Heartattack And Vine

I think I may have found my sweet spot with Tom Waits. Initially I didn't really like his 'pots and pans' era, though I have come round to it a bit more and the earlier stuff is a bit too rag-time-y for my tastes. This has the right balance to allow me to fully appreciate the story-telling. The title track is the best song -I think I actually would have heard Screaming Jay Hawkin's cover first as it was used on a Levi's ad growing up- but makes complete sense as a Waits song, in typically perverse fashion he then follows it with a seemingly live-sounding lounge blues instrumental which dissipates the excitement built up by the opener. I can't quite give it a 5 because of unevenness like that but it's a strong 4.

das andere war besser

I was delightfully surprised by Heartattack And Vine. Though I've heard it before, it did something different to me on this listen. I have to appreciate Waits as a lyricist, as there are several witty and clever lines that jump out with every additional listen. His songwriting ability is top tier, and I find I enoy Waits most when he's not trying to make avant-garde cavement rock with all kinds of instruments. I don't mind traditional blues when Waits does it, as his voice is interesting enough in this context for me to shrug off any set feelings about the genre. On Heartattack And Vine, Waits elevates

Unfortunately, it almost sounds like a parody now. So many jokes have been made about his distinct style reducing it to its most cliched and simple form. And this album sounds like that. It’s when he started really becoming the genius that he is. But this… still had some growing to do.

Ok I think I hated the first project I heard by him but this right here was the type of shit I needed to hear today. Jersey Girl should be an awful song but for some reason it’s fucking great.

This didn’t grip me as much as Bone Machine but man does this guy know how to write a ballad. They come out of nowhere when you least expect it.

Top bops: Jersey Girl- thought Springsteen wrote this! On the nickel Ruby’s arms Preferred the slower stuff but the faster bluesy tunes weren’t bad either!

A middling and inconsequential album from Tom. Very few moments which catch attention. 2.5/5 -> 3/5

27.10.2026 Beim Schreiben meiner Hausarbeit über JP Sartre und den Blick in der Philologischen Bibliothek

his voice is captivating

Genuinely surprised, I hated his cabaret album, but this one was great

That's clearly an album for musicians. It was easy to spot albums that were inspired by that.

Smoker-ass voice. I like the parts where he doesn't sing.

This an interesting transition album between his piano ballad focus of the 70s and his circus has come to town work in the 80s. In anyone else’s hands some of these tracks would be schmaltzy but there is a desperation in his voice (which in itself is the polar opposite of schmaltz) that stops it being too saccharine. I would have preferred a bit more of the

Bit torn on this. At points there are some lovely songs, the piano driven, orchestra support ones particularly (although they bordered on a bit too much at times) but there are also some lyrics and delivery that sounded almost childish and flippant which I found a bit jarring compared to the songs that were much more sincere and put me off the album as a whole.

His albums always remind me of unfinished musicals

I'll tell you this - I don't understand why I like Tom Waits, but goddammit, I like Tom Waits. A lot. I had never heard a single song of his before starting this project, and I've now heard 5 albums (which, let's be honest, is too many albums to be on a project without a single Tool album), and I've liked them all. Anyway, I think maybe Tom Waits is very much an "in the mood" listen. I think this is a pretty good album. Not one of his best, but pretty good, nonetheless. It starts out like gangbusters with the title track, which I would argue is the best track on the album, but there are several songs where it seems like Waits is trying to be, for lack of a better term, a crooner. it doesn't work. I like Waits's voice, and I think it makes sense for him to lean into it - but he's no songbird. So, for me, this album is a little slow.

Heartattack And Vine was an absolutely fantastic album. This album has a lot of what makes Tom Waits Tom Waits outside of the more weird elements in albums like Swordfishtrombones and Bone Machine. I always have known Tom Waits did a fair bit of piano ballads in some of his albums but this album still floored me with how beautiful it could get at points. That being said, when Tom was doing both of his styles, he did them very well here with the fantastic recording quality and the fact that his voice fit the songs very well no matter what when it really shouldn't have. I honestly can't find any bad things to even say about this record, it's just too good. Best Song: Ruby's Arms Worst Song: In Shades Side note: Last Tom Waits album, you know what that means: 1. Rain Dogs 2. Heartattack And Vine 3. Bone Machine 4. Swordfishtrombones 5. Nighthawks At The Diner

Interesting voice you have Mr Waits. Very distinct laid back style. OK, but not something I would ordinarily choose

Love this man's voice - and this could be his best album. Not only is his voice ridiculously good at telling a story by itself, he decides to be a poet and a masterful composer too. It's unfair really.

Tom, may I offer you a throat lozenge?

Did not expect this based on album cover art.

100

Tom Waits, 5eme album et dernier à subir =>1/5 Voix toujours aussi insupportable. L’accompagnement n’est pas très original, mais se laisse écouter quand TW évite de chanter dessus …

meh

Feels like one of his more middling efforts. Mostly unremarkable blues/jazz rock tracks with very boring arrangements that anyone can and has done. Lyrics are just more of his typical obsession. I've heard more than enough about low lifes, alcoholics, addicts, depressives, and other people who haven't figured out who they are yet. Feels like he is trying too hard to prove his outsider bonfides and hipsterness. Bet he eats pizza when it is too hot, so that he can claim that he was into pizza before it was cool. Still think that BONE MACHINE was his best work at bringing together the best of his voice, songwriting, and original instrumental exploration. That one doesn't sound like a tedious blues rock retread.

While I can do the occasional single, a whole album is a lot Tom comes across as the scary Uncle you would keep the kids away from at a family BBQ That singing style, while quite incredible, is tough on the ears Ultimately, Tom is not a regular on my playlists

So great. Every tom waits song is a classic.

Jazz pop, rock.

Heartattack and Vine is the sound of Tom Waits standing at the edge of his own transformation. He hasn't yet become the full-on experimental artist of the 1980s. But he's already doing things that most singer-songwriters never even attempt. And the best songs are extraordinary. “On the Nickel” is a masterpiece of empathy. “Ruby's Arms” is a masterpiece of heartbreak. “Jersey Girl” is a masterpiece of romantic simplicity. And “Heartattack and Vine” is a masterpiece of ugly, electric blues. That's a pretty impressive collection. But the album itself is not quite a masterpiece.

Music to drink whiskey in the rain to

2/5 - Vieux rock, voix très grave, pas fan

This really does sound like a drunk muppet. I’m giving it a two ONLY because of “Jersey Girl,” which is the only song on this entire list so far that has actually made me physically laugh out loud.

Tom Waits’s last “normal” album before fully going out there with Swordfishtrombone. It does show signs of some of the more experimental features he would play with, but it’s still tied strongly to more blues and jazz. It’s Waits so it’s great regardless

Not e'en the best from his Asylum years - that would be Small Change, by a long shot - Heartattack And Vine still holds more than sentimental value for me, i.e., it contains some very good songs (title track, 'Jersey Girl,' 'On The Nickel,' 'Ruby's Arms') & represents a necessary & vibrant transition in the man's career. Lyrics like 'Don't you know there ain't no Devil / There's just God when he's drunk' suggest what Waits would be all about once he left Asylum & went on to produce his most creative, challenging, artistically daring works. But yeah, a great deal here simply reminds me of an easier, innocenter time, when Waits would be my morning, midday, & after hours. My personal fav is 'On The Nickel,' tho I prefer the live version on Don Lane.

Someone give this man some honey and lemon tea

"Boney's high on china white, Shorty found a punk / Don't you know there ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk / Well this stuff will probably kill you, let's do another line" Tom Waits sounds like a tone-deaf Louis Armstrong. This was a tough album to get through. I was reading through some of the lyrics to pick an opening line for this review, and found some surprisingly poignant lyricism. Which is such a shame given the complete lack of annunciation given to them by Waits. Each song was the sonic equivalent of a wet rag hitting a microphone in a blues bar. The instrumentals themselves weren't bad either, which makes this another case of an album which would be more digestible as an instrumental. This type of music may do it for some people, but certainly not me, 1/5

3.4 2x on the way back and forth to ikea

i like the baroque poppy songs here but i cant stand him when hes trying to be bluesy. high 2/5, and i don't really hear anything here that's good enough to warrant 5 albums from this guy so maybe cut this one

This is my third Tom Waits album and I can say that I’m now a fan. He’s a great songwriter and there’s some great playing here but the voice is what makes it work. These songs would not sound good if they were sung by a regular singer. Talking about the devil doesn’t exist only god being drunk. No one else could that except maybe Screaming Jay Hawkins but that’s another review. My point is that you need a voice with character to sing lyrics like these.

