Audio CD review:
Tom Waits - The Black Rider (1993 Studio Cast)

Tom Waits - The Black Rider (1993 Studio Cast)

Band: Tom Waits Title: The Black Rider (1993 Studio Cast) Rating: Release Date: 1993-11-02 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Lucky Day (Overture) 2: The Black Rider 3: November 4: Just the Right Bullets 5: Black Box Theme 6: 'Tain't No Sin - Tom Waits, Donaldson, Walter 7: Flash Pan Hunter (Intro) 8: That's the Way 9: The Briar and the Rose 10: Russian Dance 11: Gospel Train 12: I'll Shoot the Moon 13: Flash Pan Hunter 14: Crossroads 15: Gospel Train 16: Oily Night 17: Lucky Day 18: The Last Rose of Summer 19: Carnival

Waits' best ... Carnival music (which is just the creepy version of a waltz anyway) and avant-garde orchestrations brought a whole new aspect of Tom Waits to the foreground at the time. What a perfect project for Tom Waits! Like Woyzeck (Blood Money), not to mention Alice, The Black Rider (Der Freischutz) is perfectly complimented by Waits' inimitable style(s). Now, he's done the aforementioned albums and so, looking back, it only seems natural. William S. Burroughs (of which I'm a huge fan as well) co-wrote many selections and is even featured vocally on "TAint No Sin". So, his inclusion is even more of a treat, which shows why this is my biased review, as well favourite album. I do agree with the previous reviewers here, in that I would not recommend this album as an introduction to Waits. Other more accessible albums would be better (perhaps Alice, Heartattack and Vine, Rain Dogs, Heart of Saturday Night - maybe even Real Gone). Nevertheless, once you're initiated, there's no better album in the Tom Waits' catalog. . The Waits Rider. Pick it up If you havent already. Yes Rain Dogs, Bone Machine, and maybe even Mule Variations, Closing Time or Alice, are indeed the great works by Tom Waits - But The Black Rider is the most sublime and un-selfconcious and inspired in my opinion. Macabre and strangely addictive Tom Waits's THE BLACK RIDER is one of his most ecclectic albums. . and that's saying a lot, as Waits fans well-know. RIDER features instrumentals that are just as disturbing as some of the lyrics. The saw in "November" will have you looking over your shoulder; the macabre recitation that opens the album will have you dreading what comes next. Written/arranged/compiled with sidekick Greg Cohen, as well as William Burroughs, RIDER comes off as a piece of art--a portrait all its own, where the sum of its parts merge to create a picture whose image is distorted and out of focus, but is no less beautiful. RIDER is proof that a Tom Waits record is thoroughly a Tom Waits record; there are a couple songs here he doesn't even play on, yet you have no doubt that it is pure Tom Waits. Tom Waits is not just a musical artist, he's a musical EVENT, and THE BLACK RIDER is the perfect example. Still. . . for anyone just getting started with Waits's music, you might want to go elsewhere first. RIDER is not for the uninitiated. And the first one's always free... The music on this album is arranged differently than that from the stage show, and all the main vocals are by Tom Waits. First off, to the best of my knowledge there is no commerically released cast recording of The Black Rider. That being said, this is easily Tom Waits's most underappreciated album. On a first listen, it can be intimidating; even die-hard fans of Real Gone may have trouble getting through tracks like "Oily Night". The lyrics are, let's face it, terrifying, and if you're not expecting it, it's rather jarring. The thing about the album is that once you hear it, you just have to hear it again. It crawls into your head and just won't get out. It's easy to see why The Black Rider has a cult following. It's seductive and entrancing, and it just won't let you go. Post-Rock Kurt Weill+More Not since The Doors' rendition of Alabama Song has their been such perfect cabaret-art rock - though to be fair such music really defies any strict attempts at categorizing. Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant. It's just great music. You can see a complete list of all Tom Waits discography, or go back to the Tom Waits tabs