Customer Reviews

Real Gone

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Tom Waits, as usual, has produced another classic. It should be noted, however, that "Real Gone" is a really gritty, avant-garde effort. The sonic texture of the album is akin to some of the tunes on "Bone Machine" with a tinge of the sweaty grit of the more raucous parts of "Mule Variations" (e.g., the texture found on the rough and funky "Filipino Box Spring Hog"). If you are a fan of Waits' last few albums, you will enjoy "Real Gone." If what you enjoy about Waits' music is his piano playing, well, this is one you can skip--there is no piano whatsoever on this CD.

The music is oddly mixed and Tom's microphone sounds overloaded at times, but somehow it all fits together to make sense. The disc opens with "Top of the Hill," which is a great indicator of things to come with its funky rhythms with prominent percussive downbeats. If you enjoy this tune, you will likely enjoy "Metropolitan Glide," which comes up a few tracks later and uses turntables to great effect without dominating the musical landscape. There are a couple beautiful slow pieces as well in "Dead and Lovely" and "How's It Gonna End." The guitar duties are largely handled by the legendary Marc Ribot, whose playing is perfectly suited to Waits' music. He really shines on "Real Gone." His guitar brings a haunting quality to the slower pieces and razor-sharp gutter funk to the faster tunes.

All told, this is just another classic Tom Waits album. He is amazing. "Real Gone" is like walking down an old dusty road in Mississippi and noticing something shiny along the roadside. You walk over to the item, look down, and see a handle of a box buried halfway in the dirt. You dig out the box, open it, and find an old pistol, a flask of good whisky, and $3000 in circa 1920 hundred-dollar bills. You know there must have been some foul play long ago, and that the locals still probably know all about it, but you pocket the cash and the pistol and head on your merry way. There are gifts in the dirt. The music on "Real Gone" is gritty and mysterious, but just go with it, because you really wouldn't want to know the answers to any of the questions you might have about this music.

If you took all the wonderfully abrasive moments framing Bone Machine, every crunchy pop and snarl that "All Stripped Down", "Such a Scream", and "Let Me Get Up On It" squeal with, turning them into full blown beat boxing epics of turntable scratch and echoed voice, Real Gone is close to exactly what would come out.

Relying less upon melody then shaky rhythm, song after song consist of one crumbling riff or two that Tom croaks out wildly along with, barking vocal percussion in strangulated yelps. Recorded in his bathroom at home, these human backbeats are as hilarious as they are frightening. He apparently didn't loop any of them either, like the intro to "Big in Japan", opting instead for the unpredictable accidental grunt that one would groan out after having screamed "Boo Boom, KUH KAK!" for four straight minutes.

Lyrically, this is as strong as any other Waits record, following the example of Blood Money and focusing less on narrative then bittersweet metaphor, ("He's not the kind of wheel you fall asleep at") complimenting the pitch black instrumentation perfectly. When not making wonderfully absurd commentary ("If I was a bed, I'd be an unmade bed"), he's barking along with the drums and his previously recorded percussion, the John Lee Hooker from hell groover "Shake It" and bleeding rock "Baby Gonna Leave Me" prime examples. Your foot won't not pound the floor in unision.

I don't know exactly what people who buy Real Gone for an introduction to Tom Waits will think, but longtime listeners will laugh and cry the whole way through, marvelling at the most undeappreciated musician of the last 50 years, somone having long ago deserved the respect and awe names such as Bob Dylan instantly conjure. At the very least, the coverage in magazines and newspaper. Anyone notice how small the mentions of his musical doings are these days?

...Tom Waits. REAL GONE is the latest chapter from the 30+ year career of Tom Waits. He has made a career of delivering his message wrapped in a variety of dressings, Skewed night club stylings, Beat derived jazz poetry, demented Tin Pan Alley tunes and experimental takes on Delta Blues. This release definately takes on the latter.

Backed by a talented crew featuring the welcome return of guitarist Marc Ribot( his dirty guitar tones are custom made for Waits material) and Primus' bass extrodinaire Les Claypool, Waits lays down what has to be his most primal set to date. Where BONE MACHINE's harshness was levened by the occasional ballad, REAL GONE is an unrelenting set of cacophony and insistant rhythyms, even the queiter moments are raw and filled with dread.

