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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Advice to the young at heart..., 29 Feb 2004
Nice to see this LP back in circulation after being unavailable for quite a long time. And with two extra tracks, no less!
Perhaps its scarcity has something to do with the connected film a)not being much cop, and, if memory serves, b)said film's abysmal failure at the box office being the part of the reason for the collapse of Coppolla's Zoetrope Studios?
But don't let that put you off...Originally released in 1982 this LP slots in, continuity-wise, immediately following Waits' period of superb jazz-inflected albums released on the famous Asylum label (1973 - 1976, also home to Joni Mitchell, Tim Buckley etc) and Elektra Records (1977 - 1980), and prior to the later, more abstract/experimental - but still jazzy - noodlings on Island Records (1983 - 1993), and more recently, Anti/Epitaph Records label offerings (1999 to present). This is certainly a good album, but don't buy it expecting either typical jazz or typical Waits, because it's both and neither.
To my untrained ear, these are just some great show tunes, composed and performed by a pair of gifted artists. Some of the songs are a bit soppy (awww...) but Tom's gravelly voice and playful lyrics keep the more sacharin numbers just this side of credible:
"Looks like you spent the night in a trench,
Tell me .. how long have you been combing your hair with a wrench?" (from 'Picking Up After You')
Eat your hearts out, Messrs Lloyd-Webber & Rice..! Being a soundtrack, some of the songs on this album are instrumental and some feature solo vocal performaces by Crystal Gayle, as noted in the tracklistings. Whilst not the highlights of this cd, they're not to be overlooked as accomplished as they are in their own right. No need for a blow-by-blow account of Tom's performances here, but take it as read they are up to his usual high standard. If, however, as a 'Waits-virgin', the bargain price-point (at a gobsmacking £5.99) draws you in, there are worse places to start collecting (trust me, those who discover Waits very rarely stop with one LP).
Suggested follow-up/alternative purchases would be:
- Nighthawks At The Diner (80 excellent minutes of live performance)
- The Heart of The Saturday Night
- Rain Dogs
- Small Change
- Alice
Most of the above cds have sound clips provided by Amazon.
Also,
- Used Songs 1973-1980 (compilation)
- Beautiful Maladies 1983-1993 (compilation) Or, if you're more interested in continuing along the soundtrack groove, here are a few titles that feature new and original Tom Waits' tracks:
- Night On Earth
- Sea Of Love
- Dead Man Walking (there are two UK versions of this soundtrack, both of which have original Waits' tracks on them) There maybe more but I'm too tired to look them up... Me? I own the old version of this cd - and every other bit of Waits' I've been lucky enough to find - but I've just ordered this re-issue for the two bonus tracks on the end. So it can't be all THAT bad, can it?
Hope this info helped.
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![One From The Heart [DVD] [1982]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51B3AYKMJFL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
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