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My father has an extensive vinyl collection, which he hardly ever listens to, but they remain well-kept nonetheless. The first album I heard on vinyl was "Absolutely Live" by the Doors, and I was particularly enchanted by the version of "Soul Kitchen." I went to buy it a few weeks later on CD, but the effect was not the same. The sound wasn't as warm and enveloping as it was on vinyl. Recently, I read some music books, and perhaps I understand why.
The point is that music is round, and to be transferred to CD, it must be squared. In this way, it loses some frequencies, and even if the result may seem the same to us (those frequencies we wouldn't hear anyway), in reality, something is missing, and the music loses body. That's why Stratovarius sounds so good on CD, while John Cale does not. It's a matter of vibrations.
Anyway, every morning, when my father goes to work, I rummage through his collection of records looking for something to listen to. And for a week now, I've been listening to and re-listening to "Blue Valentine" by Tom Waits, an album from 1978, with nocturnal atmospheres and still very jazzy (just after "Heartattack And Vine," Waits would begin his noise period). On that note, I've noticed that many critics start to give importance to Tom Waits's work only from "Swordfishtrombones" onwards, dismissing the first part of his career, shelving it under the label of retro or otherwise not innovative. But I find this work very warm and made very much from the heart. Starting with "Somewhere," a piece taken from the soundtrack of "West Side Story" and here presented in a typically Waitsian interpretation, with a vocal style that could anticipate that of Nick Cave. It follows "Red Shoes By The Drugstore," partially spoken and partially shouted, very nocturnal, with an intriguing rhythm characteristic of the more recent Tom Waits. A piano piece played with taste is the subsequent "Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis," which stylistically could also remind one of Petrucciani.
"Romeo Is Bleeding" is a crime story with apt images like "he'll die without a whimper, like every hero dreams, just an angel with a bullet and Cagney on the screen" and in terms of arrangements it's definitely the strong point of the album, with Jim Hughart's tireless bass weaving a formidable rhythmic foundation throughout the track and Frank Vicari's tenor sax solo. "$29.00" is a pause, relieving tension, a relaxing blues, preceding what is perhaps the most famous song on the album, the visionary "Wrong Side Of The Road." A text made mainly of non-sense, wandering through pure cut-up images "Strangle all the Christmas carols" and simple insults "Tell your folks they can kiss my ass." The result is very disorienting, with the music following Waits's excessively expressive singing step by step until the final verse "Wrong way..." which is repeated amid almost childish (ba-du-ba) cries shouted by a maniacal pervert. After this slow, the pace picks up with "Whistlin' Past The Graveyard," truly frantic, where the singing is raucous and sometimes even choked. We return to quieter grounds with "Kentucky Avenue," a truly tender song that makes a song like "A Sweet Bullet From A Pretty Blue Gun" utterly unpredictable, recited in a style akin to Iggy's in "Down In The Streets" (Fun House, 1970).
In closing, the title track, desperate in its execution (reduced to just 2 guitars) as well as in its lyrics, is enriched by a solo that reminds me of Paco De Lucia in spirit, though it is certainly far from his style; and by Waits's singing expressiveness, reaching its peak here without yelling or swearing. An album that might be boring for those without time, but those who don't have time shouldn't listen to music. The listening requires patience, it's true, but we are talking about an exquisitely played album, yet not "polished," and it is indeed a joy for the ears despite not being commercial at all.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Romeo Is Bleeding (04:52)
Romeo is bleeding
But not so as you'd notice
He's over on 18th street as usual
Lookin' so hard against the hood of his car
And puttin' out a cigarette in his hand
For all the pachucos at the pumps
At Romeos paint and body
They all seein' how far they can spit
Well it was just another night
But how they're huddled in the brake lights of a 58 Belair
And listenin' to how Romeo killed a sherrif with his knife
And they all jump when they hear the sirens
But Romeo just laughs
All the racket in the world ain't never gonna
Save that coppers ass
He'll never see another summertime for gunnin' down my brother
And leavin' him like a dog beneath a car without his knife
Romeo says, "Hey man gimme a cigarette"
And they all reach for their pack
