The Tom Waits Project: #7. "Heartattack and Vine" (1980)

There are few artists who have had as enjoyably weird of a career as that of Tom Waits. With a career spanning over 45 years, he has reinvented himself countless times while providing some of rock's strangest, most eclectic tunes imaginable. Over the course of 2019, my goal with The Tom Waits Project is to explore every single one of his studio albums as well as live albums and soundtracks (no compilations) and chart the shifts in his career as well as hopefully understand what makes him so ubiquitous in pop culture. He's an artist who has always been there, making things weird, but there's a good chance you haven't truly noticed him. Here's your chance to join me every other Wednesday on a quest to find out what makes him so special.

Album: "Heartattack and Vine"

Release Date: September 9, 1980

Label: Asylum Records

Certifications: N/A

Singles: 

-N/A 

Covers:
-Screamin' Jay Hawkins - "On the Nickel"

Track List:

1. "Heartattack and Vine"
2. "In Shades"
3. "Saving All My Love For You"
4. "Downtown"
5. "Jersey Girl"
6. "Til the Money Runs Out"
7. "On the Nickel"
8. "Mr. Siegal"
9. "Ruby's Arms"

*NOTE: Listen to it here.

Track Analysis

This section is a song by song breakdown in hopes of understanding what makes each song special in his catalog. Other things considered will include best song, most interesting standout, and other fields deemed relevant to the album.

"Heartattack and Vine"

While Tom Waits has always had a spark in him, it does feel like this is the start of a more aligned approach to his weirdness. He is a melancholy romantic, sure, but it can also be heard in the way that the instruments are used. The horns are low and moody while the drums sound just a little out of step. The guitars sound seedier than his usual material. There's so much to enjoy about this song, especially as he has evolved his blues playing with a style that emphasizes a unique weirdness. Then again, it helps that he's once again combining nursery rhymes with lines like "That's just god when he's drunk." He's still at odds with beauty, and it feels like his vision is becoming more clear. It's a strong start to the album as it grabs your attention with everything that Waits has played with up to this point. 

"In Shades"

While instrumental tracks are in keeping with Tom Waits' style, it is strange to hear one this early on the album. It's also strange that in an album with only nine songs that it would make the cut. However, it once again captures what he does best, which is to entertain those trying to pass time at the bar. You can hear them in the background towards the end of the song just having a good time. There's nothing else too noteworthy here, though it does continue the boozy attitude of the first song and sets the album in a different approach, if just because of how much of the first eight minutes have been instrumentals.

"Saving All My Love for You"

Once again, it feels like a narrative is forming. Whereas the instrumental track could be seen as someone spending an evening at a bar, this is the morning after. With church bells ringing and clarity that the previous tracks lack, we get a remorseful song from Tom Waits about how he's done some shady things, but he's saving his love for "you." It's an odd gesture given that he equates giving money to hookers and other misdeeds, suggesting that whatever he has with "you" is a much deeper condition. It's a beautiful and tender song about something that's generally reviled, and it's a further reflection of why Waits has always been a more clever lyricist that he's gotten credit for. It isn't just that he uses bohemian ideas. He makes them feel lived in, even if they're just a character.

"Downtown"

For those who thought that Waits hanging out with a hooker was blue as this album was going to get, stay tuned for this song. At one point he discusses seeing a friend dressed as a woman downtown. For the time (1980), it's not nearly as offensive of verse as it could be and instead reflects a reality that Waits has long sympathized with. Also, the use of the organ is excellent, as its rocky, vibrant notes play well with his voice here. While it's in some ways a stretch to make this comparison, the use of the word "Downtown" in this song feels like the structure for a later song of his called "Union Square," which also uses the word very melodically. It's another atmospheric look into seedy life, which makes one wonder how events are playing out from song to song. It feels like we're already back to the seedy life, so when will love come back around? It's hard to say.

