
9 jul 20

Ima dear, I think I have been impeccable, as I spoke of a decline that CULMINATES, etc. etc. ;)

CD Audio I have it ★★★★★

Tom Waits: Franks Wild Years

9 apr 15

Experimental, hallucinatory, and oppressive. Undeniably a masterpiece.

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fuggitivo
9 apr 15

Oh my goodness, what is "Innocent When You Dream." Tears streaming down.
bluesboy94
10 apr 15

Oh my gosh, what is "Train Song." Anyway, I agree with the user Grassopher who reviewed this work: for those used to "conventional music," this album will be something like an infernal labyrinth.
hjhhjij
10 apr 15

Here it is, the theatrical experience of Tom & Kathleen from 1986 channeled into one of the most genius, uncategorizable, and experimental records of the '80s. This one could have kept producing albums like "Blue Valentine" for years until the well of ideas ran dry, but no... After Swordfish, this album was, if you think about it, an additional revolution precisely because of its theatrical drift. I like it so much that I even prefer it to "Rain Dogs," but, and this will surprise you, I like "Black Rider" even more :)

CD Audio I have it ★★★★

Tom Waits: Closing Time

28 jun 16

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CD Audio I have it ★★★★

Tom Waits: Nighthawks at the Diner

13 mar 15

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CD Audio I have it ★★★★★

Tom Waits: Rain Dogs

13 jan 16

Not a second is wasted on this amazing album. And then the curtain falls right with its most special song.

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fuggitivo
17 jan 16

Yes, in the end, after the madness, you also discover the regular tracks, which, although inferior, are always signed by Waits.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

"Downton Train" is splendid, a gem in my opinion.
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

My favorites from the regular ones (which in the end are just a handful) are Hang Down Your Head and Blind Love, tracks that might look a bit out of place on an album like this but not on the albums of so many others.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

I share "Hang Down Your Head," which is not only very beautiful but also important, being the first song with a double credit.
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

Ah, I didn't even remember there was Brennan. I can totally see Blind Love on a Replacements album, but now good luck remembering the lyrics, damn it...
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

"remember"... I really didn't know... as if it were their first...
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

Yes, the first inscription together. Of course, on Sword there is already the dedication of "Johnsburg, Illinois," which is one of the most beautiful love songs ever written, in my opinion.
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

I didn't know this one either XD then Swordfishtrombones is even sadder than this (Soldier's Things on side B). Anyway, there's no point in discussing it, it's obvious that this man deserves to be framed.
bluesboy94
17 jan 16

But only I know that a couple of years ago someone made a version of I don't know who of Shakespeare's "The Tempest"?
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

In fact, I miss it, mostly because I don’t know where it’s contained being so recent, and I never listen to scattered stuff.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

Run away, yes, Sword has some absurd peaks of drama, even "Rainbirds," the instrumental, which for me is the most beautiful song they’ve ever composed...
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

I'm sorry, I didn't actually know that... anyway, it's not even written on Wikipedia. Recently, I discovered something about him, that he donated one of his shoes for charity and walked without... anything else.
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

Rainbirds magnificent, if only they had included it in Cowboy Bebop. Saying "this is my favorite Waits song" already sounds like an affront, but if I had to choose one, I would perhaps say Shore Leave... or maybe a hundred others, like Poor Edward, since the name is the same and Mr. Mordake's clinical case fits as well.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

I know it sounds strange, but I've listened to so much Waits that I could, eventually, determine which song broke me inside more than the others, and it's that one. Everything else ties for second place.
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

Well, congratulations! Unique choice of an instrumental.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

I know. I've always told myself "Damn, this is one of the greatest singers of all time and my favorite is a song where he doesn't sing." The thing is that Waits is, first and foremost, a composer/lyricist, even of music, simply. And he knows how to play the piano really well, damn it.
bluesboy94
17 jan 16

Why Kentucky Avenue? Train Song? Innocent when you dream (in both versions)? Anywhere I lay my head? Blue Valentines? Christmas Card from a hooker from Minneapolis (how beautiful and brash his voice is in this song)? Invitation to the blues? Tom Traubert's Blues? On The Nickel? I'm Still Here (too few 110 seconds)? Fawn? I'll stop here otherwise I won't have lunch...
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

But it's obvious blues, we're talking about one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

bluesboy, in the pile I pointed out that I'm Still Here. 110 seconds... From Franks "Blow Wind Blow" and "Please Wake Me Up".
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

@[hjhhjij] yes, but written like that it seems you want to go against the tide. Of course, I know that's not the case.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

Shall we talk about Ribot's guitar in "Telephone Call From Instanbul" with the Hammond coming in during the last 20 seconds? And "Yesterday Is Here"? And moving on to another show, with Wilson, "Just the Right Bullets," which I absolutely love.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

Well, the fact is that "Rainbirds" steals your soul, there’s not much you can do about it.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

"This time with Wilson" sorry.
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

It would be great to create a ranking of the best songwriters of all time here; I'm bringing it up again, but I would definitely include Westerberg in that ranking. But way up high. P.S. Ribot is a bastard with the guitar; how he gets into the corners, no one else does.
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