Hell yeah

Wasn't in the mood for Tom waits when I saw I had to listen to this, but probably My favorite of all the ones I've had to listen to

Oh no, really not. I like some Tom Waits albums, but "Heartattack and Vine" isn't one of them. It's been years since I last listened to it. Listening to it again now hasn't changed my opinion. I don't like the album. We can talk about "Swordfishbone" or "Rain Dogs," but not "Heartattack." I just don't think the music and voice work together. The voice is flat, the music, the instruments... well, I don't know. Let the critics think what they want, it's not for me. Tom Waits is a great musician, but not every attempt is a hit.

Great Album! I really like his heartfelt songs (Saving all my love, On the Nickel, Ruby's Arms) and a nice cover of Jersey Girl.

again, another Tom Waits album they are trying to shove down our throats. like i said in an earlier Waits album review, that he is one of those artists that critics say they love so they can sound important. it's garbage.

Nowhere near as good as the other album we listened to by him. This wasn't funny and rather boring. His voice was annoying instead of endearing. And the songs just weren't that great. There was no charm, just almost depressing songs. Not for me.

I enjoyed much better than I anticipated. I classify as "modern" Blues. I could not lusten to everyday but if I am in the mood for the Blues this alblum is on the list.

I won’t even waste my time. Garbage would call this album garbage!

Musically, it’s actually decent and the musicianship is there, which is why a track like "Shades" is my favourite by far. But man, I just find Tom Waits’ voice completely unlistenable. It completely ruins the tunes and takes away any enjoyment for me. Plus, some of the lyrics are pure cringe. It’s a shame because the instruments are fine, but the vocals are just too grating to get past. He's definitely a love-it-or-hate-it artist, and unfortunately, it’s a massive miss for me.

Im sure some people think his work is genius. But for me, he's like Nick Cave. Occasionally listenable, mostly grating.

dont like the singing, musically fun

i’m really sorry but i hate his voice

3 1/2

Sounds like the dude from Star Wars but somehow is even worse

Instrumental good, I can’t believe this is how I found the origin of Jersey girl ( Springsteen did it better). But the voice gets a little much after a while. Good at the start but gets tiring.

Was alright

Truly the craziest voice I’ve ever heard but I think I like it. A few bops (In Shades, Downtown, Me. Siegel) but a few were hard not to skip. I need more time with Tom to reach my final verdict

seriously there is n reason that there are so many albums of this guy in this list.

I love Tom Waits. But this sits in the "Tom Waits I'm least into, almost" section. It's moving slightly from the croony jazzy stuff slowly - through simple (musically) blues - into the junkier Tom Waits. I like that one and the soulful one best. It's still brilliant, and full of brilliant imagery and wordplay though. The title track, Jersey Girl, Ruby's Arms, all brilliant. It's just hard to LOVE this one.

I had to DNF this halfway through, this is just really not for me

I enjoyed this, I'm not a big fan of Tom's voice (though I can imagine it may grow on me as I hear more) but I love how he uses it. He knows when he wants to be softer, or gruffer, more aggressive etc and it is fascinating to hear the differences even when all of it still sounds pretty gravelly. Musically it's pretty good, I liked the lyrics, this is the second tom waits album we've had, I think I preferred this one. I'll be kind and give it a 4.

Every song felt so close to me liking them, but just barely not good enough for my likings. Maybe I was wishing Bob Dylan

My entry point for Tom Waits was “Swordfishtrombones,” which is a lifetime favorite album. Forays into his earlier work were less successful, at least back then. But this album, Swordfish’s immediate predecessor, brings that same hard-to-classify fusion of blues, jazz, nightclub down and outness, heartbreak, and grit that Waits is known for. Yes…. I like it. Favorites: “Til the Money Runs Out,” “Mr. Siegel.” But also the opening/title track and “Downtown.” Bonus: Love this quote, from Wikipedia: His unique voice was described by Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."

Even beyond the unmistakable gruff voice, Tom Waits commands your attention. I am not always sure of what he is up to, but it there is empirical heft to the material, and when you embrace him, you will likely be rewarded greatly. If you're a fan of Swordfish Trombone, you will feel at home listening to this album. It isn't just more of the same but rather a natural progression right into Rain Dogs.

I always find myself torn when it comes to Tomathan. There are songs that I can genuinely get into and others that actually piss me off and its always the presentation of his voice. Lets take a look at these songs in order: Heartattack and Vine - nice! I actually like this, his voice isnt overbearing the positive qualities of the song. In Shades - though I am not a fan of the organ sound this is nice, bluesy atmosphere. No vocals! Saving All My Love for You - Vocal delivery ruins what would be a fantastic song. He really leaned into the cartoon grown on this and it blows. The string arrangement is beautiful. If the vocal aim was to sound like a bullfrog being unwillingly sodomized it has been achieved, good god. Downtown - Unless youre Booker T just stop with the god damn organ. Jersey Girl - This feels like a Bruce Springsteen parody. 'Tilll the Money Runs Out - Much like a large portion of Toms discography, this would work great in a small snippet for the opening of a gritty crime show. On the Nickel - Jesus... Mr. Siegal - Christ... Ruby's Arms - Well its worlds better than the last two. Just like the rest of his catalogue I always come out wishing he wrote all these songs for someone else to perform. This could be a 3 or 4 start album with anyone else on earth singing these songs, but its not.

Ei kyllä Tomin parhaimmistoa mun kirjoissa, vähän väsynyttä settiä varsinkin jälkipuoliskolla ollaan jo ihan unessa. Tylsä levy!

The quality of the music and lyrics of this excellent songwriter transcends his vocals.

Not my Jam... Sounds so desperate

cant take the voice, gonna pass

W sumie spoko, jak się przyzwyczaiłem do jego głosu to przyjemnie się tego słucha

He just doesn’t click with me.

Second Tom Waits release, though this is technically my fourth album of his. I've been working my way down the remaining albums of this list by order of descending runtime when I'm not busy assembling reviews for the albums I've pulled in the present. As a result, I've listened to both Rain Dogs and Bone Machine recently, both of which I thought were fucking terrible. I'm generally favourable to quirky, offbeat music, but not when the vocalist is shitting the bed in the most aggressive way possible or when it's paired with boring, uninspired blues music. I've no clue what Waits' regular speaking voice sounds like, though I can't imagine his voice is impaired to the point where he's delivering the sludgy vocals found on those aforementioned albums. He's not even trying to be melodic or entertaining, which is what really bugs me. Anyways, I've just found my inner zen and am prepared to enter this album with an open mind, though I must admit that the cards are firmly stacked against this album. Here gooooeeeeeesssss. Hmm. This was better than the previous two albums of his that I've listened to. I suppose I'm used to Waits' eccentricities at this point, though Stockholm syndrome ain't much in the way of praise. I mean, what's there to remark about this album? It's the same as every other Waits album I've listened to. You have the drab, droning, somewhat muffled blues instrumentals underscoring Waits' bleating vocals. You have your strange, sentimental ballads that take themselves much too seriously and make me question what the intent of Waits' persona is. You have your admittedly competent vocal hooks at points. Huh. That's new, though I have absolutely nothing else to remark about this album that I haven't said before. I might give this album a relisten sometime in the future to try and figure out what Waits' deal is, though I won't count on it anytime soon. For the time being, this was a dull listen with intermittent moments of competence. Book time. A pivotal release in Waits' career that was overlooked at the time of release. The album marked the beginning of Waits' transition from his sad sappy barfly image to whatever his remaining discography is meant to be. "...one of the strongest sets of his early period." The "...dirty guitar[s]" which feature on this album apparently defined his later career. Bruce Springsteen has performed "Jersey Girl" at some of his live shows, notably being immortalised on his "Live 1975 - 1985" album. Waits was dropped from his record label after this album failed to perform, though Swordfishtrombones would mark his comeback. Wikipedia says that the critics were favourable, if mildly polarised by this album. It peaked at No. 96 in the US and No. 31 in Australia, but charted nowhere else. Hmm. This seems like a more noteworthy release than "Nighthawks at the Diner", though I've sadly already listened to that album and let it onto the list. We need to cut Waits down to size. Five list albums is frankly ludicrous when considering the fact that his music is the same fucking thing every time. Three albums would seem to be about right for Waits given how heralded his discography is by the critics and how surprisingly successful his albums have been on the charts. I'm willing to throw this album under the bus to get across that line, so that's just what I'll do. See yaaaaa. In place of this album, I humbly submit "Turn on the Bright Lights" by Interpol. Admittedly, I've never listened to the album, though I have seen it around while perusing the Internet and I do know that it's a key player in early-2000s indie rock.

He sounds like a heartbroken alligator from New Orleans.

Tom Waits is just so ... Oh I don't know what it is, it's beautiful in its way. The lyrics are super, the singing, It by conventional metrics shouldn't work but it just does, does so so well. 4 Star

You need to be in a very special state of mind to have patience with Tom Waits. Saving All My Love For You is beautiful, but it's just a bit too Tom Waits at the same time.

Some really good tracks in this. I'm a fan of Tom Waits, but the style of this album isn't in my taste.