and Frankie lights it for him and pats him on the back
Throws bottle at a milk truck
And as it breaks he grabs his nuts
And they all know they could be just like Romeo
If they only had the guts
But Romeo is bleeding
But nobody can tell
He sings along with the radio
With a bullet in his chest
And he combs back his fenders
And they all agree it's clear
That every thing is cool now that Romeos is here
Romeo is bleeding
He winces now and then
He leans against the car door
Feels the blood in his shoes
Someones crying in the 5 point
In the phone booth by the store
Romeo starts his engines
And wipes the blood off the door
And he brodys through the signal
With the radio full blast
Leavin' the boys there hikin' up there chinos
And they all try to stand like Romeo
Beneath the moon cut like a sickle
And they're talkin' now in spanish all about their hero
Romeo is bleeding
As he gives the man his ticket
He climbs to the balcony at the movies
He'll die without a wimper
Like every heros dream
Like an angel with a bullet
And Cagney on the screen
Romeo is bleeding
Romeo is bleeding, hey man
Romeo is bleeding, hey man
Romeo is bleeding, hey man
Romeo is bleeding
07 Whistlin' Past the Graveyard (03:17)
I come in on a night train
With an arm full of box cars
On the wings of a magpie
Cross a hooligan night
I busted up a chifforobe
Way out by the cocomo
Cooked up a mess a mulligan
And got into a fight
Whistlin' past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
A mean Mother Hubbard Papa One Eyed Jack
You probably seen me sleepin'
Out by the railroad tracks
Go on and ask the Prince Of Darkness
What about all that smoke
Come from the stack
Sometimes I kill myself a jackel
Suck out all the blood
Steal myself a stationwagon
Drivin' through the mud
I want to whistlin' past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm mean Mother Hubbard Papa One Eyed Jack
I know you seen my headlights
And the honkin' of my horn
I'm callin' out my bloodhounds
Chase the devil through the corn
Last night I chugged the Mississippi
Now that suckers dry as a bone
I'm Born in a taxi cab
I'm never comin' home
Whistlin' past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm mean Mother Hubbard Papa One Eyed Jack
My eyes have seen the glory
Of the drainin' of the ditch
I only come to Baton Rouge
To find myself a witch
I'm-ona snatch me up a
Couple of 'em every time it rains
You see a locomotive
Probably thinkin' its a train
Whistlin' past the graveyard
Steppin' on a crack
I'm a mean Mother Hubbard Papa One Eyed Jack
What you think is the sunshine
Is just a twinkle in my eye
That ring around my finger
Called the 4th of July
When I get a little bit lonesome
And a tear falls from my check
There's gonna be an ocean in
The middle of the week
Whistlin' past the graveyard
steppin' on a crack
I'm mean Mother Hubbard Papa One Eyed Jack
I come into town on a night train
Arm full of box cars
On the wings of a magpie
Cross a hooligan night
I'm gona tear me off a rainbow
And wear it for a tie
I never told the truth
So I can never tell a lie
Whistlin' past the graveyard
steppin' on a crack
A mean Mother Hubbard Papa One Eyed Jack
10 Blue Valentines (05:50)
She sends me blue valentines
All the way from philadelphia
To mark the anniversary
Of someone that I used to be
And it feels just like theres
A warrant out for my arrest
Got me checkin in my rearview mirror
And Im always on the run
Thats why I changed my name
And I didnt think youd ever find me here
To send me blue valentines
Like half forgotten dreams
Like a pebble in my shoe
As I walk these streets
And the ghost of your memory
Is the thistle in the kiss
And the burgler that can break a roses neck
Its the tatooed broken promise
That I hide beneath my sleeve
And I see you every time I turn my back
She sends me blue valentines
Though I try to remain at large
Theyre insisting that our love
Must have a eulogy
Why do I save all of this madness
In the nightstand drawer
There to haunt upon my shoulders
Baby I know
Id be luckier to walk around everywhere I go
With a blind and broken heart
That sleeps beneath my lapel
She sends me my blue valentines
To remind me of my cardinal sin
I can never wash the guilt
Or get these bloodstains off my hands
And it takes a lot of whiskey
To take this nightmares go away
And I cut my bleedin heart out every nite
And I die a little more on each st. valentines day
Remember that I promised I would
Write you...
These blue valentines
Blue valentines
Blue valentines
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By Massimof
We don’t know America like this. Or we believe it doesn’t exist.
For those hungry for life. Guys, for me, the “warmest” album by Tom Waits.
By CarlaZ
That cavernous, warm, and terrifying voice at the same time captivated me instantly.
Blue Valentines and Kentucky Avenue remain among the most heartbreaking and moving pieces ever recorded.