There are a number of fine songs that rank with the best in the Waits canon, including the 10 minute plus SINS OF MY FATHER, the primitive blues of SHAKE IT, the rustic flavored TRAMPLED ROSE, the deep-fried blues stomp of HOIST THAT RAG and sublime soldier's letter to home DAY AFTER TOMORROW (the album's tenderest moment).

On the other hand there are a few tracks that may not have passed the cut of an editor such as the incessant opener, TOP OF THE HILL(featuring Tom the human beatbox), and the mostly spoken tracks, CIRCUS and CLANG, BOOM, STEAM. While good, they are not essential, though they do fit in the general overall tone of the album. Also worth mention is that he his using the same templete used on both BONE MACHINE and MULE VARIATIONS. Some of the arrangements and topics feel familiar. Still these are minor quibbles.

All in all, this is a fine work by Waits that will be especially appreciated by those that came on board with either SWORDFISHTROMBONES or BONE MACHINE, and are undeterred by his more experimental timbres. It's been a long road from HEART OF SATURDAY NIGHT or CLOSING TIME to this, and those who are predispositioned to his early work may find this tough to swallow. Neophytes to Waits would be advised to aproach carefully. This is unusually harsh stuff from a man whose voice at it's most melodic makes a garbage disposal sound like Sam Cooke. Still this is an excellent work by an artist with a unique vision and approach, and a welcome addition to his fine catalog. 4 3/4 stars.

While Rain Dogs is still probably the best introduction for those looking to explore the strange world of Tom Waits, Real Gone proves that even two decades after the release of that masterpiece, Waits's music remains as resolutely idiosyncratic and resistant to classification as ever. Real Gone is an often challenging, occasionally uncomfortable, but always interesting listen that only serves to reaffirm Waits's penchant for sonic exploration and experimentation. Even as he moves into his 50's, Waits remains a committed iconoclast, and as usual there are no apologies for it to be found here. The Rolling Stones may still be selling out stadiums long past their prime, but Waits is still putting out brilliant albums, and that should count for something.

Throughout its fifteen tracks, Real Gone is yet another stylistically diverse and lyrically profound album that covers a wide range of moods and always sounds great doing it. For the most part, the songs veer between clamorous, cantankerous, cacophanous electric blues and reflective, sparsely instrumented balladry. Not suprisingly, the lyrics are filled with philosophical ramblings and unromantic tales of love and loss, but in a musical climate where snivelling wimps whining about getting dumped in high school get taken seriously, I wouldn't have it any other way. Waits's trademark smoky howl is still in fine form, and the music is as unpredictable and unbound by genre as ever, incorporating screeching electric guitars, gentle acoustics, eclectic percussion, and even some vocal beatboxing. This album is simply littered with classics: the stuttering, staggering opener Top of the Hill; the intricate, impassioned, Hoist That Rag; the quietly introspective Sins of My Father ("Everthing I done is between God and me"--love that line); the bluesy foot-stomper Don't Go Into That Barn; the roaring, wildly infectious Metropolitan Glide and Make It Rain; the eerie, female vocal-accented Trampled Rose; and, well, pretty much everything else.

All that said, though, in this case Waits may well have saved the best for last. For the album's closer, The Day After Tomorrow, Waits takes on the hot-button topic of the war in Iraq, using a simple and even slightly cliched device (a soldier's letter home to his significant other) to cut through the tired sloganeering that so often dominates both sides of the debate. Fleshed out with nothing more than some minimal guitar strumming and written in beautifully poetic style, this song manages to do no less than sum up much of what's universal in human life. Since my description couldn't do this song justice, here's a sample of the lyrical genius to be found within:

You can't deny
The other side
Don't wanna die
Any more than we do
What I'm trying to say
Is don't they pray,
To the same God that we do?
Tell me how does God Choose,
Whose prayers does he refuse
Who turns the wheel
And who throws the dice
On the day after tomorrow?

