Heartattack and Vine

Amazon.com essential recording
Tom Waits's hipster persona began to evaporate at the beginning of the '80s, but not before he released the transitional but eminently worthwhile Heartattack and Vine, which contained "On the Nickel," a Dickensian tale of street life, and "Jersey Girl," a song Bruce Springsteen gave a far wider airing to on his Live 1975-1985 box set. You can hear hints of Waits's style growing more trenchant on songs like "Downtown" and the stark, bluesy title track, which contains the immortal line "Don't you know there ain't no devil / That's just God when he's drunk." Indeed. --Daniel Durchholz

Heartattack and Vine,Tom Waits,Elektra / Wea,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop,Singer/Songwriter

Heartattack and Vine

Average customer rating:

Haunting, gritty, and ironic
I only have 6 Waits Albums...
Hardly Recognize Yourself on Heart Attack and Vine
Love Gone Wrong For A Modern Day Poet!!!
A Classic

Heartattack and Vine
Tom Waits
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000002GWR
Release Date: 1990-10-12

Tracks:

Heartattack And Vine
In Shades
Saving All My Love For You
Downtown
Jersey Girl
'Til The Money Runs Out
On The Nickel
Mr. Siegal
Ruby's Arms

Amazon.com essential recording

Tom Waits's hipster persona began to evaporate at the beginning of the '80s, but not before he released the transitional but eminently worthwhile Heartattack and Vine, which contained "On the Nickel," a Dickensian tale of street life, and "Jersey Girl," a song Bruce Springsteen gave a far wider airing to on his Live 1975-1985 box set. You can hear hints of Waits's style growing more trenchant on songs like "Downtown" and the stark, bluesy title track, which contains the immortal line "Don't you know there ain't no devil / That's just God when he's drunk." Indeed. --Daniel Durchholz

Customer Reviews:

Haunting, gritty, and ironic.......2007-01-02

HEARTATTACK AND VINE offers a preview of the Waits to come: the CLOSING TIME and BLUE VALENTINE Waits evolving into the SWORDFISHTROMBONES and RAIN DOGS Waits. It features the gritty, life on the street characters of his previous work (especially the elloquent "On the Nickel"), but starts to do so in a different fashion. The title track and "Mr. Siegal" are bluesy romps (the former declaring that "There ain't no Devil, there's just God when He's drunk"). "Jersey Girl" borders on pop balladry, while "Ruby's Arms" is simply a melodic stunner.

The Devil's in the details, though, and that's where HEARTATTACK truly shines. Listen, why don't you, to the "sha la la" chorus of "Jersey Girl." The passionate urgency Waits puts into his vocals borders on parody, yet rings with the angst of a man yearning for the woman he loves, the one bright point in an otherwise bleary day. The way he growls out the title track, and the tender way he croons the line "I'll prolly be arrested when I'm in my grave, but I'll be saving all my love for you", showcase his emerging talent for delivering lines with ironical perfection. HEARTATTACK is a transitional record, but it is definitely one worth owning. One of his best, actually.

I only have 6 Waits Albums..........2006-11-08

...and this one, so different from his Weill stuff, it just gets me. One of my top five favorite records ever.
So romantic, and so well-put in the poetry. Apart from the obvious winners, "Ruby's Arms," "Jersey Girl,"
"On The Nickel," and "Downtown," there's so much fun with "Mr. Siegal" and the title track. An absolutely
excellent piece of work, even if Mr. Waits ain't your regular chaw musically.

Hardly Recognize Yourself on Heart Attack and Vine.......2006-08-23

Throughout the 1970's, Tom Waits desperately sought to craft himself as a traditional balladeer, a singer-songwriter for the masses. This process was always undermined, though, by the fact that every time he tried to sing an emphatic note, he sounded like a blue tick hound with its scrotum caught in a revolving door. It was with this 1980 release that he came to realize this wasn't a handicap, it was an instrument he could play as effectively as he played his guitar and piano.

Ranging from gentle love songs to incendiary electric blues to lush orchestral movie music, this album is all over the map. It is unified primarily by the vigor of Waits' growling voice and the vinegar of his songwriting. With a Dylanesque nonlinear style and an inclusiveness that remembers the influence of songwriters from John Lennon to Gram Parsons, Waits has crafted a rootsy, aggressive slate of songs that almost dares you to flinch.

This album is a transition from Waits' earlier to his later sound, and he has yet to break out into the uncompromising shotgun blast that he would acheive with albums like Mule Variations and Swordfishtrombones. But it is also is a powerful and listenable album that marks an epoch in Waits' development as an artist. Excellent highway music, this album is a treasure that you will keep close to the heart of your CD collection for years to come.

Love Gone Wrong For A Modern Day Poet!!!.......2005-06-05

This would have to be my favourite album by Tom Waits. In his Whiskey Hardened Gravelly Voice he sings about Love Gone Wrong and little hope for Redemption. In the track Saving All My Love For You some of the lyrics contain "I paid fifteen dollars for a prostitute, with too much makeup and a broken shoe. But her eyes were just a counterfeit , she tried to gyp me out. Don't she know that I am still in love with you?". Tom also sings about Goood Loving Gone Sad on the very sad and wistful "Ruby's Arms" This is an excellent album to listen to if you ever come home alone at 3.00 am and are thinking about The One That Got Away.

A Classic.......2005-01-11

When I discovered Wait's Mule Variations, I thought I found the most rare treasure: the best album by Tom Waits. I was wrong. This extraordinary album is one of the most original, thoughtful, beautiful, and exciting pieces of work that I have ever heard. If you don't have this, get it immediately. Another great thing, is you could be in any kind of mood to listen to it: it is that universal. Thank you Tom Waits, for an inspirational wonderful classic.

Average customer rating:

Masterpiece

Heartattack And Vine
Tom Waits
Manufacturer: Elektra
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00006ZUG4

Customer Reviews:

Masterpiece.......2007-07-25

This was the place I discovered the magic of Tom Waits. I appreciate his flowing ballads more than his talking blues style, but this album has plenty of both. Saving All My Love For You is a magnificent example of the former, and so is Jersey Girl, the stirring ballad later covered by Bruce Springsteen. The lyrics are sheer poetry. On The Nickel is another gem, with intricate arrangement and beautiful instrumentation, while Mr Siegel is a raucous mixture of both styles, and a brilliant achievement at that. This excellent album concludes with Ruby's Arms, a tender, moving ballad.

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