Tom Waits
Night on Earth (Island) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Waits fans will revel in this soundtrack from Jim Jarmusch`s movie, though it`s doubtful that this typically idiosyncratic disc would entice the uninitiated. Essentially, Waits` score revolves around one major melodic theme, ”Good Old World,” which appears in more than half of the album`s 16 cuts. They include the only three vocal tracks-co-written by Waits and wife Kathleen Brennan, with surreal, elegiac lyrics-which are sung by Waits in his inimitable lacerated croak. But Waits works ear-perking variations on said theme: with sentimental, tipsy violins, it`s ”Good Old World (waltz)”; with a bed of pizzicato strings overshadowed by ominous feedback guitar, it`s ”Los Angeles Mood”; with cocktail piano and a quarter-to-three jazz vibe, it`s
”New York Theme” (appropriately subtitled ”hey, you can have that heartattack outside buddy.”). ”Good Old World” also shows up as a lurching, Brechtian ”gypsy instrumental,” a style familiar to Waits devotees. Other notable tracks include ”Baby I`m Not a Baby Anymore,” a minimalist bump-and- grind with wailing, debauched sax, and the evocative ”Dragging a Dead Priest”-the title says it all.
Ratings:
Excellent (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Good (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Fair (STAR)(STAR)
Poor (STAR)
