Customer Reviews

Black Rider

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's not always easy to discern the logic behind the organization of a Tom Waits album; fortunately the man is a good enough musician to get away with juxtaposing music of widely differing themes and styles all on the same disc. It's even harder to follow the soundtracks to the multiple stage-productions for which he has written music, since there is no way to tell where each song and instrumental number fits in the universal scheme of the plot.

When dealing with Tom Waits, again, it doesn't really matter. Few of us were lucky enough to be hanging around the Thalia theatre when The Black Rider had its run ... I wasn't even ten years old at the time! Even fewer of us could recite the Black Rider story on call; it's an old German folk tale that was also set to music by Carl Maria von Weber in the 19th century. Consequently, I know little more about the illustrious old tale than I could gather from the liner notes here. But I still love the album dearly.

The more releases we see from living legend Waits, the more it seems that he can't make a CD without the stamp of brilliance on it. Some of these songs easily rank with the best of his career. "Just the Right Bullets" is mind-blowing, and the instrumental backing has a sound I haven't found in any of Waits' other work. "The Briar and the Rose," with its allusions to Waits' wife, Kathleen Brennan, is among the very best of his ballads. Nor is there any way to beat the carnival-barking announcement of the opening track, announcing an exhibition of "human oddities." Indeed.

What makes The Black Rider unusual, perhaps, is the presense of a large number of instrumentals. Of course, Waits had been writing them for a long time -- listen to "Rainbirds" on Swordfishtrombones or "Midtown" on Rain Dogs -- but they reach a new prominence here. Some of them are simply short episodes of connecting music, while others, like "Gospel Train" and "Russian Dance" are long pieces of brilliant and often quite radical music. "Gospel Train," in particular, must rank as just about the most deliciously dissonant four minutes in all popular music. The vocal version of "Gospel Train" even features train noises from Tom!

One other feature of this CD that receives quite a bit of comment is the presense of William Burroughs. I'm not sure that his sprechstimme delivery of "'Tain't no Sin" adds a whole lot to the album, but it certainly doesn't detract. And the lyrics on that song are wonderful: "When it's too hot for comfort / And you can't get an ice cream cone / 'Tain't no sin to take off your skin / And dance around in your bones."

In the end, this is certainly not the Waits album I would give to someone unfamiliar with his work. It could take some getting used to, though I enjoyed it from the beginning. Certainly the logic behind the music is very hard to determine in absence of the theatrical context, but the "remainders," as it were, are more than enough for a feast of very quirky musical enjoyment. Highly recommended!

This is probably very nice to drink whiskey and smoke cigars to. As a piece of musical theatre it is mainly confusing.

I have never seen any actual production of this so called (?) musical play, neither does the booklet offer an understandable synopsis. Yet do few if any of these songs seem to do anything like furthering the plot, develop characters or even comment on the action.

"Mood pieces" also occationally pop up in dramaturgic settings, but they do not form a complete musical alone.

Breaking the rules within the frames of musical theatre is of course seldom anything but excellent. But to break those rules one must first know and understand them. One's mind invariably turns to the master Sondheim. In the end The Black Rider turns out to be more like a play with songs than a musical.

One subjective demand I make for songs is that they ought to be good to sing. These songs seem dependent on mr Waits' voice, and simply do not "lay well" in the mouth..

If you wish background music, this is probably no worse a choice than anything else. If you wish to experience real musical theatre, try something like Sweeney Todd instead.

This is Tom Waits's most original album by far. There are no regurgatated melodies from blues, jazz, and country like on previous efforts. Instead they are ripped of from romani folk music and circus tunes, however thats not meant as a criticism. These styles suit his voice quite well. It's not that his lyrics are better, or the presence of William B., it's the wonderfull back-up band he has this time around that makes this C.D. a must own. The orchestra is fabulous and the tunes are unique. Tom likes to experiment but too often experiment ends up meaning play very slowly with the intonation just a bit off. On this release he writes some great tunes that are fun even in an instrumental way. The music probably turned out so great because it was done for a play, which meant that Tom got slightly more ambitous with his orchestration and melody choices. Goot thing too as you are unlikely to ever hear a more oringinal Tom Waits album. 'November' in particular makes me cry everytime. Highly reccomended.

I think it's Based on Weber's 'Der Freishutz' but I could be mistaken, the idea for it may be a common theme. A Bit like Faust in that he sells his soul and comes out poorly in his dealing with the devil. You also get to hear the Late William S Burroughs sing! The track "Just the Right Bullets" might be my favorite, but they are uniformly good, I don't find myself clicking through tracks on it. Tom Waits uses different voices through it, it's a good recording, I think you should buy it. I just want you to be happy, that's my only little wish.

Black Rider is one of the most original, thought provoking, interesting, and just plain one of the best cds out there. This is what Tom Waits does, creates music for the intelligent listener. He teamed with William Burroughs on this album, which I think is what helps give it its distinct flair. I don't review much music, so for me to have come to review this cd shows how much I respect Tom Waits, and especially this album.

