“Rosie”/Waits. This is early Waits, a phase of his career I’m less familiar with than “Swordfish Trombones” and after, but the sort of classic craft he shows off here (and which he still continued to wield, even amidst his later experimentations) is likely to send me scrambling back to catch what I missed. i think this was even his first album. the smoothness of his youthful voice is almost shocking in retrospect. Pretty melody, wonderful images (“sitting on the windowsill playing my horn”) and that irresistible lovelorn theme.
“Cocaine Blues”/Cash. Classic outlaw tune, from one of his live-in-prison albums. Folsom Prison? Few big names have handled such tunes with as much authenticity. He really spits it out. also, always love the sparse, spiky backing on these cuts.
Tom Waits – Closing time is probably my favorite album even though it is hard to choose just one when it comes to Tom Waits. There are probably quite a few songs by Tom Waits that nobody has ever heard of, hell some people have never heard of Tom Waits. This is just one of many of his great songs.
Johnny Cash: I believe the chooser of this song may have fallen into the same boat I was in. How do you pick a song from an artist such as Johnny Cash that wasn’t a hit, or a lesser played song off of an album. Once the Movie came out, People just listened to every Cash album they could get there hands on, but yeah, this might not have been one of the main songs he was known for, but excellent all the same.
Tom Waits – Rosie
I think the the thing that I love most about this track is the instrumentation. The piano up front, driving, with a nice touch of steel guitar and, I think it’s, upright bass – so warm. It allows a young, but still unique, voice to ride along nestled within – paired well with the lyrical imagery.
Johnny Cash – Cocaine Blues
For this one, the voice makes it – almost falling apart, first in laughter, then in hoarseness – The Man in Black rips into an otherwise somewhat simple, cautionary tale.
Rosie: A sad ballet that has a certain timeless quality to it. Upright piano and “Apricot tips in an indigo sky”; great combo; a fine, fine song.
Cocaine Blues: “Early one mornin’ while makin’ the rounds I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down…”…..wow this does not waste time and starts with a bang. I can see the draw to this one. A story that grabs from the first line and keeps you glued to the screen. I am not a big fan of country but love the magic of Johnny Cash singing. He got a certain quality to his voice that carries a power. I found a live version of this song on youtube that I liked more….. dynamic and lively (not as studiofied). Thumbs up
update and correction: I realize now the version I was first listening to was a Spotify version. I tend to make my playlist from Spotify. Ed “did” have a youtube version that was “live” and sounded much better than what I grabbed off Spotify.
Tom Waits – The voice I know is there somewhere, but without the gravel and gruff. Always thought of Waits as a great songwriter. This has the vibe of the time of it recording and release. I think early Zevon when I hear this one. Will need to revisit Closing Time again.
Johnny Cash – It’s become fashionable to like Johnny Cash of late, but he is still one I think of when thinking Country music roots. Great energy. Great audience.
Tom Waits – This is good. We tried to listen to Waits a few months ago and his voice was almost comical. Didn’t make it through side one. So harsh and gravelly. This is so toned down vs that. I might give him another shot if he’s got more smooth vocals like this.
Cash – Simultaneously country, rock and outlaw. Despite my hard rock and heavy metal interests, I’ve been a Cash fan for years. Started 20 years ago with daily openings of the audio department at circuit city with Ring of Fire. This is a great fun fast song that really exemplifies his “Outlaw” status. Not sure why, but i can relate to a lot of his lyrics. I find myself getting the jokes, laughing and singing along. I don’t like country, but I love Johnny Cash.
“Rosie”/Waits. This is early Waits, a phase of his career I’m less familiar with than “Swordfish Trombones” and after, but the sort of classic craft he shows off here (and which he still continued to wield, even amidst his later experimentations) is likely to send me scrambling back to catch what I missed. i think this was even his first album. the smoothness of his youthful voice is almost shocking in retrospect. Pretty melody, wonderful images (“sitting on the windowsill playing my horn”) and that irresistible lovelorn theme.
“Cocaine Blues”/Cash. Classic outlaw tune, from one of his live-in-prison albums. Folsom Prison? Few big names have handled such tunes with as much authenticity. He really spits it out. also, always love the sparse, spiky backing on these cuts.
Tom Waits – Closing time is probably my favorite album even though it is hard to choose just one when it comes to Tom Waits. There are probably quite a few songs by Tom Waits that nobody has ever heard of, hell some people have never heard of Tom Waits. This is just one of many of his great songs.
Johnny Cash: I believe the chooser of this song may have fallen into the same boat I was in. How do you pick a song from an artist such as Johnny Cash that wasn’t a hit, or a lesser played song off of an album. Once the Movie came out, People just listened to every Cash album they could get there hands on, but yeah, this might not have been one of the main songs he was known for, but excellent all the same.
Tom Waits – Rosie
I think the the thing that I love most about this track is the instrumentation. The piano up front, driving, with a nice touch of steel guitar and, I think it’s, upright bass – so warm. It allows a young, but still unique, voice to ride along nestled within – paired well with the lyrical imagery.
Johnny Cash – Cocaine Blues
For this one, the voice makes it – almost falling apart, first in laughter, then in hoarseness – The Man in Black rips into an otherwise somewhat simple, cautionary tale.
Rosie: A sad ballet that has a certain timeless quality to it. Upright piano and “Apricot tips in an indigo sky”; great combo; a fine, fine song.
Cocaine Blues: “Early one mornin’ while makin’ the rounds I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down…”…..wow this does not waste time and starts with a bang. I can see the draw to this one. A story that grabs from the first line and keeps you glued to the screen. I am not a big fan of country but love the magic of Johnny Cash singing. He got a certain quality to his voice that carries a power. I found a live version of this song on youtube that I liked more….. dynamic and lively (not as studiofied). Thumbs up
update and correction: I realize now the version I was first listening to was a Spotify version. I tend to make my playlist from Spotify. Ed “did” have a youtube version that was “live” and sounded much better than what I grabbed off Spotify.
Rebel.
Tom Waits – The voice I know is there somewhere, but without the gravel and gruff. Always thought of Waits as a great songwriter. This has the vibe of the time of it recording and release. I think early Zevon when I hear this one. Will need to revisit Closing Time again.
Johnny Cash – It’s become fashionable to like Johnny Cash of late, but he is still one I think of when thinking Country music roots. Great energy. Great audience.
https://youtu.be/cSZfUnCK5qk
Tom Waits – This is good. We tried to listen to Waits a few months ago and his voice was almost comical. Didn’t make it through side one. So harsh and gravelly. This is so toned down vs that. I might give him another shot if he’s got more smooth vocals like this.
Cash – Simultaneously country, rock and outlaw. Despite my hard rock and heavy metal interests, I’ve been a Cash fan for years. Started 20 years ago with daily openings of the audio department at circuit city with Ring of Fire. This is a great fun fast song that really exemplifies his “Outlaw” status. Not sure why, but i can relate to a lot of his lyrics. I find myself getting the jokes, laughing and singing along. I don’t like country, but I love Johnny Cash.