I'm not fighting for justice
I am not fighting for freedom
I am fighting
For my life
And another day
In the world here
I just do what I've been told
You're just the gravel on the road
And the ones that are lucky
Ones come home
On the day after tomorrow

Take that, Toby Keith (not to mention all the shrill anti-war voices who manage to be equally annoying and self-righteous)! As this little snippet illustrates graphically, if there's anyone who can dispense with propaganda and just tell a good story, it's Tom Waits. While his individualistic approach will most likely never gain him the mainstream recognition he deserves, Waits still deserves to be commended, as Real Gone shows him to be among music's most reliable sources of quality material even more than three decades into his career. Forget current fashion; we might be looking at the best album of 2004 in this one.

When you open Tom Waits' newest cd you are greeted with a blurry silhouette of him howling like a beast might at a full moon. This sets the tone of what's coming next--the music. At times Tom can be a spluttering old jalopy ("Top Of The Hill"), or a menacing ex-convict ("Hoist That Rag"), or a reflective damned soul seeking redemption ("Sins Of The Father"), or a lunatic drill sargeant shouting out commands to his weary soldiers ("Don't Go Into The Barn"). Tom can be everything, and with his masterful ability to tell tales of woe and misery, and capture the human condition at its most destitute and forlorn stages gives Robert Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters and other famous bluesmen a run for their money.

"Real Gone" utilizes some new sonics such as vocal beatboxing and deranged guitars, experimental noises and found sounds to make and odd symphony that's just as rewarding as "Mule Variations", "Blood Money" and "Bone Machine". I particularly enjoyed the drunken deranged broken record player stylings of "Shake It" where it moves from one pace to another and one key to another key. Les Claypool of Primus certainly adds the right touches to Tom's already unique style. Be prepared like "Mule Variations" to sit through 72 minutes of whacked out experimental music in the form of blues, folk, ragtime and rhythm and blues Tom-style.

Certainly a pioneer of his own original sound, Tom Waits continues to be one of a few troubadors that won't bend to record company schlock. My hope is, at 55, that we don't lose such an original talent to cancer like we lost Warren Zevon. The smoking has certainly aided Tom in creating a voice to suit his brand of music very well. Here's to more experimental works, and maybe old Tom has a few more musical tricks up his sleeve yet. If you are new to Waits this is a decent place to start and work your way back, but really all of his albums are essential. He's one of the few artists to make decent albums throughout his career.

Fans of Tom Waits' whiskey soaked ballads might be a little stumped by his latest hat trick. Let's just say, he's finally let the piano sleep this one off.

This is Waits' most raw & spontaneous work to date, separating the regulars from the tourists. The devotees from the connoisseurs. Fans only of his melodic side will run screaming from the room. The more musically open minded will be thrilled. This is about as close as Waits gets to The Stooges FUNHOUSE.

The use of turntables & vocal beat boxing might be too much for some narrow minded listers, but "Top Of The Hill" is a jaunty, infectious opener to a record that more or less seems bent on stabbing it's way out of hell. Lyrically, Waits never lets you down. Love that line, "We're getting married in the pouring rain".

On the whole, REAL GONE sounds like a bunch of pissed off drunks kicking a dump yard's worth of rusty, old junk around. But Mark Ribot's Latin guitar stylings on "Hoist That Rag" mark a welcome return. Elsewhere he seems bent on ripping the flesh off what's left of The Blues.

"Sins Of The Father" clocks in at nearly 10 minutes but is a far cry from his answer to "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands". Though destined to become his least requested number, the groove is hypnotic. So don't drive or operate machinery while under the influence.

On "Don't Go Into That Barn" he sounds like a cross between Capt.Beefheart & Ethel Merman with her hair on fire. "Shake It" pretty much sums the whole album up with the line, "Feel like a preacher waving a gun around".

"How's It Gonna End" & "Dead & Lovely" are the kind of songs fans love him for. The kind of stuff that sneaks up on you in the dark. The same goes for "Trampled Rose" & "Green Grass", both of which capture Waits at his most haunting.

No Waits album would be complete without his signature "spoken word" selection. Let's just say it's not the sort of thing you bring home to mother. The don't call that orangutang "Tripod" for nothing.

For my money the best track on here is the Gospel barnstormer, "Make It Rain". Classic Waits. I can't get enough of it.

"Day After Tomorrow" is likely to court some controversy. And many could say this is Waits' most political album but regardless of your views, it's the perfect closer after all the chaos he unleashes here. A world weary shake of the head, before burying the whole bloody concussion of it all in a pair of soiled hands.

