Tom Waits - Real Gone

Known for refusing to conform to any style or structure, Waits is said to have combined everything from funk and Jamaican rhythms to urban and rural blues on "Real Gone." The set features such cuts as the comic, funky and instructional "Metropolitan Guide," the R&B/hip-hop inspired "To of the Hill" (featuring vocal percussion supplied by Waits) and the rock-steady groover "Sins of the Father.

No word on the breakdancing yet.

er, no - 33 FUCK!

-- j e r e m y

That's a 10-4. He does these pseudo-beatbox rhythms all over the place. It's a little weird, actually, because he uses the same technique on almost half the songs. But it sounds v. cool.

Closer to jazz scat than beatbox, except that the same phrase repeats over and over.

Closing TIme: 3
Nighthawks at the Diner: 5
Small Change: 6
Swordfishtrombones: 9
Rain Dogs: 10
Frank's Wild Years: 8
Big Time: 4
The Black Rider: 8
Bone Machine: 6
Alice: 6
Blood Money: 9

*falls over dead*

Swordfishtrombones is a little better than Franks Wild Years - the Mr Rogers-drowning-in-bourbon of "In The Neighbourhood", the twilight subterranea of "Underground" and "Shore Leave", two very affectionate instrumentals, whimsical piano ballads like "Soldier's Things" and "Johnsburg, Illinois". It's all good and it's as if Tom's character has gone through being a debauched bar-propper to the verge of insanity. He sounds like a shell-shocked veteran, the musical equivalent of the town drunk - frightening, sad, funny, moronic at points but with a twinkle of magic in his eye - on the surface, a madman but with a certain spark of twisted genius.

Maybe I should have given Nighthawks and Small Change slightly higher scores, admittedly. I'm still not that into the pre-Swordfish stuff but there are songs I particularly love off of both albums.

The Early Years: 4
The Early Years Vol 2: 8
Closing Time: 8 (for sentimental reasons)
The Heart Of Saturday Night: 6
Small Change: 7
Heartattack & Vine: 6
Swordfishtrombones: 10
Franks Wild Years: 9
Bone Machine: 8
Mule Variations: 7
Alice: 7
Blood Money: 8

and yes, you should buy rain dogs.

bone machine has got great tracks (Little Rain, I Don't Wanna Grow Up, Earth Died Screaming) and others that are not so great. It's my friend's favourite one but for me it's like his token heavy metal album.

Oh I forgot to rate Mule Variations. I give that a "4", although it can sound good if played loud enough and I really like "Come On Up To The House".

So glad to be seeing him on this tour, expecting great things - I think the only tour I'd rather have seen him on would have been the Big Time one.

Mojo / Q / Ucunt - all lukewarm to poor IIRC.

i agree, though, it's a fantastic album.

sorry nick, no idea what song it reminds you of.

"Murder in the Red Barn" was the title of a Victorian melodrama. Based on a true incident IIRC. Maybe even in Luton?

S

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Holy shit - the album totally made me think of LZIII, that track particularly, and I've been listening to them together. Maybe something about bluesy and folky dirges perverted by noise, improvising guitarists, and scratchy voices. (Not that straight blues voices aren't scratchy to start with or that trad songs can't be noisy or improvisatory.)

This is the first Waits album I don't like. Well, I might grow to like it, I've only had it for a week, but uhhh... it just isn't very compelling to me at all. I've never had a problem with his whole I-do-the-same-thing-each-time schtick before but there just doesn't seem any need for this album to exist.

Also his voice is mixed way way too low.

At least he's not actively embarrassing like Nick Cave though.

But bloody hell, all the songs are EXACTLY THE SAME here and - I'm listening to it right now trying in vain to find a way in - oh my christ here's another spoken word exercise which there is no excuse for.

B-b-but it's ALL his voice!

It is true that they didn't mix his vocal percussion like drums so it mixes with the melodic vocal parts and gets a bit muddy, but I don't mind it so much.

I still really like everything on it except the last track. Marc Ribot just shines.

Sins Of My Father, Hoist That Rag, Don't Go Into That Barn, How's It Going To End are all top notch though.

the new Nick Cave album is great, though (I admit the last two were not). As for this Waits album: I can't get into it. I keep trying, but it slips by and nothing sticks in my memory.

