Closing Time: Tom Waits: Amazon.ca: Music

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Small Change ~ Tom Waits Audio CD CDN$ 13.63

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1. Ol' '55

2. I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You

3. Virginia Avenue

4. Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards)

5. Midnight Lullaby

6. Martha

7. Rosie

8. Lonely

9. Ice Cream Man

10. Little Trip To Heaven (On The Wings Of Your Love)

11. Grapefruit Moon

12. Closing Time

Product Description

From Amazon.co.uk

It starts with a sunrise, it ends with "one star shining", and in between Closing Time contains an honest year's worth (1973, to be exact) of sweet, melodic, vintage Tom Waits--minus some of the vocal growl and thematic grit of his later stuff (but you can see it coming). Waltzes, lullabies, blues, jazz, you name it. Driving songs and drinking songs, even an honest to gosh country tune: "Rosie." There are torchers ("Lonely"), scorchers ("Ice Cream Man"), and back- porch senior citizen love songs ("Martha"): "Those were the days of roses/Poetry and prose, and/Martha, all I had was you and all you had was me." Other standouts are "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" (guess what--he does!) and "Grapefruit Moon", in which Waits croons: "Every time I hear that melody, something breaks inside." Hang on to your hearts and hats, folks. --Dan Leone

Amazon.com essential recording

It starts with a sunrise, it ends with "one star shining," and in between Closing Time contains an honest year's worth (1973, to be exact) of sweet, melodic, vintage Tom Waits--minus some of the vocal growl and thematic grit of his later stuff (but you can see it coming). Waltzes, lullabies, blues, jazz, you name it. Driving songs and drinking songs, even an honest to gosh country tune: "Rosie." There are torchers ("Lonely"), scorchers ("Ice Cream Man"), and back-porch senior citizen love songs ("Martha"): "Those were the days of roses/Poetry and prose, and/Martha, all I had was you and all you had was me." Other standouts are "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" (guess what--he does!) and "Grapefruit Moon," in which Waits croons: "Every time I hear that melody, something breaks inside." Hang on to your hearts and hats, folks. --Dan Leone

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Customer Reviews

79 Reviews

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (79 customer reviews)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Just Buy It, Jun 9 2004

By

Darrin Dean Hotrum (Salem, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Closing Time (Audio CD)

Before Tom Waits became so uniquely original he was simply a balladeer. Back in 1973 Tom Waits wasn't singing about those topics that only he could think of like the 'Big Black Maria' (Rain Dogs) or cookin up a 'Filipino Box Spring Hog' (Mule Variations). No, back then he sang about love.

Below is my take on each song on the album. It is not a perfect album. There are some weak tracks. But it is an album that every self respecting music fan should own.

Ol' 55 - Arguably the best song he has ever written and that is saying quite a bit for such a legendary musician.

I Hope That I Don't... - From a great song to this you may think he's not as good as you thought. Be patient, it gets better. This song is reminiscent of the Bob Dylan song 'Eternal Circle' (See the 'Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3'). It is told in that conversational style that Dylan used. In my opinion, one of the weaker tracks, but still not so bad you would want to skip it.

Virginia Avenue - A jazzy song that is a little glimpse of what is to come from Tom Waits.

Old Shoes - This is what country music should sound like. A great song with an inviting groove.

Midnight Lullaby - Sounds best after two or three Jack and Coke's. Another great one.

Martha - Beautiful. If I weren't a grown man it would make me cry. If you've ever tried to reconnect with a lover you wish you never lost, this song will take you back to how you felt.

Rosie - A 'come back lover' song that actually sounds cool.

Lonely - Here's where the album takes a down turn. This is very much a skip-able track. A good reason why sometimes you shouldn't write music on the piano. Sometimes it just doesn't work to be signing the same notes you're playing.

Ice Cream Man - Waits comes out swinging with a rock-a-billy "I don't want to hang up my Rock 'n Roll shoes" type song (If you don't know what I'm talking about go buy The Band's 'Rock of Ages' Album). Not bad, but it sounds like a stretch for him at the time.

Little Trip... - By this point in the album I'm a little tired of the ballads and this doesn't help. In contrast to the love songs that were done well this one is lacking lyrically and musically.

Grapefruit Moon - Not bad, but by this time it is clear that his best material has been used up.

Closing Time - Instrumental. A nice way to close out the album.

So to sum up. If you don't own it, buy it.

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5.0 out of 5 stars possibly Tom Wait's greatest album, Jun 19 2006

By

Ms. H. Sinton "dragondrums" (Ingleby Barwick. U.K.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Closing Time (Audio CD)

Closing Time is not as dark or quirky as some of the later Tom Waits albums and is an excellent introduction if you are unfamiliar with his music. This album is a beautiful blend of blues and jazz with a hint of country for good measure all delivered by Toms' wonderful smoky, gravelly voice. Although a lot more mellow than later offerings such as Rain Dogs and Swordfish, that indefinable uniqueness that is Tom Waits is still visible.

Particularly outstanding are the tracks `Midnight Lullaby', `Martha' and `Grapefruit Moon' although there isn't a single track on this CD that isn't good on this near perfect album. This is one to put on when the lights are low and you just want to kick off your shoes and relax.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime and the perfect record...end of story, period..., July 3 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Closing Time (Audio CD)

Without a doubt, Waits' best work (yes, I'm getting on my stump - above "Small Change", and I have them all...). Tom's lyrics are easy, profound, and are shared with passion and ease. Top props go to "Martha" - there is no concise way to capture the deep emotion of these lyrics.

Thank you, Tom, for giving us "Martha", "Grapefruit Moon", "Closing Time", and all of the other amazing songs on this record; in a loose way, you gave us the soundtrack to Bukowski's "You Get So Alone at Times...". To all other Waits fans, or those checking out Tom for the first time, absolutely get this record.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Waits' Best Album. Period.
Tom Waits is a brilliant singer/songwriter, and a true performer. This artist has accomplished quite a bit in his long and interesting career. Read more

Published on Jun 2 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars The standard
If I had to choose an album that changed my life and the way I listen and play it's Closing Time.

Here are some of the album's highlights:
Ol' 55's laid back country... Read more