''Blue Valentine'' is the sixth studio album by singer and songwriter

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, released on September 5, 1978 on

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/Asylu ...

. It was recorded over the course of six sessions from July to August 1978 with producer

Bones Howe Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe (born March 18, 1933) is an American record producer and recording engineer who scored a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, often of the sunshine pop genre, starting in 1965 with The Turtles cover of Bob Dylan's "It ...

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. A two ...

is pictured with Waits on the back cover.

Production

''Blue Valentine'' was recorded in six sessions from July 24 to August 26, 1978 at Filmways/Heider Recording, Hollywood, California. Production was by

, with second engineers Geoff Howe and Ralph Osborne. Disc mastering was 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 ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

''.

Critical reception

Don Shewey of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' found that ''Blue Valentine'' "is as solid a record as Waits has made", and that its best songs "rank high among the sentimental sagas that contain Tom Waits' strongest writing." 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 John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...

's '

My Way "My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...

' his way. But I'm not always sure he understands his gift—these lyrics should be funnier. And '

Romeo Is Bleeding ''Romeo Is Bleeding'' is a 1993 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Peter Medak, written and produced by Hilary Henkin, and starring Gary Oldman, Lena Olin, Annabella Sciorra, Juliette Lewis, and Roy Scheider. It follows a psychosexual cat ...

,' 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."

Track listing

All tracks written by Tom Waits, except where noted. Side one Side two

Personnel

* Tom Waits - vocals, electric guitar (4–7, 9, 10), acoustic piano (3,8) * Ray Crawford (4, 6, 10 olo, 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, 3, 5) *

Harold Battiste Harold Raymond Battiste Jr. (October 28, 1931 – June 19, 2015) was an American music composer, arranger, performer, and teacher. A native of, and later community leader in, New Orleans, he is best known for his work as an arranger on record ...

- 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 Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of a ...

(7, 9), Chip White (4, 6) - drums * Bobbye Hall Porter - congas on ("Romeo Is Bleeding") * Bob Alcivar - orchestra

Charts

References

{{Authority control Tom Waits albums 1978 albums Asylum Records albums Albums produced by Bones Howe