If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to give some time to Tom Waits, it takes a few listens to appreciate him. This is a solid album, not as easy listening to earlier records but a gentle intro into what’s to come. Great stuff

Sounds like an drunk old guy who talks to you on the street but you have no idea what he says so you smile and laugh to make sure he doesn’t kill you 😍😍😍 I loved it

The kind of music you stumble into at the lowest point of your life that brings you just the tiniest bit of joy, just enough to keep you alive another day. Still the worst day of your life though, so the gun's still loaded😍

I bet microphone’s as slobbery as a Saint Bernards favorite tennis ball when he’s done. (I’m not mad about it tho bc he sounds great)

Very different from Nighthawks, but still an excellent album.

There’s something about this one which reminds me of a dirty city during the winter, where the snow is melting but still prevalent, and blackened by soot and sludge. I’m not a fan of Tom Waits, and this didn’t sway me, but it’s also not the worst (I got Slipknot to listen to yesterday). Under those conditions, well…

It's official: I'm a Tom Waits convert. I struggle now to understand why it took me so long for the beauty of his songs to open up to me. The juxtaposition of beauty, fragility and grit is just fascinating. The title track is phenomenal, and almost every song has a lyric that stops you dead in your tracks. My only criticism is including a faux-live instrumental as the second track; maybe the intention was to give the album a jazz club vibe, but it didn't work for me. Everything else absolutely did though.

Feels like you're getting spit on out of the gate, with lots of gritty, punchy and gravely lines. It's got this rock blues energy to it that helps give the whole album a basement dive bar feel. Some of the tracks like Downtown and Money Runs Out really shine for me as hitting the right balance. Elsewise it slows down quite a bit but never gets bad by any means.

Listening to this one with a sore throat was a mistake

love the groove on the more jazzy/bluesy tracks. but there is just one too many cheesy track on the album to enjoy it entirely.

Я поняла почему всем так сильно понравилось и поняла почему всем так сильно не понравилось

Some nice, a lot «masete»

Is there a musician more revered and polarizing at once for the same reason than Tom Waits? Like, no one is praising Kanye for being an egomaniacal fascist, but people certainly are willing to overlook that because they want to hear Flashing Lights. But Tom Waits? The folks who adore him and the folks who revile him do so for the same reasons: his incredibly difficult voice and often equally difficult music. H&V feels like a watershed. The end of his whiskey-drowned jazzman era, before Swordfishtrombones ushers in his sinister hobo era. Honestly, both are ideal titles… SFT evokes the creaky, bottle-percussion weirdness of late career Waits, while the titular play on Hollywood and Vine plays to the smokey clubs and phlegmy voice of the earlier years. It's an old Hollywood sort of performance that Waits is deteriorating through, in contrast to the carnivalesque of his later work. And the title track does feel prescient, a bridge, but Waits still spends much of this album in his wheelhouse… sad, broken songs, songs which are beautiful and ugly all at once, like “Saving All My Love For You”. Songs that scratch and scrape against the blues, like on “Downtown.” Understanding Tom Waits really does require having humanized someone that many wouldn't have. An unhoused person, a drunkard, a muttering wildman… these are the multitudes Tom Waits contains. Are we able to find any beauty and compassion in those stories? If we can, god, the man can write a stunning song. I felt myself getting wistful, almost nostalgic for something I've never lived, during “Jersey Girl.” But you do get sucked into the world of his spit-and-growl jazz diatribes, too. That give and take mood swing does make the album, well, uneven, so a third five in a row may be out of reach, at least on first listen. But it's a real strong ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, one worth revisiting, probably a purchase some time down the road. There won't be another Tom Waits any time soon, if ever. Could anyone in 2026 even do this without coming across as trying too hard? Would anyone even risk it?

Nice

I didn’t know what to expect from Tom Waits. On the face of it, I assumed I would absolutely abhor his voice. Quite the contrary, I was captivated by it in combination with the instrumentation and songwriting. What gorgeous storytelling conveyed by a unique voice that makes it utterly believable. In addition, I love the album cover. This was such a pleasant surprise after a run of mediocre music. I’m looking forward to encountering Mr. Waits again down the road on this journey.

Listen when Tom Waits gets a bit bluesy jazzy, he sounds like he’s doing a bit of a Mississippi Gary. I’ve become more hard on ol Tom, but don’t typically think of him as a full on one star man. But this one was kind of a nothing album, compared to some of the wackier stuff, so I’m curving it down.

I know he's known for this, but dammit I cannot stand his voice

Amazing voice that Waits brings to us in his albums!

I really really enjoyed this album. Something about it today hits everything right. Very Very good.

his singing voice is both a blessing and a curse at different times. sometimes it can perfectly compliment his lyricism, and other times it's a bit grating. but as a whole, this ends up a decently enjoyable album.

I can see the appeal sometimes with Tom

Good album

Very good Tom Waits album but he has better

1.5 / 5 for this album. There's actually some really beautiful music on this album, but then Tom Waits starts singing and ruins it. I don't understand what record producer heard this guy sing and said, "Yeah, that's the voice of an angel!". I like Springsteen's version of Jersey Girl 10000x better. Make Tom Waits go away forever please.

This starts off a bit ropey for me, and I do have to be in the mood for Waits' vocals but I found myself warming to this fairly quickly as it played out. It definitely feels like an important turning point within Waits' canon from the smoky, jazz-lounge stylings of his earlier material towards the kind of junkyard blues-esque experimentation that would define his later arc – incorporating enough of both to remain hospitable to the ears whilst offering continual intrigue. During its most tender moments such as "Jersey Girl" and "On The Nickel", this is a fantastic, unapologetically romantic listen, and I'd return for those cuts alone, but much of the surrounding material is no slouch either. A strong four stars and another addition to the purchase list.

Another great Tom Waits album, with that strange, unique beauty. Top ten of his, definitely maybe. Top five maybe not? 4.5*

- what’s the album of the day? - Tom Waits - ooh it may be too early in the morning for Tom Waits - …depends on the album I guess? - yup this one is morning friendly.

3.5

Another outing with the grandfather of the gutter punks. Good album a little more cohesive than the last few, quite somber this one. Which is fun and fine.

I’ve heard some Tom Waits before and found it enjoyable. This album, however, is gonna be a pass.

Tom Waits is an acquired teste for sure...luckily this is one of his more approachable albums.

I am aware of the existence of Tom Waits, and currently have 3 songs liked by him on Spotify. 2 are from the "Dead Man Walking" movie soundtrack album ("The Fall of Troy" and "Walk Away"), and 1 is "Yesterday is Here" from the "Frank Wild Years" album. On this website, I have already listened to the album called "Bone Machine" and I did NOT like any of those songs. Hope this one is better. I did notice that this is the album where the song "Jersey Girl" comes from. I have known and liked Springsteen's cover of this song for many years. So that's a potentially positive sign. Let's see ... "Heartattack and Vine" is pretty cool. Digging the instrumental "In Shades". "Jersey Girl" is good (as expected). I do think I like the Springsteen version better - probably because I am more familiar with it, and I like the lyrics he adds to it. "'Til the Money Runs Out" - actually like this one quite a bit - why is it the least streamed song on this album? "On the Nickle" - wow, after reading the lyrics and some interpretations of it's meaning - this one is great. The "Nickle" is 5th Street in LA where many homeless people hangout. The place where all the boys who didn't fit in end up. :/ "Ruby's Arms" - this one is great also. This album is MUCH better than "Bone Machine". Liked songs on Spotify: 6/9 Rating: 3/5

At times, I couldn't tell whether or not Mr. Waits vocal delivery was meant to be ironic.

Not the right choice. One for the enthusiasts. But I am one.

It may have been a break through internally, but this is seemingly the last time ever Tom sounded uninspired

One of the least essential Tom Waits albums - shouldn’t be on the list. He sounds like he’s on autopilot for some of this but would soon come out with the inspired Swordfishtrombones. Having said that, it’s still good though because it’s Tom Waits.

couldn’t wait for the first song to be over, then realized that’s how I felt for the whole album.

A defining memory of encountering music growing up was my dad playing Tom Waits in the car and absolutely hating it. Who had let this drunk sounding guy into a recording studio? But coming back to it now, I didn’t hate it. I still dislike the vocals (at moments he actually sings properly, which makes it more frustrating!), but the sound itself is alright. On Jersey Girl especially, it paints an atmospheric portrait. I can’t say I’ll be returning to it, but I’m dreading *five* albums of this less than I was.

A really solid album from the transition period between his 70s work and more experimental 80s output. Like most of Waits’ material, the songs are vignettes and character portraits of the down-and-outs on the seedy side of town, being broadly divided into two categories: rockier bluesy numbers, and softer piano/strings-based ballads. My favourites of the former type are ‘Heartattack and Vine’ itself, and ‘Mr. Siegal’. From the latter type they are ‘Saving All My Love for You’, ‘Ruby’s Arms’ and ‘Jersey Girl’ (my overall album highlight). Waits’ unmistakable gravelly vocals are divisive, but I’m a fan. Strong 4 stars.

