Blue Valentine (album)
Blue Valentine is a 1978 album by Tom Waits, released by Asylum Records, his sixth album since his debut Closing Time in 1973. It was recorded over the course of six sessions from July to August 1978 with producer Bones Howe. Rickie Lee Jones is pictured with Waits on the back cover.
| Blue Valentine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 5, 1978[1] | |||
| Recorded | July 24–August 26, 1978 | |||
| Studio | Filmways/Heider Recording, San Francisco, California | |||
| Genre | Rock, blues, jazz | |||
| Length | 49:09 | |||
| Label | Asylum | |||
| Producer | Bones Howe | |||
| Tom Waits chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Blue Valentine | ||||
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Production
Blue Valentine was recorded in six sessions from July 24 to August 26, 1978 at Filmways/Heider Recording, Hollywood, California. Production was by Bones Howe, 2nd engineers - Geoff Howe and Ralph Osborne. Disc Mastering by Terry Dunavan.
All the songs were written by Tom Waits apart from the opening track, "Somewhere" from the Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim musical West Side Story.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B[2] |
| Pitchfork | 8.3/10[3] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable) link |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote that "Waits keeps getting weirder and good for him. As sheer sendup, his 'Somewhere' beats Sid Vicious's 'My Way' his way. But I'm not always sure he understands his gift—these lyrics should be funnier. And 'Romeo Is Bleeding,' easily my favorite among his Chandleroid sagas of tragedy outside the law, is more effective on the jacket than when he underlines its emotional resonance in song. That's not weird at all."[2]
Track listing
All tracks written by Tom Waits, except where noted.
Side one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Somewhere" (From West Side Story) | Music: Leonard Bernstein; lyrics: Stephen Sondheim | 3:53 |
| 2. | "Red Shoes by the Drugstore" | 3:14 | |
| 3. | "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" | 4:33 | |
| 4. | "Romeo Is Bleeding" | 4:52 | |
| 5. | "$29.00" | 8:15 |
Side two
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wrong Side of the Road" | 5:14 |
| 2. | "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard" | 3:17 |
| 3. | "Kentucky Avenue" | 4:49 |
| 4. | "A Sweet Little Bullet from a Pretty Blue Gun" | 5:36 |
| 5. | "Blue Valentines" | 5:49 |
Personnel
- Tom Waits - vocals, electric guitar (4-7,9,10), acoustic piano (3,8)
- Ray Crawford (4,6, 10 [solo]) Roland Bautista (2,4), Alvin "Shine" Robinson (7,9) - electric guitar
- Scott Edwards (7,9), Jim Hughart (4,6), Byron Miller (2,5) - bass
- Da Willie Gonga (George Duke) – Yamaha Electric Grand Piano (2-4,5)
- Harold Battiste - acoustic piano (7,9)
- Charles Kynard - organ (4,6)
- Herbert Hardesty (7,9), Frank Vicari (4,6) - tenor saxophone
- Rick Lawson (2,5), Earl Palmer (7,9), Chip White (4,6) - drums
- Bobbye Hall Porter - congas on ("Romeo Is Bleeding")[5]
- Bob Alcivar - orchestra
References
- "Releases". ANTI-. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: W". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 21, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- M. Deusner, Stephen (March 24, 2018). "Tom Waits: Blue Valentine". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- "Tom Waits: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011.
- Hoskyns, Barney (2010). Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits. Random House. p. 208. ISBN 0-7679-2709-5.