Alice (Tom Waits album)

Alice is the 14th album by Tom Waits, released in 2002 on Epitaph Records (under the Anti sub-label). The album contains the majority of songs written for the play Alice. The adaptation was directed by Robert Wilson, whom Waits had previously worked with on the play The Black Rider, and originally set up at the Thalia Theatre in Hamburg in 1992. The play has since been performed in various theatres around the world.

Alice
Studio album / soundtrack by Tom Waits
Released	May 7, 2002 (2002-05-07)
Genre	Rock, experimental
Length	48:23
Label	ANTI-
Producer	Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits
Tom Waits chronology
Blood Money (2002) Alice (2002) Real Gone (2004)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	90/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[3]
The Guardian	[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
NME	8/10[6]
Pitchfork	9.0/10[7]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	7/10[10]
Uncut	[11]

The album was co-released with Blood Money, an album containing songs from Wilson and Waits' 2000 musical Woyzeck.

Alice was ranked #2 in Metacritic's Top 30 albums of 2002.[12]

The songs had been released as a bootleg in several different versions called The Alice Demos many years before its official release. The source is believed to be studio recordings taken when Waits' car was broken into in late 1992.[13]

The song "Poor Edward" is about Edward Mordake.

In 2006 it was awarded a diamond certification from the Independent Music Companies Association,[14] which indicated sales of at least 250,000 copies throughout Europe. As of 2003, Alice has sold 140,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Soundscan. [15]

Track listing

All tracks written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan.

1. "Alice" – 4:28
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano
   • Eric Perney – Bass
   • Colin Stetson – Saxophone
   • Gino Robair – Drums
   • Ara Anderson – Muted trumpet
2. "Everything You Can Think" – 3:10
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, mellotron, chamberlin vibes, pod
   • Larry Taylor – Bass, electric guitar
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Bent Clausen – Swiss hand bells
   • Bebe Risenfors – Stroh violin
   • Nik Phelps – horn, trumpet
3. "Flower's Grave" – 3:28
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano, pump organ
   • Larry Taylor – Bass
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Dawn Harms – Violin
   • Bebe Risenfors – Alto viola, clarinet
4. "No One Knows I'm Gone" – 1:42
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, pump organ
   • Larry Taylor – Bass
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Dawn Harms – Stroh violin, violin
   • Bebe Risenfors – Alto viola
5. "Kommienezuspadt" – 3:10
   • Tom Waits – Vocals, pod, stomp
   • Larry Taylor – Bass, acoustic guitar, percussion
   • Andrew Borger – Oil drums, frame drum, percussion
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Bebe Risenfors – Baby bass, marimba, bass clarinet, percussion
   • Colin Stetson – Baritone saxophone
   • Tim Allen – Scraper
6. "Poor Edward" – 3:42
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano
   • Larry Taylor – Bass
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Dawn Harms – Stroh violin
   • Bebe Risenfors – Viola
7. "Table Top Joe" – 4:14
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, pump organ
   • Larry Taylor – Bass, acoustic guitar
   • Stewart Copeland – Trap kit
   • Bent Clausen – Piano
   • Joe Gore – Electric guitar
   • Bebe Risenfors – Baby bass
8. "Lost in the Harbour" – 3:45
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, pump organ
   • Larry Taylor – Bass
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Dawn Harms – Stroh violin
   • Bebe Risenfors – Fiddle
   • Carla Kihlstedt – Violin
9. "We're All Mad Here" – 2:31
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano, circular violin
   • Matthew Sperry – Bass
   • Gino Robair – Percussion
   • Colin Stetson – Bass clarinet
   • Carla Kihlstedt – Violin
10. "Watch Her Disappear" – 2:33
    • Tom Waits – Vocal, pump organ
    • Dawn Harms – Violin
    • Matt Brubeck – Cello
11. "Reeperbahn" – 4:02
    • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano, chamberlin
    • Matthew Sperry – Bass
    • Gino Robair – Percussion
    • Carla Kihlstedt – Violin
    • Colin Stetson – Bass clarinet
    • Ara Anderson – Baritone horn
    • Myles Boisen – Banjo
12. "I'm Still Here" – 1:49
    • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano
    • Dawn Harms – Violin
    • Matt Brubeck – Cello
    • Colin Stetson – Clarinet
13. "Fish & Bird" – 3:59
    • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano, toy glockenspiel, pump organ
    • Larry Taylor – Bass
    • Matt Brubeck – Cello
    • Bebe Risenfors – Clarinet
    • Ara Anderson – Trumpet, baritone horn
    • Dawn Harms – Stroh violin, violin
14. "Barcarolle" – 3:59
    • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano, chamberlin vibes, cymbals
    • Matthew Sperry – Bass
    • Matt Brubeck – Bass
    • Colin Stetson – Saxophone
    • Bent Clausen – Piano solo
    • Dawn Harms – Violin
15. "Fawn" – 1:43 (Instrumental)
    • Tom Waits – Piano
    • Matthew Sperry – Bass
    • Gino Robair – Marimba
    • Colin Stetson – Bass clarinet
    • Carla Kihlstedt – Violin

Chart information

Chart (2013)	Peak position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16]	24
UK Albums (OCC)[17]	20
US Billboard 200[18]	33
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19]	10
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20]	3
French Albums (SNEP)[21]	27
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22]	16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23]	7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24]	13
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[25]	27
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26]	3
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[27]	3
Italian Albums (FIMI)[28]	5
Australian Albums (ARIA)[29]	26
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30]	48

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)[31]	Gold	40,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Reviews for Alice by Tom Waits". Metacritic. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
2. Jurek, Thom. "Alice – Tom Waits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
3. Sinclair, Tom (May 10, 2002). "Blood Money / Alice". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
4. Costa, Maddy (May 3, 2002). "We're all mad here". The Guardian. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
5. Cromelin, Richard (May 5, 2002). "The Rasp Man Goes Operatic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
6. McNamee, Paul (May 18, 2002). "Waits, Tom : Alice". NME. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
7. Bowers, William (May 13, 2002). "Tom Waits: Alice / Blood Money". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
8. "Tom Waits: Alice". Q (190): 114. May 2002.
9. Fricke, David (April 25, 2002). "Alice". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
10. Milner, Greg (June 2002). "Nowhere Men". Spin. 18 (6): 109. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
11. "Tom Waits: Alice". Uncut (61): 106. June 2002.
12. "Best of 2002". metacritic.com. 2002. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
13. Keith Phipps (2002-05-29). "Interview: Tom Waits". avclub.com. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
14. http://www.impalamusic.org/docum/04-press/awardsPR0905.pdf
15. https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/69456/billboard-bits-waits-bozulich-santa-fe-jazz-fest
16. "Swisscharts.com – Tom Waits – Alice". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
17. "Tom Waits | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
18. "Tom Waits Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
19. "Officialcharts.de – Tom Waits – Alice". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
20. "Austriancharts.at – Tom Waits – Alice" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
21. "Lescharts.com – Tom Waits – Alice". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Tom Waits – Alice" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
23. "Ultratop.be – Tom Waits – Alice" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
24. "Swedishcharts.com – Tom Waits – Alice". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
25. "Tom Waits: Alice" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
26. "Norwegiancharts.com – Tom Waits – Alice". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
27. "Danishcharts.dk – Tom Waits – Alice". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
28. "Italiancharts.com – Tom Waits – Alice". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
29. "Australiancharts.com – Tom Waits – Alice". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
30. "Charts.nz – Tom Waits – Alice". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
31. "Dutch album certifications – Tom Waits – Alice" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Alice in the "Artiest of titel" box.