And of course Dylan among the songbooks.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

Ahahahah beautiful definition of Ribot
bluesboy94
17 jan 16

Pettiness: it's a Farfisa on "Telephone Call..."! What a tango Waits paints on the piano with "Just The Right Bullets". Oh yes, I had forgotten "Blow Wind Blow" (my god what a song...) and I would add "Cold Cold Ground", "Bad Liver and a Broken Heart", "No One Knows I'm Gone" (this one is also too short: about 100 seconds), "Broken Bycicles" (the gem of the not-so-great soundtrack of Coppola's film), "Ruby's Arms", "Crossroads", "Little Man", "It's Over", "If I Have to Go", his cover of "Goodnight Irene", "Down There by The Train", "The Piano Has Been Drinkin", "San Diego Serenade", "(Looking For) The Heart of The Saturday Night", and why not at least 4 from the debut: "Ol' 55", "Martha", "Grapefruit Moon" and "Closing Time" (the quintessence of early Waits).
bluesboy94
17 jan 16

Regarding Ribot: it's a pleasant feeling to listen to the Lounge Lizards and hear something so familiar.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

No no, you're right, the Hammond is on Sword. Just so you know, since the debut, you'll get at least 4 more on top of those :D
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

But have you listened to the first Lounge Lizards, the one with Arto Lindsay on guitar? Anyway, the Lurie brothers are always great. The piece dedicated to Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi is beautiful; it feels like being in a film by the Tuscan.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

Speaking of Waits’ songs, I also mention the forgotten “You Can't Unring a Bell,” for me the true gem of that album, a small treasure overlooked by many but not by Rowland S. Howard and his These Immortal Souls, who crafted a stunning extended version featured on a tribute album to Waits. “Heartattack and Vine,” on the other hand, passed through the vortex of adoration of Lydia Lunch, who did an excellent cover of a piece that, after all, suits her style perfectly.
bluesboy94
17 jan 16

I know 3 out of 4 Lounge Lizards albums (I'm missing "Queen of all Ears")... uh, even Screaming Jay Hawkins has covered Waits, like there's no tomorrow.
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

Guys, you know a lot, and as a bluesboy I didn't expect it... you seem like the newbie on the site with that nickname, and instead "j'ammolla e manco poco" (just kidding, I mostly remembered you were new to Tom). I'm done with Waits.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

Oh yes. Jay Hawkins, covered by a thousand people, has covered Waits. It makes you think. We know about Buckley. Less perhaps that "Martha," also in the same 1973, was covered by another giant of song, Lee Hazlewood.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

Dei Lounge is missing "Queen of all Ears" for me too, but I recommend diving into some nice live performances first, great band.
bluesboy94
17 jan 16

I discovered Waits in 2012: it was the most beautiful discovery of my 18 years. Compared to some on this site, I'm a rookie... there’s so much to listen to (you mentioned Westerberg from the Replacements, I definitely need to dive into them).
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

Why did you close? XD
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

I also need to delve into the Replacements; from Minneapolis, I know much better the Husker Du and even the Soul Asylum (though these last ones are inferior).
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

Get the 2015 box set by the Replacements, it’s perfection (no lyrics). Anyway, bluesboy, I confused you with another user, or two other users, who knows... I’m a newbie on the site too, maybe it’s your humble attitude that threw me off. I’ve moved on from Tom because, I don’t know, I just don’t see him in my life anymore except for the old records that I loved and still listen to.
fuggitivo
17 jan 16

*except the old records. They burned my eyes.
hjhhjij
17 jan 16

I understood.
tonysoprano
11 jun 16

It's an amazing album; the incredible thing is that Waits always manages to be innovative in some way. Crazy. I prefer "Swordfishtrombones" by mere millimeters, even though they are practically on par.

CD Audio I have it ★★★★★

Tom Waits: Alice

9 mar 15

An eclectic, surprising, and moving work. In the top 5 of his discography.

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hjhhjij
9 mar 15

A record like this after thirty years of career (twenty if we count that the show is from '92, but it changes little)...

CD Audio I have it ★★★★

Tom Waits: Heartattack and Vine

23 apr 16

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CD Audio I have it ★★★★★

Tom Waits: Swordfishtrombones

7 dec 16

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CD Audio I have it ★★★★★

Tom Waits: Big Time

23 apr 16

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CD Audio I have it ★★★★★

Townes Van Zandt: Our Mother the Mountain

7 dec 16

An album composed of an impressive sequence of masterpieces.

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CD Audio I have it ★★★★★

Townes Van Zandt: Delta Momma Blues

7 dec 16

Even if the album were mostly made up of songs from the Zecchino d'Oro, it would still receive the highest rating, being blessed with a song as beautiful as "Tower Song."

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hjhhjij
7 dec 16

"Even if the album was mostly made up of songs from the zecchino d'oro" How to evoke unsettling images :D
bluesboy94
7 dec 16

It was just to say ;)