I enjoyed this WAY more than I thought I would.

This is a great album , can’t believe I don’t one this one…on the list

I can't believe that this guy has FIVE albums in this book. He's a good song writer with a unique voice. He's more like Randy Newman than Neil Young. This guy and Nick Cave represent this world of music that just doesn't appeal to me. I would never put this on.

Drunk Daffy Duck soundin ass

Så ta' dog en Halls

Tom Waits is simply a fantastic singer, and he demonstrates this much more impressively on “Heartattack And Vine” than on “Bone Machine,” which I had reviewed some time ago with a rather disappointed assessment. Back to the topic at hand: the title track alone makes it clear right from the start where this is headed - uncompromisingly raw blues rock with a dominant piano and, of course, Tom Waits’ unique voice. There’s not really much more to say about it. The album could have used a few really strong songs. As it is, it unfortunately doesn’t come close to “Small Change" (which, for some inexplicable reason, isn’t even on the list!). Still, those were 44 entertaining minutes!

No private session used for Spotify. I like Tom's voice and his lyrics. This isn' t one of Wait's album that I put on heavy rotation, but maybe it should be.

This might be Tom Waits at his most Tom Wait-ness. The whole album just pulls you into a smoky, seedy dive bar full of characters straight out of a noir film. It swings between gritty blues-rock and some really tender, string-heavy ballads, all anchored by that absolutely wild voice of his. Honestly, the first time you hear it, it sounds like he’s gargling glass while chain-smoking, but once it clicks, you realize there’s no other way he could sell these stories. If you can get past the gravelly delivery, the songwriting is straight-up poetry. I loved how he finds beauty in the gutter with dirty, organ-driven tracks like "Downtown," then flips it completely for something as warm and soulful as "Jersey Girl."

I like Tom Waits. He just cool.

This sounds like if oogie boogie from nightmare before Christmas put out and album

Despite sharing a manager in the 70s, somehow Tom Waits didn’t “significantly” hear Captain Beefheart until he met his soon-to-be wife Kathleen Brennan in 1980. Their collaborative efforts were to come into full bloom on Waits’ next album ‘Swordfishtrombones’ but the influence of her experimental musical tastes are already sprouting on ‘Heartattack and Vine’ Waits’ was already diving into raw Delta blues such as Howlin’ Wolf, Beefheart’s vocal blueprint. The deconstruction of Waits’ musical approach was yet to come, but here, the vocal switch is clearly underway. It is befitting of his subjects of course. The down-at-heel, the addicts, the hazy-heat violence of the streets. The relatively familiar arrangements actually match the gritty realism of these tales better than a more avant garde context might, allowing the lyrics more of the focus. Waits observes but also inhabits the stories right across the album. LA may have associations with bright lights and celebrity, but none of that is part of the world we’re given access to here. Nothing is glamourised of course and that is the point. (“I sold a quart of blood and bought a half-a-pint of scotch”). It’s a tough existence and no matter how lived in, or strictly observed it was, it certainly feels like Waits’ meeting Brennan saved him from a less smooth path (“I’ll probably get arrested when I’m in my grave”) For me, ‘Heartattack and Vine’ is a teaser of what’s to come and though it doesn’t sound like a transitional album, it is a neat snapshot of the most significant artistic turning point of his career.

En 1980, Tom Waits réalise que son costume de poète maudit de piano-bar commence sérieusement à sentir la naphtaline. Car il faut bien l'avouer, ça faisait quand même presque dix ans qu'il nous jouait la comédie du beatnik romantique, affalé sur son piano à quatre heures du matin dans un bouge poisseux de Los Angeles, à pleurer sur des amours perdues en descendant des verres de bourbon bon marché. Bon, faut être honnête, c'était magnifique, et Small Change et Nighthawks at the Diner restent des monuments du genre. Mais franchement, combien de temps un artiste peut-il incarner la même caricature d'ivrogne sans finir par se caricaturer lui-même ? Et c'est exactement là que déboule Heartattack And Vine, et je le dis d'emblée, c'est un grand disque de transition, sauvage, hybride, parfois inégal mais fondamentalement viscéral. Je lui colle un très beau 4 sur 5, parce qu'il capture l'instant exact où une chenille noyée dans l'alcool se transforme en un monstre sacré du rock expérimental. Bon d'abord, pour comprendre toute la portée de ce projet, il faut remettre les choses dans leur contexte. Heartattack And Vine est le dernier album de Tom Waits publié sous le label Elektra/Asylum, et le dernier produit par son fidèle complice Bones Howe. C'est pour simplifier, le testament de sa première vie artistique. On sent que les structures traditionnelles de la chanson américaine étouffent le chanteur, qu'il a envie de faire pisser le son, de tordre les manches de guitare et de laisser exploser un groove beaucoup plus moite et agressif. Alors pourquoi seulement 4 sur 5, me direz-vous ? Tout simplement parce que l'album garde encore un pied coincé dans la porte des années 1970. Il y a un léger tiraillement entre les velléités d'émancipation de Waits et certains arrangements encore un peu trop conventionnels. Deux ou trois morceaux manquent un peu de cette démence pure que l'artiste développera de façon magistrale trois ans plus tard sur Swordfishtrombones. Mais ne faisons pas la fin bouche : ce que nous avons sous la dent ici est déjà d'une richesse hallucinante. Ensuite, parler de cet album sans évoquer la voix de Tom Waits serait un crime d'État. Sur les productions précédentes, son timbre rocailleux conservait une chaleur jazzy, une rondeur qui rappelait les grands crooners du blues. Ici, oubliez la rondeur. Le mec ne chante plus : il éructe, il râle, il crache son venin comme si sa gorge était tapissée de tessons de bouteille et de papier de verre. C'est l'expression sonore d'une nuit d'insomnie passée à fumer des paquets sans filtre sous une pluie d'acide. Et cette transformation vocale accompagne une mutation instrumentale spectaculaire. La guitare électrique prend enfin le dessus sur le piano. Et pas n'importe quelle guitare : le jeu de Roland Bautista vient cisailler l'espace avec des riffs de blues et de R&B complètement poisseux, lourds, saturés jusqu'à la corde. La section rythmique, tenue d'une main de maître par des pointures comme Greg Cohen ou Jim Hughart à la basse, abandonne la légèreté du jazz pour adopter un martèlement lourd, urbain, presque mécanique. Cette formule percutante résume à elle seule toute la philosophie du disque. Tom Waits ne cherche plus à sublimer la misère urbaine par de la poésie romantique ; il la montre telle qu'elle est, avec son cynisme, sa laideur, ses paumés, ses prostituées et ses éclopés du rêve américain qui dérivent sur Hollywood Boulevard. Mais la véritable magie de Heartattack And Vine, c'est son incroyable schizophrénie. L'album est construit sur un contraste saisissant entre la crasse la plus sordide et une tendresse d'une délicatesse absolue. D'un côté, vous avez des brûlots d'une hargne inégalée. Le morceau-titre qui ouvre l'album est un modèle du genre : un blues poisseux, carnassier, bâti sur un riff d'une simplicité biblique qui vous colle à la peau comme de la graisse de vidange. On y croise une faune nocturne délabrée, décrite avec cette plume acérée et moqueuse qui n'appartient qu'à lui. La même énergie poisseuse se retrouve sur les titres les plus électriques du disque, où la musique semble enregistrée en direct du trottoir, au milieu des sirènes de police et des odeurs d'échappement. Mais dès que l'on pense avoir saisi la formule, Waits prend tout le monde à revers en déballant des ballades déchirantes, portées par des arrangements de cordes sublimes signés Jerry Yester. Et c'est là que le disque devient grand car Tom Waits nous offre l'une des plus belles chansons d'amour de son répertoire, un titre lumineux et d'une simplicité désarmante qui prouve que derrière le monstre éructant se cache toujours un cœur d'or. Et ce n'est pas un hasard si un certain Bruce Springsteen en a fait un hymne scénique par la suite. Ensuite, il consacre des ballades poignantes aux vagabonds de la Cinquième Rue de Los Angeles. Sa voix rocailleuse s'y fait d'une douceur inattendue, presque paternelle. Il n'y a jamais une once de condescendance chez Waits ; il aime ses personnages, il les immortalise avec une noblesse tragique. Et enfin, le disque se clôt sur une ballade de rupture d'une puissance émotionnelle rare. On y entend un homme quitter sa bien-aimée au petit matin, marchant vers la gare dans le froid, enveloppé par des cuivres et des cordes d'une beauté à couper le souffle. C'est le genre de morceau qui vous laisse un nœud dans l'estomac pour le reste de la journée. On ne peut pas disséquer cet album sans évoquer un événement capital survenu pendant son enregistrement : la rencontre entre Tom Waits et Kathleen Brennan. À l'époque, elle travaillait comme script pour les studios Zoetrope de Francis Ford Coppola (pour qui Waits allait composer la bande originale du film One from the Heart). Ils se sont rencontrés, se sont aimés, et ne se sont plus jamais quittés. Kathleen Brennan a été le véritable catalyseur de la carrière de Waits. D'ailleurs, c'est elle qui l'a poussé à se débarrasser de ses vieux oripeaux de crooner triste, qui lui a fait découvrir des musiques plus radicales, du Captain Beefheart au krautrock en passant par les musiques traditionnelles profondes. Dans Heartattack And Vine, on ressent déjà les premiers frémissements de cette influence salvatrice. On sent le mec qui prend conscience qu'il y a un monde entier à explorer en dehors des piano-bars et des clubs de jazz miteux. Alors oui, Heartattack And Vine n'a peut-être pas la cohérence révolutionnaire de Rain Dogs ou l'expérimentation totale de Bone Machine. Mais c'est précisément ce statut d'album charnière qui en fait une pièce maîtresse. C'est le pont entre deux mondes, la mue d'un artiste d'exception qui refuse de mourir étouffé par son propre personnage. Si vous voulez découvrir Tom Waits, ne commencez pas forcément par ses disques les plus intraitables des années 1990. Passez par ici. Laissez-vous happer par ce son de macadam mouillé, par cette voix d'outre-tombe et par ces mélodies à pleurer. C'est du grand art, brut, sans filtre, servi par un mec qui savait encore mélanger le cambouis et les étoiles comme personne d'autre.

