.
By Zane Ewton .
Most expectations surrounding a new release from Tom Waits can usually be thrown out the window upon the first listen. With Real Gone, his first new album in two years, Waits has created something that defies explanation but is completely riveting. Most tracks were started in his bathroom, by Wait's doing beat-box into a tape recorder, and for the first time in his career there is no piano to be found. Waits describes the album himself by saying,
"Real Gone is an electric pill box, a homogenous concoction of mood elevators,
mind liberators and downers, an alchemical universe of rattling chains,
oscillating rhythms and nine-pound hammers."
"Circus" features Wait's son Casey on drums, backing up what sounds like the remnants of a carousel. Only Tom Waits is able to sing the lyrics "she looked at me squinty with her one good eye in a Roy Orbison t-shirt as she bottle fed an Orangutan named Tripod," and have it not only taken seriously but fit perfectly. "Green Grass" is a love song, sweet but sinister. "Clang Boom Steam" sounds exactly as the title would imply. The final song, "Day After Tomorrow" is a deeply emotional and quasi-political song. It is a soldier's letter home, devoid of any shine and more timeless than any other political song. Waits' albums have always been left of
center but as evidence on this album, he is able to grab the listener with
odd noises and textures but the whole purpose is to bring us down to the
essential emotions. Rarely can music be so difficult yet so accessible.
Real Gone is an exceptional album and Waits is definitely an essential
character in music.
Tom Waits � Real Gone
Tracks:
Visit the official website for Tom Waits check out Anti Records for more on this CD Purchase
a copy of "Real Gone"
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