The Laughing Heart
Sat, 2012-10-13 00:32
#1
The Laughing Heart
Bukowski's poem 'The Laughing Heart' has proven invaluable to me over the past year or so. Instead of rambling on about how important it is to me, here is the superlative, gravel-voiced Tom Waits (of whom I am a massive fan) reading the piece.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHOHi5ueo0A
Hope you enjoy!
ItsSteveDave
Steve, thanks for posting this. It's a monday Morning poem through and through. Makes me want to get out there and start the adventure. I haven't heard much Tom Waits, which I understand from others is inexcusable!
Is there any particular album you'd recommend as a starting point?
steve_elliott04
It's not quite inexcusable, but I will no longer be posting on your work. ;)
Personally, I started on the first two albums: Closing Time and Heart of Saturday Night (Ol' 55 being the first song I heard, after that I was hooked). Both combine folk, blues and jazz - a perfect starting point for an incredibly diverse discography. However, if you are a little more adventurous with your music tastes, you could go for an album that covers a wide range of the genres Tom has mastered over the last 40 or so years. Perhaps the 1999 Mule Variations, which combines folk and rock with the raw, irregular sound of Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs from the 80's. The latter two went against everything the 80s stood for, and provide a superb and unique listening experience, but may not be the best starting point. Alice would also be a perfect to start with. Most of the songs were written for a play, and so the storytelling is second to none.
Lyrically, every album is top notch; Waits is a true wordsmith, and with his ever evocative vocal delivery, you are always left feeling like the song has somehow taken you from one place and, politely or violently, dropped you off at another.
I would say these five are my top Waits albums. Actually, that's not true, but I could talk on forever if I keep listing albums!