My favorite of his albums so far

Another rough listen from Tom Waits...sigh....at least the first album I got from him was good.

Het is bij Tom Waits vaak even inkomen, maar als die gaat dan gaat die. Een soort kruising tussen Alex Cameron en Nick Cave, op de beste manier

Alleen bekend met Rain Dogs, zoals waarschijnlijk velen met mij. Dit is ook vet! Iets minder weird en iets meer klassieke donkere vocal blues/jazz, maar uiteraard ondersteund door Waits' klassieke lage, raspy stem. In tegenstelling tot sommigen vond ik de tweede (instrumentale) track echt heel mooi. Het voelde een beetje als introductie - theme song - en dan begin van het album op track 3, net als op Ethel Cain's laatste plaat.

enjoyed the first 3 songs on the album but couldn't understand anything in the lyrics. the voice got grating after a while.

Another good album by Tom Waits. Great instrumentals and solid vocal performances. Some of these songs were like taking Bruce Springsteen and rolling him in dirt. His ability to create imagery is so impressive. Favorites were Heartattack And Vine, Downtown, Jersey Girl, and On The Nickel.

Veers between sublime and annoying in the same bar. Bars being somewhere that Tom spent a lot of time in. The sort of things he growls about don't tend to occur in the pubs I frequent, where the most exciting thing to happen is the weekly changing of the guest ale. It must be very different in the USA.

maudlin

Very unique voice (gravely, drunk sounding). This was an interesting album. Varied musical styles/genres from track to track. But overall, not something I particularly enjoyed but I’ll give it a 3 for the variety. (3)

I have never listened to anything by Tom Waits. He is not someone I have had any interest in listening to so when this came up I was convinced I wasn’t gonna like it but it surprised me. I did quite like it but Christ it must hurt to constantly sing like that surely? I consider myself well and truly introduced to Tom Waits and for the most part liked it.

Normally I don't go for albums with this many sappy ballads but I really enjoyed this one, I think mostly because Wait's voice makes me take the sappy love songs more seriously than I normally would.

It's Tom Waits. I always enjoy it, it's always weird.

I don't understand the music industry's love for Tom Waits. I find his vocals unnecessarily gruff and they don't make sense to me. He's a talented musician in other aspects, but I don't listen to him because of his singing style.

Yesterday, Dr. John, today Tom Waits; not a bad double-header as it happens. Two method-acts that embody far-out characters and eclectic, exotic neighborhoods. Two subvocal stylists with subversive moods. One from the sticky South, one from the tricky North. From the Night Tripper to the hopeless Day-dreamer. From the sort-of-sacred, to the extremely-bloody-profane. Always intriguing, never dull.

Better than I thought, but his voice became grating after a while.

Loved it…suprisingly. Great grit and character to his vocals

I didn’t know people were allowed to record albums during colonoscopies, but you learn something new every day. Gotta love Tom Waits and his music for anesthesia-induced sleep paralysis demons. Dare I say I almost liked “Ruby’s Arms?” But absolutely not to the rest, even the song that didn’t have vocals.

Another trash listen. This album was just hooting and hollering at most

Tom Waits is one of my guys, and this is a great album that acts as a transition to his period where he puts out several masterpieces. Will go to the grave happy I heard "On The Nickel" in concert.

I do like Tom Waits, but I struggled with this album, almost like he was trying too hard?

WTF is this guy's voice

The way my heart dropped when he showed up again. He's all about the lyrics. Admittedly, they're very good lyrics. Some of them are just "I'm 14 and this is deep" aphorisms about the human condition, but most of it is fine. It's just the vehicle in which the lyrics are delivered are plodding, uninteresting, basic, bland, and just not very fun to listen to. I mean that in the sense of musicianship and vocals. He dwells in this affected, kitschy, seedy little ramshackle drunk downtrodden barfly persona for everything he does and it gets old really quickly. The vocals he chooses for this persona are kind of grating and annoying. I find characters that artists play to be quite hit or miss, it's very obvious that they're performing a character in some instances and that comes across as contrived and inauthentic to me, which I find off-putting. I just feel with some of these "oh you gotta listen to those lyrics, man" type of artists, that maybe they should stick to the written word, as usually the musical backing and vocals that they employ are quite shoddily put together and overpower the words with their complete meh-ness. The Billy Bragg effect. In short - good lyrics, boring songs, guy performing an asinine character. The thing is, I actually like Tom Waits, I think he's an interesting, cool guy, I just think most of his music is crap.

This really wore on me and was very tiring by the end.

I kind of like this but I don’t love it.

Not my kind of album. A couple of song good.

A great blend of what Tom does best.

I go through the same process with every Tom Waits album. At first, I don't really like it, but after listening for a while, maybe going through the album again once or twice I start to enjoy myself and appreciate the music. It's a weird thing to rate, a singer that you need to warm up for, like you were exercising, so I'm not entirely sure how to score Heartattack and Vine, but I'll score it with how I felt the second time around. A four.

Unique voice. Sometimes a little repetitive. It’s a good album it just was not my cup of tea

I think this is where I've actually come around to really loving Tom Waits. Before, I was going back and forth "Wow, that was really haunting and beautiful" "Oh wow that sucked, one star rating incoming" but this was consistently great the whole way through! Well done Tom, your drunken muppet charm has successfully molested my heart.

First Tom Waits album I've ever heard. I feel he's playing a character and the music and singing is either tongue in cheek or with a sense of irony. That probably isn't as cutting an insight as I think it is.

After a promising start the album went downhill. Disappointing.

The two tones of this album are the type of shit the devil’d play in his dive bar, and Christmas songs. Love that this album includes such banger lines as, “liar liar pants on fire,” “sticks and stones may break my bones,” and “eenie meenie minie mo”

I didn’t know a pack of cigarettes could sing…well, not sure if singing is the right word - 2,5

This album legitimately bad. I cannot fathom why this list contains so many Tom Waits albums. Ooh, he's edgy. Ooh, he has a deep gravelly voice. Ooh, he experiments with different styles and instruments. Ooh, he's a musician's musician. He's goddamn tedious, that's what he is. One album on this list I can see. But this is, like, my 4th? 5th? Come on. My husband says Jersey Girl is a great song, which I'm willing to concede, but it doesn't really brighten the rest of my listening experience.

Maybe it’s a 3.5 and I’m rating it higher than I should’ve because I didn’t care for the previous Tom Waits album we got? But this was a breath of fresh air. Good mix of rough and sweet songs. ‘Jersey Girl’ was very pretty.

Much more fun than Nighthawks At The Diner. Even, dare I say, catchy at parts. Thank goodness!

Tommy boy is back with yet another banger as he slowly starts to step into a weird territory. Heartattack and Vine is Tom stepping into a whole new decade and doing it in a way that is starting to make the man he was back in 1973 look completely unrecognizable. This album is much more slow paced than the typical Waits project, at least to myself, as he takes more of a sad and sappy approach to his typical hoarse crooning. The star of this album is easily the opening track Heartattack and Vine as it shows Waits is still able to make for one hell of a story teller even after all the past mismatched albums and tracks building up to this point. There isn't a lot to say about Heartattack and Vine if I am being honest, but I guess that shows just how solid it is and not needing of any greater analysis. It is great and that is that!

Some great blues and jazzy songs. Some of the slower songs were a little rough. Favorite lyric: Don't you know there ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk.