I was always of the opinion that Tom's years at Island Records were his most ingenius (though this year's double release of "Alice" and "Blood Money" quite possibly changed all that), and I have always disagreed with the folks (well-intentioned though they may be) that say "Bone Machine" was the last "true" Tom Waits album before the release of "Mule Variations." I personally see Tom all over this album. Granted, I did not have the privelege of actually seeing a stage production of "The Black Rider," and the only things I know about the plot I got from the liner notes. Still, I think something in this play must have touched Tom's soul in a profound way. To chart this album on the Waits map, I'd put it about halfway between his wild and ambitious late-80s project "Franks Wild Years" and his just-released tearfully touching opus "Alice." It is, of course, no coincidence that those two albums were also the results of theatric endeavours. Still, "The Black Rider" is unique in that the story itself was not a product of Waits's imagination, yet he seems to relate to it almost as if it were. "November," "That's the Way," and "Briar and the Rose" lend touches of real beauty to this album. "Briar and the Rose" especially would not seem out of place on "Alice," while "Just the Right Bullets" and "Crossroads" seem to let you in on what Tom really thinks about the whole mess. The instrumentals on this are cacophonous even for Waits, which may or may not turn you on, depending on taste. Of course, no Waits album would be complete without the glitz of the carnival scene making an appearance in some form. We get this on the opening track, with Tom giving his own rendition of barker patter. (Real Waits listeners will no doubt notice within this opening track an incarnation of the freak who makes an appearance on "Alice" as none other than Tabletop Joe.) All in all, most people will say this album is not for introductory listeners. I say that depends on what you're looking for in Tom Waits. If you're looking for his genius in all its freakishly beautiful glory, you'll find few purer concentrations than right here.

The Black Rider is a weird album for an artist noted for making weird albums. This might just be his weirdest. Not a regular Waits album, per se, and certainly not a "cast recording" as the listing states, The Black Rider evolved out of the Robert Wilson musical (with a libretto from William S. Burroughs) that Waits wrote the music for. What this album actually consists of are studio versions of some of these songs. It's roughly comparable to the style of Bone Machine, his previous studio album, but it's actually quite different. In fact, this album is unique in the Waits catalog. Though it has 20 tracks, there are only a handful of fully-formed Waits "songs": the rest being instrumentals, songs written with other people (such as Burroughs, who also "sings" several of the tracks), and short interludes between the more major tracks. This makes the album, along with Bone Machine and the recently released Alice, a fully-fledged, self-contained effort with a consistent sound, mood, and set of themes. One wonders how well the scattershot story - something involving the Devil, magic bullets, and lost love - translates onto the stage; as it stands here, the story is far from linear, but the lyrics are pure Waits... and enjoyable on their own. Burroughs actually brings down the songs he contributes to in my opinion - but I'm a Waits fan. This album usually is not mentioned when people reel off the names of Tom's studio albums, and it's easy to see why. I would approach this as a real work of Waits, but separate from his other albums - a satellite, spinning around them, but never quite coming into the same orbit. I've also seen people who regard this as a masterwork and his best album, and, while I don't agree with them, you can see where they're coming from, too. Simply put: not Wait's best album, but one that is unique in his catalog, and that you will want to own if you're a fan - might also be a way to attract non-Waits fans to Waits.

Upon first listen I felt disappointed with Waits' BLACK RIDER, hearing the same stuff I didn't like on BONE MACHINE (which I realize was/is hailed by many as one of Waits' finest recornding, but for which I still can't seem to get into). However, after a few more listens, and then a few more...etc. I totally fell in love with this album and consider it Waits't third "classic." The songs are hauntingly beautiful, musically daring, and surprisingly meoldic. The use of the saw in particular gives me goosebumps upon every listen. Along with SMALL CHANGE, FRANK'S WILD YEARS, and RAIN DOGS, BLACK RIDER comprises the top of Waits' musical output.

Ah, how soothing to listen to a few broken pianos in this age of synthesized pop. A previous reviewer has described this recording as post-beat apocalypse, and that really is it. Those looking for a Burroughs-piece have to be satisfied with a couple of tracks, though his influence circles throughout the recording. This is definately Tom's project, and might stun those that aren't adapted to his style. I would recommend purchasing this albulm only after listening to his previous albulm Bone Machine, which should introduce you to the hard edges and scratch.

Those who know that albulm can expect an explosion of the themes and sounds addressed there. Imagine Bone Machine transformed into an opera, performed on a cold, cloudy day in a German ruin, and given the mordant tones of a Burroughs monologue. The distant beauty of public ruins, symphonies of chains and accordions, dirt in the ground.

If you devote yourself a little to this recording you will pine to see the play is scored. After a while you may be able to imagine it yourself...

This album competes with Bone Machine for the place of Wait's best work. It's difficult, chaotic, and not for everyone, but those willing to make the effort to understand its peculiar language will be rewarded. All of Waits albums contain marvellous songs, but they are often uneven, containing individual numbers that border on banality. Like Bone Machine, this one succeeds as a whole album; it's consistent not only in the quality of the songs, but in their mood and theme. It may be the pinnacle and perfection of the eclectic, bizarre, and innovative style that Waits began to develop with Swordfishtrombones--a style I call "drunken country munster cabaret". But unlike his other albums in that vein, this one isn't marred by the cloying tiresome bruce springsteenish numbers that intrude in otherwise fine albums like Rain Dogs and Mule Variations. Don't let the critics and fans lie to you about this one. It's difficult, it's chaotic, but it's brilliant. It's a beautifully orchestrated trainwreck, and the most innovative thing Waits has ever done.