See Tom Wait's
favourite albums in his
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Track Listings
| 1. Top of the Hill |
| 2. Hoist That Rag |
| 3. Sins of My Father |
| 4. Shake It |
| 5. Don’t Go Into That Barn |
| 6. How’s It Gonna End |
| 7. Metropolitan Glide |
| 8. Dead and Lovely |
| 9. Circus |
| 10. Trampled Rose |
| 11. Green Grass |
| 12. Baby Gonna Leave Me |
| 13. Clang Boom Steam |
| 14. Make It Rain |
| 15. Day After Tomorrow |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
On Real Gone, Tom Waits and his band present a bold musical statement that is equally in tune with modern and traditional values. Blues standards are revisited, and reinvented; atypical blues instrumentation--turntables courtesy of Waits's son, Casey, and banjos--transform and refresh the design of Waits's deeply American sound.
Throughout much of Real Gone, Waits sings of desperate situations in his trademark gravelly howl, conjuring images of emotionally haunted spaces that you would not wish to inhabit but may well be familiar with. "Sins of My Father" is one such lifesong, offering a glimpse into Waits's own world of imperfection. "How's It Gonna End" offers a sepia-stained cinematic take on the theme of departure, peaking with gospel backing vocals, but Waits brings it all back down to ground level with a heartfelt repetition of the song's (mark-less) question title. These are very real songs, honestly presented and without over-elaboration.
Low down and gritty stompers provide what amounts to light relief from Real Gone's more emotionally demanding tracks. Opener "Top Of The Hill" is a raucous, bass-heavy blues number which finds Waits in exuberant form. "Hoist That Rag" follows, providing the album's catchiest hook and most formidable vocal take. Fittingly, though, as the subjects of Waits's roots and his country's changing times are woven through Real Gone's emotive songs, the album ends on a note of Dylan-esque reflection with the beautiful acoustic lake of "Day After Tomorrow". Tom Waits has rarely been a versatile as he is on Real Gone, and the record is all the better for it. --Jonathan Davies
Review
Tom Waits' last two (simultaneously released) albums contained specifically written pieces for the theatre and found him in a distinctly Brechtian mode. While awesome, one still longed for a return to the classic days of Rain Dogs etc. Thus when it was announced that Real Gone featured the old touring band and a collection of new stand-alone songs excitement ran high. But it seems that this is actually quite a departure...What marks Real Gone as a change of direction for Tom are two things: One is his decision to excise any use of piano or keyboards from the recording process. The second is the use of his own voice. Initial stripped-back home-recordings resulted in Tom using his patent growl as the rhythm track, albeit augmented by drummer Brain Mantia (of Primus). Overdriven and primal, these lolloping grunts and wheezes give the whole album a weirdly steam-driven aesthetic, mirrored in lyrics that highlight the relentless grind of life on the underbelly.
Mainly recorded in single takes, the core ensemble of Mantia, Larry Taylor (bass) and Marc Ribot (guitar) swing wild and loose, combining dirty notes with Waits' rasped and shouted lyrics. Additional turntablism by Waits' son Casey adds to the strangely mechanical vibe. Yet it's only the repetitious vibe of men straining under post-industrialism: pile-driven into transgression and misery, but always retaining a gallows humour.
Stories of lost love, bitter regret and human life laid waste seem to be the main currency, but Waits and wife Kathleen Brennan's wordplay always narrowly avoids self-parody by use of fantastically impressionistic imagery and wry couplets. Whether it's the resigned calypso shuffle of ''Hoist That Rag'', the processional blues of ''Make It Rain'' ( which contains the priceless line 'I'm not Able, I'm just Cain') or the jazzy shuffle of ''Dead And Lovely'' (a murder ballad sketched in James Ellroy noir shades), Waits comes on, as always, like some socially aware Captain Beefheart, channelling every drunken hobo and down at heel loser that got swept under society's carpet.
It's incredible that someone who, these days, is undoubtedly more superannuated than itinerant can still sound this convincing. Only on the hilarious ''Don't Go Into The Barn'' does Tom's brand of louche gothic tip into Nick Cave/Night Of The Hunter southern surrealism territory, and you become concerned that this is grim-by-numbers. But in the company of 14 other instant Waits classics this is a mere niggle. The closing track, ''The Day After Tomorrow'', finally arrives to remind you what a consummate songwriter he is, with its war-weary soldier's letter home a stark reminder of the current world state. Already Real Gone looks like being one of Tom's best... --Chris Jones
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Even as a long time Waits fan, it took me a couple of listens to get into this album... but then the one thing you could never accuse him of is writing by numbers or simply to please his fans. The most obvious shift in style compared to Mule / Blood Money / Alice is the absence of piano from the album and the addition of son Casey's turntables and the use of looped samples of Waits hollering and growling in his bathroom as backing for some tracks. More familiar is the return of Marc Ribot's catchy guitar riffs that were common place on the mid 80's trilogy of Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs and Frank's Wild Years.