I was pleasantly surprised by today’s selection. I wasn’t expecting the blues and definitely not a voice like that. Tom Waits can keep the slow songs as they don’t translate well with his vocal style, but the blues songs really delivered.

Alright. Everyone is going to hate on Tom Waits for his voice. I get it … it’s a deal breaker … you’re either all in or all out. I respect that. I, for one, am all in. “Everything I love is ugly. I mean, really, you would be amazed.” So, here are some positive thoughts I had about this album while NOT hating his voice: - Tom Waits is Noah Kahan if he’s born in West Hollywood a generation earlier and with a drug habit. - Tom Waits is Bob Dylan if he read more Bukowski and less Baudelaire. - Some amazing things can happen vocally when you don’t care about how you sound. This gentleman can write lyrics: - “Well I bet she's still a virgin but it's only 25 'til 9.” - “And what becomes of all the little boys who never comb their hair?” - “I said tell me, brave captain Why are the wicked so strong? How do the angels get to sleep When the devil leaves the porch light on?” - “I’ll never kiss your lips again Or break your heart.” Get past the vocals, because there is some real depth here.

Sounds like the drunk guy who sits at the piano and belts out a few songs after the actual band has packed up for the night. To say he has a weathered voice is kind but Tom Waits tell a hell of a story and that voice is part of it. Without the voice the stories sound hollow. Not everyday listening, but a little Tom Waits now and then is a treat.

7.50/10 Me gusto. La voz ronca que aparece es excelente, deberían usarla mas. Pero además buenos ritmos, tranquilo sin aburrir y acompaña de forma increíble

Music where you can feel the sticky bar floors and smell the cheap whiskey and cigarettes

Would be more entertaining if Mr Waits could sing. Like listening to Rod Stewart with laryngitis. Songs were OK however although the instrumental didn't seem to fit with the rest of the album

This is another album that put my admiration for the artist to the test. I generally enjoy Tom Waits, but a little of his vocals goes a long ways. I think this is the first album of his I have listened to in its entirety.

Tom Waits ist almost always a 4/5 for me. Exceptions do exist (this is not one).

Wait... okay?

Pretty nice instrumentals. Not the right kind of singer for it imo. I wouldn’t have thought this came out in the 80s either. 4/10

There is a tiny bar in the Ginza area of Tokyo called Apollo Bar. Every time I have been to Japan, I visit this place. It’s incredible. Space for around 10-12 customers, dimly lit, incredible showmanship from the proprietor and every single time, there is a never ending flow of Tom Waits’ music quietly playing over the speaker. The last time I was there, I just had to ask him why there was never anything but Tom Waits filling the airwaves and he responded in a heavy accent “Tom Waits…heartfelt music.” I disagree. Tom’s voice is comically bad. It’s an offensive exploitation of black American blues vocal style, sort of like a weird Sesame Street character in a deleted scene. It’s grating from the beginning and never gets any better. It’s so bad that even when the music is acceptable, the vocals take away any shred of musical integrity. It’s a bad joke. Just like the other Tom Waits albums on this list, I hated it.

Tom Waits, for me at least, is quite difficult to rate. His voice is incredibly distinctive. It sounds like that of an avid smoker, or rather like someone deliberately trying to sound like one. At times, it almost feels like an impersonation of Bruce Springsteen, but everybody knows nobody is like The Boss. At the same time, many of his songs are genuinely enjoyable. His rough, gravelly voice fits perfectly with the bluesy, rocking vibe of the instrumentation. However, the other half of the album consists more of ballads, where his voice sometimes feels out of place and too dirty. His lyrics are undeniably well written though.

This is a great record. It pushed beyond his usual thing, but stopped short of getting all weird and German.

I have liked tom waits and this album was no different. Not my favorite album by the gravelly voiced crooner but good

At 253 albums deep into the list, I finally catch Tom Waits and it's one of the two albums on the list I'm lesser-versed in. Tom Waits is probably one of my favorite singer-songwriters because of his focus on the cast-offs of society and other bizarre, grizzly and or morbid tales. Heartattack and Vine has a bit more strings than the average Tom Waits album while also capturing his slow musical descent from bluesy/piano bar guy to a Genuine Weirdo making crazy musical concoctions. Waits credits this album for pushing him more toward that direction, as well as Bruce Springsteen for giving him shit tons of good money for songwriter royalties. Everyone wins.

Another Tom Waits record. This one a bit bluesier and balladier than others. Not as engaging as my favorites of his. “Jersey Girl” may be his worst song ever. Way too Springsteeny. All in all this is by far my least favorite record of his. Really kinda boring for the most part.

не люблю мужской хриплый вокал тут он чуть ли не булькает кошмар а музыка неплохая чисто для придорожных кафе линча

Decent.

God, so sad! Gets in its own way. Four

I LOVE TOM WAITSSSSSS his voice is like no other and he sends out a soul that grips your gut and drags you around

Like whatever

Tom Waits... Why do you have the voice of a nail grater? And it somehow, kinda works.

1. Heartattack And Vine (★★★★☆) 2. In Shades (★★★★☆) 3. Saving All My Love For You (★★★⯨☆) 4. Downtown (★★★⯨☆) 5. Jersey Girl (★★⯨☆☆) 6. 'Til The Money Runs Out (★★★⯨☆) 7. On The Nickel (★★⯨☆☆) 8. Mr. Siegal (★★★☆☆) 9. Ruby's Arms (★★⯨☆☆) -TOTAL = ★★★⯨☆ (3,2) -Debería ser un 3, pero no lo es subjetivamente hablando, porque se sintió vacío, artificial, caricaturesco, casi como un álbum cantado por el youtuber recientemente póstumo "gaspi"... Es un 2.

Had to listen in pieces cause his voice gave me a headache so that sums up how I feel about this album

Nobody is more authentic than Tom Waits. That’s not hyperbole — it’s an observation about a career that has never once sounded like performance, never chased a trend, never produced a moment where the seams between the artist and the persona were visible. The voice, the characters, the world he inhabits across every record — it all comes from the same place and it never wavers. You either find that world compelling or you don’t, and Heartattack and Vine makes the case for it as forcefully as anything in his catalog. This is the last record before the full avant-garde transformation of Swordfishtrombones, and it sits at the hinge point — the blues and R&B roots more raw and exposed than anywhere else in his work, the strangeness that would come to define everything after already audible underneath. The title track is a genuine blues stomper, distorted and aggressive, nothing like the piano-bar melancholy of Closing Time. “Jersey Girl” sits at the center of the record as the sentimental counterweight — tender enough that Springsteen heard it and knew immediately it belonged to him too. The discovery that anchors the record is Ronnie Barron, the New Orleans R&B organist who collaborated with Dr. John and brought that same rain-soaked, morally ambiguous mythology to his playing. “Till the Money Runs Out” is where that pairing pays off most completely — a rolling, slightly sinister groove that makes Waits’ world feel inhabited rather than constructed. Two musicians who traffic in the same swampy American darkness finding each other was not an accident. The record closes with “Ruby’s Arms” — a devastating, spare ballad that strips everything back after the blues grit that preceded it, Waits at his most quietly heartbroken. The contrast is the point: a record that opens with distorted aggression and closes with something that sounds like a man standing in a doorway at dawn not quite ready to leave. That range is the argument for the five. Not quite Closing Time, which remains the desert island Waits record and one of the great American debut statements. But five is five, and this earns it on its own terms — authenticity, blues grit, Barron’s organ, and songs that refuse to leave even when you think you’re done with them.

Surprised to see even more Tom Waits, especially this one. As always, high cool factor. Starts out very bluesy… and stays that way. Halfway through, and it’s good… not bowl me over great. Although Jersey Girl is better than good… what a fantastic song. Ruby’s Arms is a beautiful ballad too. Waits’ signature storytelling is there. And the unmistakable gravelly voice is central. On whole, this record doesn’t attain the next level of musical and poetic genius that a couple of his other records do, but the highlights, Jersey Girl and Ruby’s Arms, alone make this record better than average. Really a 3.5 for me. Side note here, album cover is very creative. Love the concept.

Too normal for a Tom Waits fan to enjoy, too weird for a normal person to enjoy. I'm disappointed. I have to agree with the top review as I write, it's like listening to a drunk Muppet singing in a musical set in a bar.

Podrías haber puesto el “orphans” ❤️‍🩹

Tom’s growl is much easier to stomach when it’s not over circus music.

Jersey Girl is amazing

Van Morrison after gargling with sulphuric acid. Some good instrumental but christ that voice.

Great, this. I should hate it. It's an annoying voice with some backing noise. The guy who said it sounds like a drunk muppet is bang on, but apparently I like drunk muppets. It should bug the hell out of me but I really enjoyed it.

Honestly, fun time. Strong 3 i thing

Tom fucking waits

I struggle with his vocalizations. Lyrically it's a weird mix of ugly and beautiful. The whole album was polarizing to me - I was ready to write it off at the beginning, but some of the songs really drew me in.

