Tom Waits - The Black Rider (1993)

"The Black Rider" is an album by Tom Waits, released in 1993 on Island Records, featuring studio versions of songs Waits wrote for the play "The Black Rider", directed by Robert Wilson and co-written by William S. Burroughs. The play is based on the German folktale Der Freischütz, which had previously been made into an opera by Carl Maria von Weber.  "The Black Rider" contains Waits' versions of the songs he wrote for the Robert Wilson play of the same name. Wilson has worked with everyone from Philip Glass to Lou Reed, so he's just the kind of left-of-center visionary to accommodate Waits' offbeat musical style. From "Nighthawks At The Diner" to "Frank´s Wild Years", Waits has always been a concept man, and you don't get more conceptual than supplying songs for this semi-mythological narrative of passion and death. "The Black Rider" is somewhat similar in style to the twisted cabaret/blues of Waits' mid-80s work, but with a pronounced European artsong flavor. Accordingly, Waits is accompanied by a mix of his U.S. cronies (Joe Gore, Greg Cohen, etc.) and the musicians from the original "Black Rider" production. The presence of William Burroughs as lyricist on a couple of tunes represents the closing of a circle that includes the heavy influence of the '50s beat writers on Waits' early work. Less visceral and more cerebral then Waits' previous work, "The Black Rider" is nevertheless full of masterful compositions and inventive, idiosyncratic arrangements.

 

01.  "Lucky Day (Overture)"  (Tom Waits)  - 2:27

02.  "The Black Rider"  (Tom Waits)  - 3:21

03.  "November"  (Tom Waits)  - 2:53

04.  "Just the Right Bullets"  (Tom Waits)  - 3:35

05.  "Black Box Theme" (instrumental)  (Tom Waits)  - 2:42

06.  "'T' Ain't No Sin"  (Walter Donaldson, Edgar Leslie)  - 2:25

07.  "Flash Pan Hunter/Intro" (instrumental)  (Tom Waits)  - 1:10

08.  "That's the Way"  (Tom Waits, William S.Burroughs)  - 1:07

09.  "The Briar and the Rose"  (Tom Waits)  - 3:50

10.  "Russian Dance" (instrumental)  (Tom Waits)  - 3:12

11.  "Gospel Train/Orchestra" (instrumental)  (Tom Waits)  - 2:33

12.  "I'll Shoot the Moon"  (Tom Waits)  - 3:51

13.  "Flash Pan Hunter"  (Tom Waits, William S.Burroughs)  - 3:10

14.  "Crossroads"  (Tom Waits, William S.Burroughs)  - 2:43

15.  "Gospel Train"  (Tom Waits)  - 4:43

16.  "Interlude"  (instrumental)  (Greg Cohen)  - 0:18

17.  "Oily Night" (Featuring "The Boners")  (Tom Waits)  - 4:23

18.  "Lucky Day"  (Tom Waits)  - 3:42

19.  "The Last Rose of Summer"  (Tom Waits)  - 2:07

20.  "Carnival" (instrumental)  (Tom Waits)  - 1:15

Released:  September 1993

Recorded at:  Music Factory, Hamburg, Germany; Prairie Sun Studios, Cotati, CA.

Genre:  Rock, Experimental

Length:  56:08

Label:  Island

Producer:  Tom Waits

Personnel

Tom Waits - vocals, organ, keyboards, marimba, calliope, percussion

Wiliam Burroughs - vocals

Greg Cohen - various instruments

Joe Gore - guitar, banjo

Henning Stoll - viola, bassoon

Linda Deluca - viola

Gerd Bessler - viola

Matt Brubeck - cello

Volker Hemken - clarinet

Ralph Carney - bass clarinet, saxophone

Larry Rhodes - bassoon

Nick Phelps - french horn

Kevin Porter - trombone

Hans-Jorn Braudenberg - organ

Francis Thumm - organ

Bill Douglas - bass

Stefan Schafer - bass

Kenny Wollesen - percussion, marimba

Don Neely - musical saw

Kathleen Brennan - boots

Clive Butters - boots

Joe Marquez - boots