Waits has gone on record as saying alot of this was done in 1 take. Well, you can't believe everything he says in print. But REAL GONE certainly sounds that way. Part the curtains, & it's Waits at his vital best. Not only challenging himself, but longtime listeners as well. Best album I've heard in 2004. Being a near 20 year fan, I rank it up alongside his best work.

My goodness. What/who is this man?

I had no previous exposure to Tom Waits. No knowledge of him other than recognizing his name from some_unknown_where. I'd heard a brief clip of him singing something (I don't believe it was from this project), I love the blues, and I decided to purchase this CD blind.

Since I have no other Tom Waits material to compare this to, this review will focus on the album as it hits an uninitiated ear.

To others who don't know what to expect, think of Frank Zappa on downers meets the Blues meets Louis Armstrong with a bad case of laryngitis. Rephrased: the most creative, avant guard, experimental, weird, dark, bluesy, disturbing, obscure lyrics I've ever heard set to completely uninhibited music and sung by one of the most gravely voices I can imagine.

Wow. My head is still coming out of its funk from listening to this an hour ago. I'm serious.

When I inserted the CD I was first hit with chaos, and the chaos lasted for a couple of more tracks. I honestly thought it would be more than my highly tolerant mind could bear to make it through the first song (which itself didn't let up for one moment). But I did make it, and I'm glad. By the time the CD cycled around to track 1 again, I loved the song I thought I hated at first. Waits successfully shattered my defenses.

This man is a phenomenon and so is this CD. Unbelievable stuff. I highly recommend it, but not for the timid or intolerant. This is far, far beyond what the regular listener can handle.

I originally bought this CD when if first came out...and I'm glad I didn't write a review.

I'm glad, because if I had, I wouldn't have given it very high marks. Originally I though Tom had gone too far out, or perhaps was trying too hard to get off the beaten path. My original CD met it's demise when my 5 year old sat on it in the car, and it was subsequently thrown away.

Thankfully, I'm a Tom Waits completist. So, a year later, I reordered the CD...and I must admit that my initial judgement concerning the album was wrong...'Real Gone' is really good....and when I say good, I'm saying that I think this album is every bit as good as 'Bone Machine' or 'Mule Variations'...

"Real Gone" seems much darker than previous albums...and that darker element is even further enhanced by the certain muddiness of the mix - kind of like this was put together in the cellar of an old barn out back in the woods where the whiskey still used to be...in fact, it sounds as though some of the parts of that old still were incorporated into the recording process. Mr. Waits still knows how to make a racket, I'd love to have him as my neighbor....he really hits the mark on songs like "Hoist that Rag" and "Metropolitan Glide"...the only low point, in my opinion, is the spoken word "Circus" which is too predictible - even for Tom Waits...sounds like an outtake from 'The Black Rider,' which is where it might've been better suited.

They say "Sins of the Father" clocks in somewhere around 9 minutes - I don't know, because I've never timed it...that is a brilliant song from start to finish. "Green Grass" is another sad gem..."Make it Rain" is a rocker, featuring Tom's son on the drums...

This is one of those albums that takes a while to grow on you - I know that was the case with me, and I'm glad I took the time to get reaquanted with it...Thank you Tom, for another terrific set of music.

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.

Let me preface this review by saying that I own every Tom Waits recording known to man, and he remains head and shoulders above any other musician when it comes to my personal tastes.

With that said, Real Gone is an interesting work. If you were going to link this album to any of his previous works, the Bone Machine would be an appropriate fit - sounds good in theory, since the Bone Machine is possibly one of my favorite Waits albums. However, Tom's focus on Real Gone has narrowed a bit, and the variation between tracks that has been one of his hallmarks over his career suffers. I've never been crazy about his personal distorted beat-box routine, and he revists it frequently on this record. He seems to have taken an axe to his piano, used it for fire wood, moved into a shack in the middle of some Louisiana Bayou, and layed down this fascinating yet suspect work.

"Make it Rain" and "Hoist that Rag" are my standout tracks - other than that, the album is pretty even keel.

Let me be clear - Tom Waits the crooner, for the most part, does not make an appearance on this album. This is down and dirty Tom, love it or leave it. I'll do a little of both.