tom waits - Blood Money

[mylesgm]

Just listening back to this album and I had forgot what a corker it is. The orchestration, the tones, the production and above all the musicality and interaction of Tom and the band is just fantastic. Anybody have ideas, inside knowledge etc to the making of it?

[Drumstruck]

Many cigarettes and much hard licquor then make it up as you go along

[mylesgm]

tried that...

[Ben M]

Bone Machine is one of my favourite albums. In fact, I like Waits... full stop.
Really like his rough whisky/ciggy laced voice mixed with those beautiful gentle lullabies. He's a unique artist. I like that.

[Chris H]

Love Tom's recordings and the way he approaches his art. There was a great article in one of the earlier AT mags about his recording Mule Variations at Prairie Sun Studios, and another article in SOS is a good read on earlier recordings that influenced his approach in later recordings....
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb04/a ... eshowe.htm

[Alistair]

Many cigarettes and much hard licquor then make it up as you go along

Pretty sure he was a long way off booze then. That's what he's like sober! I love the fact some of that record seems so gentle, with these heavier than shit vocals on top. I've just starting wading through Orphans again aswell, some great stuff in there.

Enjoyed watching this the other day- part 2 has a song aswell. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBiAzxA-MnI

[capitalK]

i read the low side of the road: the life of tom waits.
it doesn't have any specific info about gear used, but talks about some of the muso's involved.
it was interesting to read how instrumental his wife Kathleen was in helping Tom branch out from his tin pan alley style.

Blood money was the album that made me loooove TW, not just the theme, or the arrangements, but the woody blocky tones every thing has. i've since rediscovered his back catalouge, as my brother was always a fan, but blood money is one of those rare albums that can transform a room.
if i had one goal in life, it would be to achieve this.
i'd go so far as to say it's probably my favourite album of all time. love it.
rant over.

[capitalK]

ps if anyone wants to do a waits tribute, or inspired album, count me in!

[mylesgm]

if you head to badasme.com and use one of these codes you can listen to the new album. I think they're computer specific so the first 5 get the goods...

4cb-v6gee
39b-qwg1t
xgb-zipcf
dub-ku34i
3eb-ft183

[Alistair]

Thanks Myles! So good to hear Ribot with Waits again. Supposedly Keef is on a track too.

[capitalK]

just bought Bad as me on vinyl, comes with the cd and a cd style booklet, full vinyl size!
helping me thru the work day, thank you mr waits!

keef on the 1st track
flea on the 2nd
keef and les claypool on the 10th
actually keef is on half the album!

nothing on googe about rabbit foot studio where it was recorded, a home studio i assume?
great sounding album so far...

[mylesgm]

Bring vinyl back I say! I've got my first album to come out on vinyl in the next 6 months and then three more too.

[Hookemeister]

if you head to badasme.com and use one of these codes you can listen to the new album.

Hey capitalk, thanks for the link.

I saw Tom Waits live in 1975 at the Berklee Community Theatre, he was the support for Bonnie Raitt, I'd never heard of him before that, it was a great introduction.

I went to Tower Records the next day and got all his albums... Closing Time, The Heart of Saturday Night and Nighthawks at the Diner, have been a big fan ever since.

Nighthawks at the Diner is a excellent live album... this was before his voice got the really ruff texture. If you haven't got it in your collection go out and get it, you won't be disappointed. Apart from being a great LP, it's also a good example of how to record a live jazz quartet.

[capitalK]

hi greg,
wasn't me that posted the link, but not to worry...

i have all tom's back catalogue on vinyl, except for:
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Real Gone

i generally buy them as i come across them, it's always a nice surprise when i find them, rather than order online.... keeps the treasure hunt vibe that makes buying music fun!

i think swordfishtrombones is great, where tom introduced his crazy voice, but there is a balance of his "plumier" voice on it too.

i can only hope he'll tour the new album, i wouldn’t miss him live for anything!

[Hookemeister]

Thanks Myles for posting the link. Much appreciated.

yeah Karl, it would be great to see him live again.

Greg

[Hud]

Soo... I heard Blood Money for the first time the other day. First TW album actually

He's not exactly a barrell of laughs is he? Not exactly a ray of sunshine?

I was mightily impressed at how the band and Tom sounded though. Amazed more like it. And there's a congruence of his words and music, makes it feel like a very honest and genuine performance.

Somehow reminds me of Clint Eastwoods directed movies

[mylesgm]

Here's a review of a single I recently produced. I don't think the reviewer would like tom waits either.... in fact probably the cure and heaps of other pop music. Starts well and then goes down hill.