Come closer don't be shy
Stand beneath a rainy sky
The moon is over the rise
Think of me as a train goes by

Clear the thistles and brambles
Whistle 'Didn't He Ramble'
Now there's a bubble of me
And it's floating in thee

Stand in the shade of me
Things are now made of me
The weather vane will say...
It smells like rain today

God took the stars and he tossed 'em
Can't tell the birds from the blossoms
You'll never be free of me
He'll make a tree from me

Don't say good bye to me
Describe the sky to me
And if the sky falls, mark my words
We'll catch mocking birds

Lay your head where my heart used to be
Hold the earth above me
Lay down in the green grass
Remember when you loved me

Revival time! And to do the job, useless Real Gone trivia. For some reason I plotted the stops of that 'flat boat' at the end of "Don't Go Into That Barn" into Google Maps and asked it for directions. So if anyone ever wants to make a ridiculously unneccessary road trip, here ya are. Or just rent a canoe.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Dover+Indiana&daddr=Covington+to:Louisville+to:Henderson+to:Smithland+to:Memphis+to:Vicksburg&hl=no&geocode=CUq2D7K0tNWfFa3GVgIdvszv-iFS580sMx6L4Q%3BFZdeVAIddoD2-imbJWzUq7BBiDGr4rDrV8nmLg%3BFZ62RwIdUWrj-ikR1VuzGgtpiDEy_XEgKLTT1A%3BFXpVQQIdg3vH-inB6Ektf99viDHjLDU873apmg%3BFQGyNgIdVBK7-imbw3-1IXJ6iDF_Kp0SPHMXdQ%3BFd5WGAIdLPah-ilFl0PqHn7VhzH-thpgFfOT0Q%3BFYap7QEdRlCV-im5EbH2J-AohjHAe08HaSpCdw&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=36.615528,-86.418457&sspn=8.708652,19.753418&ie=UTF8&ll=36.297418,-86.835937&spn=8.744308,19.753418&z=6

I wonder if I still have this. I thought maybe I made the mistake of buying Real Gone while I was feeling pretty burned out on Tom and that was why never got into it, though this thread's got me feeling I may have been right. I feel like I could start listening to the guy again, but I'm wondering if all I really need is like, The Black Rider, and Rain Dogs, and one or two others.

i really love this record but it would have benefited from being a lil shorter

No, dig it out, this is a great one!

It is! Love the stripped-down sound, that incredible guitar, and some of the lyrics are among Waits' best in my op: Just check out "How's it gonna end", "Make it rain" and "Day after tomorrow", which I'm sure has already been discussed to death.

One of his most rockin' albums IMHO. The call-and-response section of "Don't go into that barn" always raises the hair on the back of my neck.

Great album, not a bad track on it.

Probably his most solid since Rain Dogs actually.

Loved it when it first came out-have not listened to it lately

This is one of those albums that I liked when it came out but I didn't love it. Took it out the other night and for some reason it hit home and now I would rate it one of his best.

this album rules. Ribot's guitar solo in Hoist that Rag kills me every time.

New live album is tons of fun, even if it is a heavily bootlegged date.

Is the new album one show or a comp from different places? I have the NPR show from Atlanta that got bootlegged so I haven't bothered to check the official disc out.

One show, the Atlanta one, I believe. With a second disc of banter!

That's cool - thought it was a comp from different places with a typical show's setlist. Actually, it can't be the NPR show as the Atlanta concert is over two hours long! Must be from somewhere else.

new live one super cheap at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Glitter-Doom-Live-Tom-Waits/dp/tracks/B002QJX33O/ref=dp_tracks_all_1#disc_1

Amazing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUhWuPTBIfo&feature=related

he is *great*, isn't he? sometimes when I think about his schtick, it seems a little tired, but then I hear/see something like that and am amazed all over again.

Why are his albums so long?

My only real problem with them. By the time I get to track #16, I've forgotten what the first 5 songs sound like.

But yeah, I like this one.

You'll like his new one then, it's a tidy 45 mins. And it's great!

from the pitchfork interview:

My wife Kathleen wanted to do 12 three-minute songs. Get in, get out. No fucking around. Because people don't have a lot of time. The way I think is more like, "Oh, you got time for 19 songs on there? Put 19 songs on there, baby." She says," No, no, no. Twelve." Like the eggs, 12. You can do a lot in two minutes. So I'm starting to get more economical as I go. Don't overstate, don't restate.

Dug the new one as well, having only heard it once. A nice condensation of his schtick - and I mean that in the best possible way.

Thirded. Like it on first listen, which isn't always the case with his albums.

The newly remixed version of Real Gone is, believe it or not, worth everyone's time. Everything that dragged this album down (beat-boxing, slightly harsh production) has been toned down and a few subtle tweaks here and there make for a much better listen

Abrasive production is why I like it tbh but interested to hear this

Hoist that Rag was perfect tho

oh wow this sounds WAY different from the original mix, way more of an overhaul than I was expecting

xp I definitely prefer the new version of HTR with the trumpet intro, just lifts it a bit

I'd have liked some deep, subtle horns added to 'How's It Going To End'. Have to say, other than HTR, the rest of the changes are a lot more subtle. Or what else am I missing? It's been a little while since I listened to the original.