Tom Waits - Blue Valentine

More hard-boiled tales from Tom Waits, who manages to sing lines like "Everyone I know is either dead or in prison" in a raw, whiskey-soaked rasp that sounds both comical and deadly serious. Waits doesn't break any new creative ground here, but continues to refine his down-and-out ham-and-egger persona. It's booze and broads, sex and violence, laughs and heartbreak. This 1978 album opens with an astonishingly desperate version of "Somewhere" (from "West Side Story"), performed like Louie Armstrong with a migraine. From there it's the usual Waits mix of crackpot wordplay and the cocktail lounge jazz likes of "Romeo Is Bleeding." --Steve Appleford Amazon.com

This is one fantastic album

This is the first album I ever heard from Tom Waits and it is fantastic. I borrowed it from a co-worker and he told me that if I want to hear something really different that will grow on me in time, then give this a listen. His music is very different than any other I have heard, and his lyrics are out of this world. His voice took a few listens to get used to, (he almost sounds like Bob Dylan's current voice), but now I really like the heart and soul that pours out of his voice as he grinds through the lyrics. If you have heard of him, give this a listen, you will not be sorry. August 17, 2008

No matter the album, Tom Waits rocks!

While i'll admit that i'm preferable to his later, more experimental sounding albums, "Blue Valentine" is another fine example of Tom Waits' ability for song-writing & overall presence. From his cover of "Somewhere" from West Side Story (Maria never sounded so soulful) to the very last note of the title track, his dark & distinct voice wrings true. a wonderful addition to the collection of any Waits fan. December 3, 2007

dont rush to get it

hey waits fans this is a great album with some of waits best songs like romeo is bleeding. but it also has uneven songs like somewhere. so though i recommend this album i wouldn't start here September 11, 2007

TRUE VALENTINE

I never thought I would be writing a Tom Waits review but here I am. A very good friend of mine, (thank you so very much, Mr. Robertson...) actually bought this album for me and had it sent to my home. Well, three months later, I now own TEN Tom Waits albums. I am now of course, a hopeless Mr. Waits addict, even more surprising is that I normally listen to bands such as Tool, Rush and Black Sabbath. However, Mr. Waits simply transcends musical genres and I love him for it, he is an absolute genius who writes, sings and plays, from the heart.

The album is just so atmospheric, dense and evocative, that I never tire of listening to it. It is the kind of album into which the listener simply disappears and what a dark honour it is to inhabit this blue, smoky world. From the other worldly opening of 'Somewhere' with its bold, redemptive optimism, "We'll find a new way of living, a new way, of forgiving..." to the desolate, heartbreaking portrait of dark love on album closer, 'Blue Valentines' you know you are in the prescence of greatness. This is still my favourite Tom Waits album and is now one of my favourite albums of all time.

These are the songs of the lost and the lonely and tracks like 'Christmas Card From Hooker In Minneapolis' feature some of the best lyrics I have ever heard, "I'd buy me a used car lot and I wouldn't sell any of 'em, I'd just drive a different car each day, dependin' on how I feel...' Beautiful.

Other highlights are 'Red Shoes By The Drugstore' with brilliant lines like, "As the rain splashed the nickel and spilled like Chablis all along the midway..." and "There's a dark huddle at the bus stop, umbrellas arranged in a sad bouquet..." There are a book full of ideas in one song.

'Kentucky Avenue' is pure heartbreak, with such an unusual angle on a relationship that I would defy anyone not to be moved by it. The closing lines, "Put a church key in your pocket, we'll hop that freight train in the hall, we'll slide all the way down the drain, to New Orleans, in the fall...' are simply wonderful.

Blue Valentine really does approach perfection and cannot be recommended too highly. My love affair with Mr. Waits continues with every album, each one evokes its own character, its own world and to inhabit these worlds is just such sweet, sweet surrender. September 1, 2007

Some of Tom Waits Best.

I would highly recomend this album for the Tom Waits fan and the Tom Waits curious.
I am a big Tom Waits fan myself, and this album is one of my favorites. It's from his earlier stuff, and shows us a bit of a transition from his crooner stuff, to the more weird and wacky. the songs are great, at times like orchestra crooner stuff, and at times real jazzy.
I recomend this to the person Curious about Tom waits because it shows his unique side, yet it is still very accessable to someone used to more mainstream stuff.
Great Album! Get it! July 6, 2007

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