Real Gone by Tom Waits
Noise! ...Wonderful Noise!!!
Theres little risk of confusing Tom Waits with the gentle pop folk who have
covered his songs--Rod Stewart, Sarah McLachlan, Everything But the
Girl, just to name a few. Thats because even though the eccentric
songwriter is capable of summoning the most tender sentiments, his
preferred method of delivery is through carnival melodies, crackpot
instruments, and a bourbon-soaked bark. Real Gone continues the dark
experimental streak of not just its predecessors like Alice and Blood
Money, but the past 30 years. Yes, the percussion is sharper, the
arrangements stranger, and the voice more ghost-like than ever, but at the
center of all the chaos remains an uncanny storyteller--capable of ripping
down governments (Sins of My Father) and building up tears (Day After
Tomorrow). --Aidin Vaziri
Personal Review: Real Gone by Tom Waits
If you want to check out Tom Waits, and you're looking for a representative
first album to listen to.....look elsewhere, unless you have a taste for the
edgy and offbeat. In that case, look here.
I've often heard Tom Waits music before, and it sounded OK, but I never
felt inspired to check out his music much. Then I heard this album in a
coffee shop, and it blew me away.
What is it with Tom Waits? Instead of mellowing, he seems to get weirder
as he gets older. This album has clear echoes of experimental music.
There is very little drumming per se, or at least use of drums. Mostly the
credits list "percussion," which often consists of unidentified objects being
struck rhythmically. In that sense it's reminiscent at times of early Sonic
Youth, with the percussion instruments sounding like sheet metal or wood
cabinets--the difference is that here they are played with an excellent
sense of rhythm. Other squawky moments remind me of Sun Ra. The
production is sometimes blurry, clearly by design.
All this is done within a pretty normal song structure, so while it's
experimental, it's also familiar. The combination works beautifully, with
Waits growling along, nearly incomprehensible throughout (don't worry, the
liner notes include lyrics).
Lots of people have tried to make records like this in the last 20 years or
so, and most of them are awful. This one is brilliant, and that's down to the
quality of the musician.
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