- Audio Cassette (17 Oct 1990)
- Format: Import
- Label: Elektra / Wea
- ASIN: B000002GWK
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Product details
|
Track Listings
| 1. Somewhere [From West Side Story] |
| 2. Red Shoes by the Drugstore |
| 3. Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis |
| 4. Romeo Is Bleeding |
| 5. $29.00 |
| 6. Wrong Side of the Road |
| 7. Whistlin' Past the Graveyard |
| 8. Kentucky Avenue |
| 9. Sweet Little Bullet from a Pretty Blue Gun |
| 10. Blue Valentines |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
More hard-boiled tales from Tom Waits, who manages to sing lines like "Everyone I know is either dead or in prison" in a raw, whiskey-soaked rasp that sounds both comical and deadly serious. Waits doesn't break any new creative ground here but continues to refine his down-and-out persona. It's booze and broads, sex and violence, laughs and heartbreak. This 1978 album opens with an astonishingly desperate version of "Somewhere" (from "West Side Story"), performed like Louie Armstrong with a migraine. From there it's the usual Waits mix of crackpot wordplay and the cocktail lounge jazz likes of "Romeo Is Bleeding". --Steve Appleford
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Blue Valentine is one of those rare albums which can move you through the complete range of emotions. From the cautious optimism of 'Somewhere', through the desperately sad 'Postcard from a hooker in Minneapolis', to the sparkling genius of 'Red Shoes', this album is quite brilliant. 'Romeo is bleeding' tells the tale of a gang leader dying after a confrontation with the police; '29 dollars' tells the story of a new girl in town being picked up by the wrong sort of guy, and Mr. Waits has truly saved the best till last: The title track is the last cut, and I defy you not to be truly moved by the intensity of Tom Waits' singing and the sparse guitar playing. Every track tells a story - each worthy of it's own attention - this is one of those must-haves.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is the second Tom Waits album I bought, the first being 'Raindogs', and it firmly established him as my favourite lyricist ever.
The music is dark and sometimes sleazy but also has a great romantic feel to it, couple this with superb lyrics and you have a gem of an album.
Buy this and enlighten yourself!!
The music is dark and sometimes sleazy but also has a great romantic feel to it, couple this with superb lyrics and you have a gem of an album.
Buy this and enlighten yourself!!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I hope that when people refer to 'Blue Valentine' as Waits' most accessible album it is not in any way to invalidate the poetry and majesty of this great, great record. Personally, I wish latterly that he would try to be a little more accessible: I've read rave reviews of everything post 'Frank's Wild Years,' through 'Bone Machine,' 'Mule Variations,' 'Alice,' 'Blood Money' to 'Real Gone,' etc., but none of these can possibly touch the heart in the way of 'Blue Valentine' or 'The Heart Of Saturday Night,' the latter, along with 'One From The Heart' and 'Closing Time' (which started it all) for me being by far his most accessible and radio-friendly work. 'Blue Valentine,' though patently melodic through-and-through, is the album where Tom makes the leap from the beat poetry, sub-Bukowski personae of albums like 'Small Change' (though a classic of its genre) and 'Nighthawks At The Diner' etc., to a fully-fledged cinematic painter-with-words. The poetry of 'Red Shoes By The Drugstore,' 'Romeo Is Bleeding,' 'Kentucky Avenue' and the brilliant title track itself cannot be denied. They are almost too perfect. No songwriter alive pays greater attention to the minutest details of life lived in the raw, and none can romanticise the seedier side better than the master. Buy this album, because it pays back in buckets.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
the first of his "blues era" is a gem
his sixth album, in six years, waits was working out where his career was going at a frenetic rate. what was amazing was the quality stuff he was coming out with at such speed. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Biffer Spice
$29 and an alligator purse
Following on from the excellent, if patchier, Foreign Affairs, this album is Waits at his least compromising, most musically and lyrically assured, which is more than can be said... Read more
Published 8 months ago by GlynLuke
He don't make 'em like this anymore, more's the pity
This is a sublime recording.
When I first bought it on vinyl in my early twenties, I'd come to Waits via two rather odd poles of his output, namely Closing Time, his... Read more
When I first bought it on vinyl in my early twenties, I'd come to Waits via two rather odd poles of his output, namely Closing Time, his... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Sebastian Palmer
superb
This is easily one of my favorite records of all time. When I first heard it (aged 16) I didn't understand it and felt unsure why the person playing it rated it so highly. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Steve
True Valentine
I never thought I would be writing a Tom Waits review but here I am. A very good friend of mine, (thank you so very much, Mr. Robertson... Read more
Published 15 months ago by G. Young
Tom Waits? Start Here!
Tom Waits observes a twilight world of life where little happines is expected (or received) by its inhabitants. Read more
Published 16 months ago by rollingforkcreek
If you haven't tried Tom Waits...
Tom Waits is like Picasso or Hockney - an artist whose style has evolved over time. I admire and sometime enjoy the savagery of some of his later work, but I truly love the balance... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Robert Joseph
Blues, the Tom Waits way.....
Tom Waits conjures up images of hoodlums, prostitutes, broken hearts, whisky and dope set against a backdrop of dark, rain-drenched American streets. Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2009 by R. H. Ozzie
There is melody and there is "Kentucky Avenue" - Still moves me to...
OK, I'll begin by saying that first and foremost (in a song) I love (a) melody. However, then other things 'kick in'. Waits always divides opinion. Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2008 by SMc
Feeling blue
Waits' 6th album, after the rather safe and by the numbers "Foreign Affair", is a much bluesier affair, with guitars finally joining Waits and making a harder-edged affair than... Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2007 by Mr. L. R. BUXTON
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