Sini stimm brucht echli agwöhnigszit

I just can’t listen to his singing, his voice isn’t what annoys me, it’s the way he sings. The musicality of the album is good, just abysmal singing.

This is really, really bad.

***An ok album

One of the few artists that I'll put up with a hammond organ for. He has much better albums, but still worth a listen.

Grew up listening to the Levi ad mixtape and the title song was always playing! Classic! Great album overall, should have listened to it before now!

An absolute timeless album that was released in the same year as The River, Closer, Remain in Light and acds back in black. Incredible lyrics, beautiful instrumentation. When I was in my mid twenties I started listening to Tom Waits and he's been a steady source of good memories, and whiskey soaked thoughts. Would love to see him live, but I don't think it will ever happen. Jersey Girl is a standout track. So good.

It all sounds good, just a tad repetitive. Not as good as some of his other output.

So - this is where Bruce Springsteen stole his sound from huh? Too bad both Tim Waits and Bruce’s sound is annoying and grating.

I want to meet the person that "discovered" Tom Waits. He sounds like he gargles broken glass and whiskey before smoking unfiltered cigarettes he rolled himself. He looks like he smells like said cigarettes and a brewery. Dude is not selling out stadiums. He is playing in dive bars and old venues that haven't had a sold out show in a decade. It works though. I'm listening and going none of this should be appealing yet it does. I've been a soft fan of his for a few decades, go listen to Bone Machine. First album of his I heard and it stuck with me. This album is good in ways I can't put words to. It's a feeling, it's a vibe. Go in with an open mind and think, what if Old Crow bourbon was a person.

Nobody else can write such beautiful lyrics and music about the downtrodden and degenerate side of the world. A lot of folks take issue with his singing voice, but that only enhances the immersion into the life of his characters. I will always give a Tom Waits album five stars, if only because it won’t let me give more.

I still don't see the appeal but this is a good album. I like the A-side better as it feels more Tom Waits whereas the B-side feels like a Tom Waits spin on a different style of music. I don't like the juxatoposition of his raspy voice with soft instrumentals.

I love Tom Waits' music mostly from Swordfish Trombone onwards. This was right before. It's still very much in the realm of the lounge act thing. It's okay but it wouldn't be on my 'must listen'. It wouldn't be how I introduce people to Tom Waits. Honestly thought I don't know how I would do that anyway.

I genuinely like Tom Waits. This album is odd. It sounds like it could fit into the sound track of a toy story movie. This album was just ok. Not his best in my opinion.

Un caramelito de miel para Tom. Igual estuvo bien.

As far as Tom Waits albums go, this one is "easy listening" - some blues/rock and some symphonic ballads, all with his signature growly voice. At times he seems like he's singing with his mouth full of food. But the tunes are legitimately melodic and sweet. Kind of a high 3 for me, I could see it becoming a 4 with more listens.

Probably the most conventional Waits album we've had, so also the one I've liked the least. Maybe a 4 star, but rounding down to give myself wiggle room.

Bone Machine might have been worse, but I'm just beyond annoyed at having to listen to this much of his utterly unejoyable vocals and weird escaped convict lyrics.

OG Jersey Girl!!!

No one can paint a picture purely with his voice quite like Tom Waits. When he opens his mouth he creates a new world where everything is dusty and brown and shrouded in shadow. While here he hasn't quite hit his impeccably unhinged best yet, there's still plenty to love. The songs are quick witted and colourful, and his character work breathes life into an otherwise dour atmosphere. Feels like a transitional record between the early career crooner Tom Waits, and his mid 80s to early 90s madness. Hits different in a crap hotel on a rainy night. 4/5

Strange experience, but now I know what Tom Waits is at least at this point in his career. Some funny discourse on this album, and there is a Ruby song, but overall not the best. Jersey Girl is fun as the hit single, just belting it out

I think I've listened to this album before, but Rain Dogs is the only Tom Waits album I've gone back to repeatedly. I absolutely loved most of this album though, but it did start to lose me when things slowed down quite a bit on On The Nickel. Great stuff overall though.

Really enjoy Heartattack and Vine, til the money runs out Did not enjoy Saving All My Love For You, On The Nickel His whole voice is cool at times but when he's over-exaggerating it, it just feels inauthentic and takes me out of it.

Great

Not as experimental nor as interesting as Rain Dogs or Bone Machine, but an okay listen. None of the songs beside the closing track stood out. Vocals too much like a drunk and unkempt Bruce Springsteen

Another cool transition album for Tom. Feels like he's right on the edge of his "Wild Years" era here but still embodying some more of the traditional recording styles of his early singer songwriter/barfly era. Better than nighthawks at the diner.

Yet another Tom Waits album from the generator. And probably the one I liked the least? Not bad, just didn't have any "wow" moments for me 2/5

There is something incredibly romantic about the ugly, gravelly and worn down male voice when sung with honesty and truth about things important to man.

Treads a fine line between a 'proper' album and a comedy record. I'm never sure whether he's exaggerating the voice for comic effect. On The Nickel, for example, is ludicrous. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Well I get the title. More like heartbreak and chains to be honest. But the actual title is more poetic. Its half drunken barfight somgs or at least things that will get you put in jail and half lovesick songs. Not a bad combo. You can imagine doing soemthing to get put in jail and writing a letter back to your gal. Its alot of that. And there are some good ones for sure. It does wear out its welcome a bit. So id say this is one of my least favorite tom waits joints but its still pretty good. Still swordfish for me. But im happy to hear the whole catelog at this point. The voice is still incredible. Its so unique. You will never find a voice like it. Anf the music is very good behind the fuck up type songs. Very bluesy and catchy as hell. The love songs im less into the ballad stuff they got going on, still decent though. Its just another solid tom waits record. This dude was a find and a half for me from this list. Good stuff

"There is no devil, it's just god when he's drunk" Great stuff. It's a little silly to listen to this at 8:00 in the morning like I am right now - I should be sitting in a bar somewhere with a nice cocktail, but anyway, it's a wonderful record. His lyrics and vocals are so evocative, and that bar blues band is so tight. One or two of the slower songs on this have always gone on long enough to try my patience, but still, nobody's like Tom Waits. 4/5

Denna er ikke edru

Sounds like a parody album

178. SHA LA LA (gruff, despairingly)

It's like if RFK Jr made a record..

"Who doesn't love some Tom Waits?" / "About half the users of this site!" "Yes. Yes. But which half seems to change with each album." It's another Tom Waits record. I like it but it's not his most ambitious, outlandish, or even his most tame and relatable. It's a kind of middle ground for Tom, but that means there are *only* 2 or 3 gems. The editors can give up one of his slots these days and I think he'll be alright.

This is like Bruce Springsteens darker cousin. This is who Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds wish they could be. Rough around the edges in the best way but still groovy with keyboard riff when you need it. This one really grew on me as it went on. After two Tom Waits albums I’ve really come to appreciate him.

Grumbly and sexy and smoky and poetic. Stank face inducing. Not as weird as Tom Waits gets but pretty weird.

I have heard this before, but never listened. I have heard it 3 times today - it great. 1. Heartattack And Vine 2. In Shades 3. Saving All My Love For You

So I can see how this can be er... polarizing. I know OF Tom Waits but I never really internalized that every Tom Waits parody somehow feels less parodic then Tom Waits just being himself. I really liked this, maybe it somehow itched a theatre kid part of me. I don't think the instrumentation is doing much, its a little too sparse, which makes songs like "In Shades" a slog, but when Tom Waits is singing there's just something captivating about it. The Lyricism here is suprisingly strong, there's an almost Jacques Brel storytelling to this that just works. Similar, also, to much of Outlaw Country there's a level of self awareness that the characters in these songs are simply not good people (Mr. Siegal in some ways even feels like an ode to that kind of storytelling). Unlike Outlaw Country, though, there's a lot of nuance in these characters. There's a fair amount of misogyny on this album, but unlike other instances on this list the fact that the misogyny is meant to be a reflection of the seedy bottom-of-the-barrel behavior of the characters portrayed does help soften that somewhat. Its still a bit much in places. I give this a strong 4 stars- I didn't like the less jazzy songs nearly as much and again I don't think the instrumentation was incredible, but the singing really hooked me

I get the novelty of Tom Waits. But I'll take the jazzy-blues Tom Waits over the full symphony orchestra Tom Waits.

Coool.

Good album

Alright, five Tom Waits albums is pretty ridiculous. Another Dimmery over-representation when the dude is pretty much has one sound.

Al fin un disco que vale la pena. Una voz que acompaña a la perfección la melodía, personajes e historias de melancolía y fracaso.

me (a guy named sally): im sorry noel gallagher, but i actually cant wait tom: waits the whole concept of the second side being one ballad followed by one blues rocker is so hilarious also this is really good music, 4/5

1. vine - 2 2. zhadez - 2 3. love - 1 4. douuntouun - 2 5. jerzey - 1 6. money - 1 7. nickel - 2 8. ziegel - 2 9. ruby - 2

Now if this was his first album, Closing Time, it’d get 5 stars. His voice is jarring on his later albums. I can’t help but hear Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. I’ll give it a generous 3 as I like his vibe. Always feel like I’m drowning my sorrowing, necking whiskey in a dingy, smoke filled bar whilst an old man fiddles the piano in the corner.