As with almost all of Waits' albums, this is superbly put together in terms of the sequence of tracks... perhaps the only one I'm not completely sold on is the opening track "Top of the hill", from there onwards it's all pretty superb. Highlights include the savagely catchy and lyrically sharp "Hoist that rag", the 11 minutes of "Sins of the Father" and the timelessly poignant closing piece "Day after tomorrow". I also really like the manic style of "Shake it" and "Don't go into that barn"... the blues guitar based "Make it Rain".... and the ironic shmaltzy style of "Dead and Lovely" and "Trampled Rose".
On the whole this album easily lives up to Waits' reputation for producing innovative and challenging music... his best work since Bone Machine by some distance!
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Alright, so it hasn't been THAT long, but it feels like it - I just wanted to use that shockingly bad pun. Anyway:
Few and far between were the rumours of just what direction Tom Waits would go with his next record, climaxing in the month before Real Gone's release in an explosion of strange, mind-bending and ultimately confusing reviews. So just what the hell did this thing sound like? As one reviewer put it, the opening track to some will simply be "impenetrable". It's an interesting hybrid of god-knows how many different styles, but it loops and swirls in such a way that it's hard to pin down and actually enjoy listening to. Don't let this put you off if it's too far gone though, it does become more accessible. Hoist That Rag is a thankful reassurance that you won't have to like this album just because you feel this should and the 10:36 of Sins of My Father is a lengthy but worthy journey and definately one of my favourite tracks on the CD so far.
I won't go any further into listing the songs and their merits, but it is a mixure of all the styles you heard it was, it is new, at times strange but always Tom Waits. If you've been a fan of his previous work from Blue Valentine to Swordfishtrombones, from Rain Dogs to Heartattack and Vine, you will like this album. It will grow on you and you may even love it. Along with Mark Lanegan's Bubblegum, this is one of the best albums released in the last year. Perhaps not a good place for someone new to Tom Waits to start their collection though...
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I have been waiting (ha ha) for ages for a new album from the god of gothic blues and i am happy to say that this ranks up as one of his best.
For the first time in his 30 year career he has shunned the piano for more typical rock instruments, but has come up with something never heard before...
From that sexual Latin flavour that pours out of Hoist that rag, to the Primal blues of Make it rain, or the cubist funk of metropolitan glide Tom once again shows that he wont be shackled by the chains of conformity. how he keeps coming up with new ideas and sounds beggars belief, he even does a bit of human beatboxing!! also his son Casey is featured on the album playing drums and manning the turntables whilst 'Dad' mans the microphone. This is a must have for fans and newcomers alike...
There is only one problem, once you have it, you'll cry out for a new album straight away because once the surreal magic of Mr Waits has gripped you you can't shake it no matter how hard you try.
I cant wait for another album, and i wish he'd play live over here more often, but hey, a genius needs time off.
Now Tom, how about releasing 'Big Time' on DVD?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
not up there with his best
while there are some nice touches in this album (as you would expect from anything written by the legend that is tom waits), "how's it gonna end", "dead and lovely", "trampled... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Biffer Spice
If the sky falls we`ll catch mocking birds
After the sublime duet of more subdued, thoughtful 2002 albums, Alice and Blood Money, came this clattering, throat-clearing harrumph from ol` Tom Frost, steeped in the howls &... Read more
Published 8 months ago by GlynLuke
Stonking Waits
I have a lot of Tom Waits but this must rate amongst his best. Absolutely brilliant with lots of variety and neat twist as is to be expected. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Rory Hennessy
Wait No More
This album is my first foray into the expansive catalogue of Mr Waits, and it is one that is not without success. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2009 by Gannon
Music to dance to.
I must have had this album for going on three years and only now is it really beginning to have an effect on me. On the first few listens it was a real slog and almost unappealing. Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2007 by G. Irwin
It should be 6 stars
Brilliant album by the genius that is Tom Waits.
I tried playing tracks from this album to a friend of mine, who dismissed it out of hand, saying "He sings like an... Read more
I tried playing tracks from this album to a friend of mine, who dismissed it out of hand, saying "He sings like an... Read more
Published on 28 July 2006 by K. Preston
Real Gone.
This record is shambling, sporadic and gross. Waits propels his music through new realms of grit and grime; a choked scream from a dusty well. Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2006 by A Waits fan
what an album!
this is a must buy for any tom waits fans out there.waits has produced a somewhat modern album of bone-machine in my eyes. Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2005 by "jimihendrix1"
Real Gone Is Real Noisy, Clanky, and A Find
I am a recent re-convert to Tom Waits in the past 2 years. I loved him once and then forgot for a bit. I found him again. I waited for this CD for a long time. Read more
Published on 30 Oct 2004 by prisrob
The tank's full and he's firing on all 8!
This, along with 'The Black Rider', have become my fave Tom Waits LPs. It seems to me to be in a similar vein to the above and 'Mule Variations' (though to my ears is much more... Read more
Published on 25 Oct 2004 by DJ ?uestone
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