"Exile" by Lindsay Phillips is a song that you probably won’t enjoy if you’re looking for music to put a smile on your face. The instant atmosphere of melodrama and melancholy that is established from the opening horns section evokes some Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds-esque and sets Phillips apart from your standard indie artist. The lyrics are broody, their delivery dejected and seeking that elusive element of hope. Phillips’ deep voice matches the tone of the tune perfectly and you almost feel as if he’s addressing the listener specifically and confessing deeply.
There’s a certain vintage and classic element to "Exile" that I picked up on after a few listens. As a listener and reviewer, I definitely got the feeling that Lindsay Phillips is out to express his creativity first and foremost; he’s not out to alienate himself from the audience, but he isn’t going to bow down to convention either.

Phillips’ next album Taedium Vitae is scheduled for release next year, so it’ll be interesting to see how the rest of his material will go down with people when he tours his music over the next few months. It isn’t often you get a single which evokes such a level of melodrama from the onset and I have to tell you, generally if a song opens with either a dark music section or depressing lyrics, I won’t listen to it in its entirety.

With ‘Exile’ though, I feel like I should listen to more material of Phillips before I completely write him off as an artist who needs to pull his head out of the cave of recording darkness he’s been stuck in, to get some sunny vibes.
Review Score: 5/10

[Manning]

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" - Frank Zappa.

[Alistair]

How do morons like that get a job reviewing music...
"Gee, I don't like techno, and this is techno, so it sucks. 2/10"

[mylesgm]

but.... I like the "cave of recording darkness."

I think she might be a bubble gum chewing teenage hipster wanna be. And therefore I pity her.

[Hud]

Some great music comes out of the "cave of recording darkness".. must be the acoustics

Don't let poorly written reviews get to ya Myles. The reviewer didn't give much of a critique, actually she didn't say anything objectively bad about the album.. Comparisons to Nick Cave too.. I reckon a lot of ppl would not be turned off the album at all

[Chris H]

........The Cave of Recording Darkness! ( I won't say it's got a ring to it )
that's the sort of comment by which legends are made. Congratulations Myles!

[mylesgm]

I actually like most of the review and the bits I don't like are hilarious. I just posted it for a laugh.

The incongruity between these two statements are awesome.

"As a listener and reviewer, I definitely got the feeling that Lindsay Phillips is out to express his creativity first and foremost; he’s not out to alienate himself from the audience, but he isn’t going to bow down to convention either."

"With ‘Exile’ though, I feel like I should listen to more material of Phillips before I completely write him off as an artist who needs to pull his head out of the cave of recording darkness he’s been stuck in, to get some sunny vibes."

And this pretty much writes off the vast majority of music.

"It isn’t often you get a single which evokes such a level of melodrama from the onset and I have to tell you, generally if a song opens with either a dark music section or depressing lyrics, I won’t listen to it in its entirety."

to quote High Fidelity: "nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

[Alistair]

It's a funny one, the first big paragraph reads like a glowing endorsement to me. The last two paragraphs though...
It's definitely one to stick on the fridge, probably a sign you're doing the right things!

[Manning]

Can we get the mods to create a new forum called "The Cave of Recording Darkness"?

I'm not exactly sure what would go on in there, but it would probably get interesting.

[Ben M]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gwUtEEjZJ8

Wait for the "bottle in front of me" line. Classic Waits. My piano's been drinking.

[Milo]

Did you read the Waits interview in Drum media last week?

Paraphrase: "Creativity is like when you start eating a piece of cheese, and it starts to close in behind you, so you go in further, because, as they say: if you're on the road to hell, you'd better just keep walkin'"

[mylesgm]

Paraphrase: "Creativity is like when you start eating a piece of cheese, and it starts to close in behind you, so you go in further, because, as they say: if you're on the road to hell, you'd better just keep walkin'"

Uh what kind of cheese is he eating? I bet I want some of that...

[Hookemeister]

Cave of Recording Darkness

Is that a Lexicon algorithm... available as VST plugin???

Review Score: 5/10

Critic
Noun:

1. A person who expresses an unfavorable opinion of something.
2. A person who judges the merits of literary, artistic, or musical works, esp. one who does so professionally.

Looks like you got: Critic - option 1 (non-professional)

Don't worry Myles, most critics are frustrated writers looking to vent their own self importance.

Remember... expecting a good review from a critic is like expecting to hear something good on the six o'clock news.

[Ben M]

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/31/141657227 ... -interview

Recent Tom Waits interview. Press the "listen now" button. 45 mins long - grab your popcorn.