Masterpiece! Absolutely love tom. Love the dark and dingy blues. Love the beautiful twisted ballads. Songs like on the nickel and rubys arm are very beautiful and pretty. That whole run of albums is great, blue valentine, swordfish, rain dogs. I get his voice is a bit hard to get into but when you get it, ya get it.

Some of menacing lyrics are great and the some softer songs are nice but his voice does get a bit irritating its kinda cool like scream jay Hawkins, but also like bowser from mario aswell. Good album though really enjoyed most of it. Worth checking out some of his other stuff! Solid 3.5

Great lyrics, paint the atmosphere brilliantly. Very First lyric is "Liar Liar with the pants on Fire" "i'll prob'ly get arrested when im in my grave." Too many to pick out. His salty grizzled vocals are ace Heartattack and Vine is a great song 4.5

Didn’t like his voice.

What a deep voice, dive bar vibes

Forgotten how good this is

Great album with Tom's unique vocal style getting stronger. Lyrically interesting (there ain't no Devil, there's just God when he's drunk!) and some great arrangements. 4

I liked this album!! It ranges in mood quite widely. The title track, In Shades, and Mr Siegal stand out to me particularly- though slightly sad lyrically, they are slow, seductive and punchy, the sort of songs that would backtrack the introduction of the cool love interest in an 80s film. Some of the Waits' voice to me is like a lovechild of Bryan Adams and Leonard Cohen. I wasn't as much of a fan of some of the sadder songs, but I still enjoyed them. Would reccomend.

Oh god. This was painful

I do not understand the appeal of this guy. He sounds like a drunk. I have no idea but it's uninteresting

4/5 Love his voice. Really enjoyed all of the tracks except Saving all my love for you. It absolutely didn’t resonate with me. 4/5 because of all the other delicious tracks

3/5. Would have been a 4 but I HATED Saving All My Love For You. Literal 0/10 song.

The title song is great. The rest did nothing for me.

First time with a Tom Waits album. I really liked this. It’s very atmospheric. Crazy how overblown the complaints about his voice are. It’s a type of working class post-industrial persona that I find really fascinating. Easy to imagine Jim Jarmusch listening to this early in his career.

Wow, that's quite a voice. I'm not exactly sure what to think. I definitely found this interesting to listen to. I like the jazz pop feel and even though his voice is intense there's soul and warmth to it a lot of the time. It's weird because I find him kind of off-putting (not sure if that's from the way he looks on the album cover with his weird rubbery burnt looking hand), but I'm also very intrigued by him. I may have to listen to this again. Seems like a bit of an acquired taste.

This was Waits' transitional album from his earlier Jazz-infused singer-songwriter style to the 70's and his post-modern Dark Cabaret Blues which followed. Like many of his first period releases, this album alternates between rousing Blues howlers, like the title track and "Downtown", and incredibly gorgeous balladry such as in "Jersey Girl" and "Ruby's Arms", to name a couple. This album was also release the same year Waits got married to artist Kathleen Brennan, who became his closest collaborator and a big influence on his stylistic shift later in the decade. Key tracks: Heartattack and Vine Downtown Jersey Girl On the Nickel Ruby's Arms

why are there five tom waits albums on this list

50 - 50

This is the 5th Tom Waits album I've encountered on this list which is absolutely baffling. I don't know a single person that listens to Tom Waits with any regularity. With as many albums on here as The Rolling Stones, you would think he would be more ubiquitous among casual music listeners. This one sounds the same as the other five. Its not awful but you can't convince me there shouldn't be another artist worthy of at least one of the five slots he takes up on this project.

Heartattack and Five

Tom Waits gets 5s.

Not my jam.

Not his best but still authentic Tom Waits.

Sounded like Bruce Springsteen needed to clear his throat

My previous limited experience with Tom Waits music was that it was, well, odd. But I really dig the bluesy jazzy vibe in this album. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Some good songs, but not one of the best 1001 albums of all tine

lowk his voice bothered me

rock raro, voz grave, tirando casi a rosendo pero sin tanto punk de fondo, estaba bien, no es mi estilo pero se deja escuchar bastante bien

Growly, blues mess. Couldn’t understand a word. Loved it.

Damn, I didn’t know Cookie Monster from Sesame Street had released an album featured in this list. In all seriousness, the novelty wore off about two songs in, and the rest became more of an endurance test against the voice of Mr. Waits. I couldn’t really focus on the lyrics either, as most of my energy went into simply making it to the end. Some of the instrumentals were moody in the right way, though, and I did enjoy the bluesy guitar work. Still, I don’t think I’ll be revisiting it. The one song I liked was "In Shades".

I can take some blues rasp, but this guy sounds like he thinks growling out lyrics makes them more “artistic”.

Great album, as most of Tom Waits' are. I think Heart Attack and Vine really does a great job of capturing Tom's unique singing voice and song writing. If I had to pick just one Waits album to have on this list, I think Heartattack and Vine would get serious consideration.

His voice makes me want to strangle somebody, really can't stand it. Instrumentals were good though.

nie moge sluchac jego glosu i chujowe to jest do skpinecia przesluchalam jedna i troche drugiej i trzeciej

cool vibe really enjoyed - sick voice

Not this guy again. With multiple entries, he now becomes eligible for consideration as one of the worst artists on this list: 1. Tim Buckley 2. Lou Reed 3. Todd Rundgren 4. Tom Waits

81/100. This is really good. Tom Waits' rough, weathered voice fits this perfectly. He sings like someone carrying years of exhaustion and experience, yet still holding tightly onto some sense of dignity and identity. The entire record feels smoky and worn down in the best possible way. The music, the vocals, and the atmosphere all blend together into something that feels late night, bruised, and deeply human.

Blues. Don't love the gravely voice, but I can't deny it fits.

Tom Waits Heart Attack and Vine - 3/5 - Timeless classic with Tom Waits very much lurking in his element, What feels like a great benchmark moment before the widely acclaimed projects that followed, Prime example of a blues rock album crossed with orchestral ballads (Which is something we don’t see very much in his later projects), Witty lyricism placed on display showcases Waits’ incredible ability as songwriter and poet, Another interesting thing of note is how the drums interact with the guitar creating a raw rhythm & blues element that a lot of his earlier projects were known for before moving into more of an experimental cabaret fusion Verdict 72-74/100. It’s cool to be able to pinpoint when Tom Waits transitions from the jazz style that he was mainly dabbling in and going absolutely off the rails (in a good way) and proving to society that Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs wasn’t out of the blue at all but a neat transformation process. A good album but I do believe that not every song most likely needed to be in here (Such as In Shades as it felt like filler) I am however a fan of the cynical lyricism and storytelling. It’s a cool album and though I don’t think it’s necessarily strong I look forward to adding it to the collection alongside my Rain Dogs vinyl (And swordfishtrombones eventually) Favourite Songs: Heart Attack and Vine Downtown Jersey Girl On the Nickel

Of the spoken word dudes, he's the most tolerable of the blokes. I actually get some chuckles and he's some got some entertaining one liners (think a modern, more solemn Mark Twain)... that said, credit to a pretty groovy backing band, but questioning if this is a necessary 'music' album. I think Tom Waits is probably making that same assertion.

Probably the best I’ve heard thus far from someone I generally don’t like

Further on the record of I do not care for this man's music

Young boy's just never done it for me. The voice is too much, the schtick is too much and the music and lyrics are mostly just ok. Couple good lines on this, I liked the no devil but God on a drunk bit.

Unsure at the start but a fan by the end and I'm in love with the marvellous Jersey Girl.

Great album. Big Waits fan. Maybe his first album with this more sparse and gravelly delivery? Excellent writing as always.

Some good guitar work but spoilt by that voice. 2/5 3/5/26

Like getting yelled at by a particularly articulate, poetic drunk for 45 minutes (complimentary).

meh

Soms vibey ma meer storend dan vibey

This project has really worn me out on Tom Waits. Something about the way he sings seems so forced and fake (sorry if that is his real voice) that it just turns me off of him. He just seems like he is trying so hard and trying to be so amazing. I liked the bluesy jazzy sounds but his voice and my previous reviews of him just sour it.

I liked the songs with beats on this album: Heart Attack & Vine, Downtown, Till the Money Runs out, Mr Siegel... the slower ones were pretty ho hum.

I knew nothing of Tom Waits before this project but certainly have had plenty of exposure now. I’ve been mixed on him, and this is one of his I really enjoyed. I like how bluesy and groovy it is. Especially dug the title track and Jersey Girl.