Night On Earth: Original Soundtrack Recording [Soundtrack]

Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 7, 1992)
• Original Release Date: April 7, 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B000001DU0
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,554 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Back in the Good Old World (Gypsy)

2. Los Angeles Mood (Chromium Descensions)

3. Los Angeles Theme (Another Private Dick)

4. New York Theme (Hey, You Can Have That Heart Attack Outside Buddy)

5. New York Mood (New Haircut and a Busted Lip)

6. Baby, I'm Not a Baby Anymore (Beatrice Theme)

7. Good Old World (Waltz)

8. Carnival (Brunello del Montalcino)

9. On the Other Side of the World

10. Good Old World (Gypsy Instrumental)

11. Paris Mood (Un de Fromage)

12. Dragging a Dead Priest

13. Helsinki Mood

14. Carnival Bob's Confession

15. Good Old World (Waltz)

16. On the Other Side of the World [Instrumental]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting, February 6, 1999

By 

E. Hoffman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night On Earth: Original Soundtrack Recording (Audio CD)

Waits' soundtrack to this 1992 Jarmusch film is at times haunting, beautiful, deranged, aggravating, and amusing. Worth a listen by any Waits fan. Includes 3 vocal performances that rank among his best - particularly the waltz "Good Old World" and its instrumental equivalent.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 and 1/2 Stars - Interesting For Fans, August 24, 2002

By 

Bill R. Moore (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night On Earth: Original Soundtrack Recording (Audio CD)

Night On Earth is a mostly instrumental recording from Tom Waits. The songs are mostly in the vein of his recent four studio albums at that time (Swordfishtrombones through Bone Machine - particularly the latter album and Rain Dogs), in that they feature his typically quirky percussion and wind instrument soundscapes - his "junkyard orchestra." The album's motif is quite nifty: Waits has crafted a main theme that changes and morphs according to the different cities that they represent in the movie - from the raging electric guitar of the Los Angeles theme to the beautiful stringed instrumentals of the later tracks. These instrumentals are fairly typical of Waits, and are good as far as they go. Imagine Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, or Bone Machine without vocals, and you have a pretty good idea of what you're getting. There are also three songs with vocals. These feature Waits's typically wacky and intimitable lyrics, and are performed in a calmer, more soothing way than his other current material of the time (Bone Machine.) This album seems like it would work best as a backdrop for the movie (which I haven't seen), than as a stand-alone product. Still, it has its charms in the latter context as well. Reccommended for Waits fans (though you should have his other albums before you pick this one up), and fans of the movie.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Typically Atypical Tom Waits Album, February 12, 2004

By 

William Hardy (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night On Earth: Original Soundtrack Recording (Audio CD)

The music has a repetitiveness I like, a constantly moving theme, like a monster tramping around in the darkness. These are not pop tunes but mood music. Variations give it an alternately boozy barroom feel or a Twilight Zone paranoia. The two versions of the sung "Good Old World"--one brutal and bulldoggy, one sentimentally in-the-cups--are both keepers, reminiscent of the parallel versions of "Innocent When You Dream" on Franks Wild Years. "The Other Side of the World", the only other track with lyrics, is a bridge between the Franks Wild Years and Black Rider albums, with lots of that lost, old world, Brothers Grimm mood. It's one of my favorite Waits tunes, and full of his new love for Kathleen Brennan.