Tom Waits: Real Gone

Cafe Society
1

Last night, I got the extreme pleasure of hearing the new Tom Waits CD. My friend’s brother, who owns some recordshop out East, came into town bearing this gem. We opened a bottle of Jameson whiskey and listened to it twice deep into the twilight hours.

First off, it’s got the same great soundscapes that are his trademarks. His voice has gotten even deeper and edgier it seems. For the first time I think(?), there aren’t any piano songs on his album and it doesn’t lack them at all. He does suddenly explore old school rap and Waits beat-boxes and has the record scratching.

I wrote down some quick impressions of the songs the second time around. His brother only brought the CD, so I didn’t get a chance to see if there were liner notes and the needed lyrics.

1.Top of the Hill This song opens up the CD with Waits beat-boxing and then a bit of sing-rapping. The mix is such that the lyrics in the verses were a bit indecipherable on the two listens.

2.Hoist That Rag Probably my favorite song here, the percussion sounds like it was recorded in a deserted harbor warehouse. The guitar and style reminds me of Jockey Full of Bourbon. “Smoke has blackened out the sun. Night I pray and clean my gun”

3.Sins of My Father The song is pretty close to “Long Way Home” (that Norah Jones just covered on her new CD). Slow moving, sprawling background noise, and just simple. “The star spangled banner of his one good eye”.

4.Shake It"Our Love is a faucet". Kinda reminded me of ‘50s/60s song. Almost more "Screamin’" Jay Hawkins than Tom Waits (covering the coverer if ya will). Definitely has the *Swordfishtrombones * vibe still in play.

5.Don’t Go Into That Barn Working-on-a-chain-gang-entrance that continues through the song. Ooo-aaah whip! “Old black tree’s scratching up the sky. A bony claw like fingers.”

6.How’s It Gonna End? Bull fiddle and guitar. “Behind the smoke covered curtain, the girl disappeared. They found out that the ring was a fake. A dream born crooked will never grow straight . She sunk like a hammer into the lake.” The lyrics really take you into his imagination in a burlap sack.

7.Metropolitan Glide Return to the beat box. “Ack! a-boom-boom-eh!” “Turn off the ringer on your cellular phone”. This was one of those songs that didn’t do much for me. Maybe when I get the CD and give it a couple more listens I"ll get into it more.

8.Dead And Lovely “He had a bulletproof smile. He had money to burn. She thought she had the moon in her pocket. But now she’s dead. She’s so dead. Forever and dead and lovely now”. The jazz crooning song with the big bass, guitar and simple drums. Wonderful.

9.Circus Mule Variations had What’s He Building Down There?, Real Gone has Circus. “Top of the bill is Horseface Ethel and her marvelous pigs in satin”. I couldn’t get HBO’s “Carnivale” out of my head the whole time.

10.Trampled Rose “Lying at my feet a trampled rose”. TW does this thing where, for a lack of better description, he holds (nasally) onto the end notes and goes up and then back down. Over and over. It’s actually irritating.

11.Green Grass Someone’s been watching Kill Bill with the opening guitar to this song. Then it moves to just an acoustic guitar. “You’ll never be free of me. You’ll make a tree from me. Don’t say goodbye to me. Describe the sky to me.” Not his strongest song lyrically.

12.Baby Gonna Leave Me Beat box (again) with a rusty rattle in the background. It’s a yawner.

13.Clang Boom Steam A verbal interpretation of an engine bumping along.

14.Make It Rain “I’m just another sad guest on this earth.” At this point I’m starting to wonder why is there music after track nine.

15.Day After Tomorrow A country-ish acoustic guitar with enough reverb that almost gives it a harp feel. A definite redemption song after the last few. “I close my eyes, every night. And I dream that i could hold you.” Very Greg Brown-esque in lyrics and execution.

16.(Hidden Track). Tom ends with his “funky” beat boxing since we haven’t got enough. Someone take his Fat Boys records away.

I’m a bit harsh on some of the tracks, but all in all I can’t wait for (release date) October 5th to buy a copy for myself. I’m already having withdrawals, especially for Hoist That Rag.

2

I just got an advance copy.

Sweet jeebus this album is good. I love Tom, but must admit that I’ve been kinda lukewarm on his past few releases. I’ve only been all the way through this album once, but second the love for Hoist That Rag. Other than his voice which seems to lower 4 octaves with every album he puts out (I predict the vocals on his 2011 release will be inaudible to human ears), this song would fit fine right in the middle of Rain Dogs.

I will be back to this thread after I’ve had time to properly digest the CD.

3

Uh, you guys know he was on Letterman tonight, right? And that he performed “Make It Rain,” don’t you?

BTW, if you haven’t seen his performance on Austin City Limits, track it down, it’s one of the most incredible performances I’ve ever seen!

4

I Tivo’d but havent yet watched the Letterman show appearance.
And ACL from 1978 is a really good show, I have a .mpg rip of the whole thing on my PC.

5

I caught the tail end of that classic Austin City Limits appearance a year or so back, and it was one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen. I was just floored, and I think that’s what put Tom Waits over the top as my favorite musician. Hey mouthbreather, I don’t suppose you could hook a fellow Waits fan up? I’d make it worth your while…

6

I’m not much on his music, but he is surpisingly funny (he just doesn’t seem approachable). I enjoyed his horse artist story.

7

Anybody else pick up this CD yet?
I just got my copy in the mail today and am just starting to relisten to it.

8

You scared me–I thought from the title this was an obit thread!

9

Another fine album for the lexicon.
I get to see him live on Friday :smiley:

10

Hoist That Rag is amazing. I’m so in love with Marc Ribot’s guitar style that it’s a little disturbing anyway, and I find myself listening to that incredible Spanish solo over and over and over again.

The whole record is really, really good. Better than Blood Money and Mule Variations by a big stretch. I have a little soft spot for Alice.

“Did they see yo face? No suh!”

11

Thanks for the play-by-plays; I haven’t been able to get to a record store so I have to buy the thing over iTunes (which I guess means I’ve lost any alternative indie street cred), and it’s only available by song only.

It’s just as well; I have yet to find a Tom Waits album I can listen to all the way through. So much of his stuff is just lost on me. The only one I own is Rain Dogs, and then only because you’re just supposed to own that one, and even still there are tracks I just don’t like. I wish it weren’t so hit-and-miss with me, because the songs that I do like, I think are just brilliant – “Jockey Full of Bourbon,” “Step Right Up,” “Underground,” and “Swordfishtrombone.”

And I still say if he ever comes out with an album called For No Man, I’ll buy it just for the title alone.

12

Had it since last Friday now, and have played it through at least once a day (much to the annoyance of everyone else at work, who seem to think i’m listening to some tramps). Fucking great album, most consistent since Bone Machine IMO.

And Hoist that Rag? In my top 3 Waits songs ever.

I also really like Trampled Rose for the up/down singing, and Don’t go in that Barn. Wish I’d have got to see him over here, but £70 for a ticket and sold out within an hour? No chance.

13

Just picked it up yesterday. Put me in the camp of folks who are diggin it a bit more than his past few albums. Mule V., Alice, Blood Money, they’re all great, but they come off as so somber, almost funereal when played next to RG. On this one, it sounds like he’s just having fun- the gutter funk outweighs the dark ballads, and there isn’t a single truly maudlin tune on the whole CD (an occasional taste for the maudlin being TW’s only weakness, imo). But then I was always a little more “Filipino Box Spring Hog” than “November.”