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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Summoned to Hamburg, Germany, to write music for a live stage production of Robert Wilson's The Black Rider, musical mastermind Waits took to the task at hand with gusto, assembling an eclectic crew of musicians to become "the pit band [he'd] always dreamed of." Several years later Waits assembled another "orchestra" in San Francisco to record many of the songs he'd written for the live production. Those tracks are found here, alongside a few rough gems from sessions in Hamburg. You'll find some musical matter familiar to Waits fans: accordions, carnivals, violas, banjos, the devil (a key figure in The Black Rider), a singing saw, bassoons, and trombones. Waits' many voices tell the rather disjointed story with a variety of musical styling, and the assembled whole is pretty much a sum of its parts (but at least they're interesting parts): a touch of Day of the Dead, a whiff of carny, a nod to Brecht, a dash of film noir, and the scent of narcosis (William Burroughs makes an appearance here). Not easy listening, by any means, but a feast for the ears. --Lorry Fleming
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A dark exploration into the deepest reaches of the soul.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Black Rider (Audio CD)
For those who are familiar with Tom's earlier work, this may come as a bit of a shock. There are no simple, bitter-sweet love songs or jazzy, urban poems. This is the soundtrack to a grim tale of tragedy in love, resulting from dealings with the devil. The gravil-filled chasms of Waits' voice scratch their way over the sound of some of the most obscure instruments one could dig up in Europe. It is clear that Wait's does not want his listeners to have an easy time with this but once the initial bout of nervous laughter is overcome, the effect is a dirty catharsis that must be experienced by everyone. Despite being an all-round fan of his work, this is my favourite piece, probably because its unabashed experimentation into industrio-agricultural, devil music is totally unique. It must be noted, however, that some of my closest friends would rather chew broken glass than be in the same room as this album - so be warned, not for the faint hearted!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Come on along with the Black rider,
By ChinaBoatMan "chinaboatman" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Black Rider (Audio CD)
Theatrical, Vaudeville tinged lp, originally for the musical of the same name. One of Wait's less orthodox recordings, featuring a fair few instrumental pieces and `fills', often of an experimental nature. He mostly performs characters here and the lyrics have to be seen in that light but the characters are evocative and do come through. William Bourroughs contributes to a fair few of the lyrics here and his touch is evident. Hit and miss, largely because of its contextual nature, most of the songs hanging on the same themes and motifs. Underrated but not an obvious place to start a collection.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Prepare to be astonished...,
By
This review is from: The Black Rider (Audio CD)
Listen to the Black Rider with the lights down and a stiff drink in your hand, you're going to need it. A dark, carnivalesque cacophony of whirling, crunching, disturbing, mind bending musical numbers, some of which even I, a devoted fan, have difficulty in listening to. But I listen anyway.
Tom Waits is a genius.
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