Tuesday, August 01, 2023

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved: Special "In Search of Cohen’s Fashion Optical” Edition

From 1985, and his flat-out masterpiece Rain Dogs, please enjoy Tom Waits, featuring Keith Richards on guitar and wordless (save for one 2nd verse lyric line) backup vocals, and the astounding, it'll-rip-your-heart-out neo-country-blues-rock weepie "Blind Love."

I'm not kidding about Rain Dogs being a masterpieece, BTW; I'd rate it one of the top 10 albums of its decade, and "Blind Love" isn't even the best thing on it. (Actually, that would be "Downtown Train." Or "Jockey Full of Bourbon." Or "Hang Down Your Head." Or...well, you get the idea.)

In any event, I hadn't thought about the song in ages, and after re-listening to it over the weekend, I wound up sitting through the entire album, which blew my tiny little mind something fierce.

Coming tomorrow: an often overlooked cover version of a song that, IMHO, exemplifies the mission statement of this here blog as well as any ever written or recorded.

9 comments:

edward said...

Rain Dogs is also, basically, the soundtrack to Down By Law, which resulted in one of my favorite movie trailers of all time:
https://youtu.be/7OHg4Ayewao

ChrisE said...

I recall, from the Magazine Formerly Known As "Stereo Review", that "RAIN DOGS" received a Best Of The Month review from a certain scribe whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels. He might want to dig it out for his forthcoming book, or at least post it on this here blog :-)

steve simels said...

There are some editing mistakes in that review that make me cringe, so we’ll pass on the reprint, if you don’t mind.😎

Anonymous said...

Wonderful song from a fabulous album, and I recall that aforementioned review.

- Paul in DK

steve simels said...

BTW -- I'd never seen that Down By Law trailer. Very cool -- thanks Edward.

wardo said...

My take:
https://everybodysdummy.blogspot.com/2011/08/tom-waits-10-rain-dogs.html

steve simels said...

Wardo -- nice review. And you have a very cool blog.

Anonymous said...

Those downtown trains are full of Brooklyn girls…

Anonymous said...

Nice to hear some Waits. Seen and loved his shows all through his career. Love the Swordfishtrombones>Rain Dogs albums. And pretty much everything else.

In my senior year of high school, I came in contact with a guy from Chula Vista who dealt marijuana in quantity. I was on one of my surf forays down San Diego way at Windansea. He introduced himself to me and said I was pretty good for a girl. I didn't take offense. The guy was cute and naturally charming. When I found out what he did for a living I set up a date the following week to get a couple of keys. He invited me to see a show with him that night but I had to head home. It was just an old high school acquaintance of his playing a coffee house anyway. He told me maybe next time. I came to find out later that his Hilltop High friend was none other than Tom Waits.

First time I saw Waits was in Redlands Bowl shortly after Closing Time came out. Then when he opened for Zappa at the Roxy. I really dig him. He’s his own genre. A total original. He did a lot of club gigs in SoCal and I saw many shows at the Troubadour, McCabe’s and the late great Golden Bear. On one Troubadour run he encored with “Martha,” one of my faves that he rarely does. On the Rain Dogs tour I saw all three shows at the Beverly Theatre. Stellar stuff plus he varied the sets. “Cemetery Polka,” “Singapore” and “Jockey Full of Bourbon” were some of the best.

His 1999 three-night run at the Wiltern was also a total fuckin' gas. I knew the woman who managed the place and she cut me three of those gorgeous Tuten posters.

VR

..... You wave your hand and they scatter like crows
They have nothing that'll ever capture your heart
They're just thorns without the rose
Be careful of them in the dark .....