"Jersey Girl"

This is an oddly affecting song once it gets going. On one hand, it's just another love song where he's in love with someone odd. There's a taboo around it and you hear his heartbreak in every note. However, the growl of his voice now feels purposeful as it sings a typical serenading voice, trying to find beauty in something seemingly ugly. While it's hypnotic by itself, his shift into a more clean and vulnerable vocal style at intermittent points makes it feel far more heartbreaking and powerful than it has any right to be. This is Waits singing his heart out and doing it decisively with every note. If it's not the most affective song he's written on this album, then there's a real soul-crushing gem coming soon.

"Til the Money Runs Out"

Sometimes this album is nothing if not manic. For the second time on this album, one of the more intimate tracks is followed by something delirious and upbeat. It feels sometimes like a retaliation like he's rejecting his emotional capacities. It shows in the way that the guitar seems to linger through as Waits sings in a gleeful way that can't help but sound like a smile. It's a decent enough song that hits all of the right notes but can't help but be a secondary song on this concrete album that has been full of excellent work front to back so far. 

"On the Nickel"

After several albums of getting introspective, often preferring to explore the inner workings of adult life, Waits has taken an ingenious turn. He looks at the children who are more unfortunate than those who waste away at bars. They sleep on the street, unable to care for themselves because their mother is dead. It's very tragic from the opening verse and over six minutes it becomes a bittersweet tale of recognizing those who need help. You buy into his earnestness, if just because of his fluctuation in voice. Early on is something purer, not going for a growl or any theatrics. As he takes on people who chew tobacco, he becomes more gruff, as if taking on the persona in order to lay home the theme better. While it maybe isn't the best song on the album, it definitely ranks as one of his most unique and touching songs so far in his short career. 

"Mr. Siegal"

As a penultimate song, Waits usually is wrapping up the album thematically. In this case, he's threatening arson and that the devil leaves the porch light on. One can argue that he wants to go on the righteous path but evil is too tempting. There's no way to escape it because of how present it is. Mr. Siegal, a figure he is constantly talking to, maybe an allegory for the devil or some form of sanity that he can't achieve. It's hard to tell. Still, it's another fairly well-constructed tune from Waits that plays into his lyrical wit very well. It's fun and captures the duality of man in a way that is entertaining. Maybe this whole album is about how evil disappoints the world. Maybe that was the point all along.

"Ruby's Arms"

Maybe it was all instinctual this entire time. The choice to pull between these bittersweet ballads and these seedy bar songs were all to reflect a man who was losing the love of his life. Because he was too reckless, he had to say goodbye to Ruby. As a conclusion to the album, it now hits like a ton of bricks, reflecting a long con that captures an emotional dexterity that only great artists can achieve. There's the power to every note, and it's another heartbreaking number. Maybe they were all sad underneath it all. With that said, this is maybe the closest yet that Waits has come to creating a cohesive and emotional vision that works narratively as well as sonically. There may be no obvious narrative on display, but that doesn't mean that each song compliments each other perfectly.

Closing Remarks

Waits has always been a man to play with form, and his previous album "Blue Valentine" was the strongest mix of style and lyrical substance. He continues it here in ways that are sometimes very brief that it takes a good ear to recognize. His voice has become more confident at fluctuating throughout the song to better convey the necessary emotion. He isn't as stuck in one style in order to convey his message. There are many songs on here ("Jersey Girl") that are some of his strongest yet and "On the Nickel" sees him becoming more empathetic than he has been in the past. Waits continue to get more interesting as he leaves the 70's behind, and hopefully, that means that the best years are ahead.

Coming Up Next: "One from the Heart" (1982)

Album Rankings

This section is dedicated to ranking the albums from best to worst in hopes of finding which Tom Waits album is the best.

1. "Blue Valentine" (1978)
2. "Small Change" (1976)
3. "Heartattack and Vine" (1980)
4. "The Heart of Saturday Night" (1974)
5. "Nighthawks at the Diner" (1975)
6. "Foreign Affairs" (1977)
7. "Closing Time" (1973)

Song Rankings

This section is dedicated to finding the best songs from each album and comparing them to each other in hopes of finding which one is Tom Waits' best song.

1. "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard" from "Blue Valentine" (1978)
2. "I Wish I Was in New Orleans" from "Small Change" (1976)
3. "Martha" from "Closing Time" (1973)
4. "Jersey Girl" from "Heartattack and Vine" (1980)
4. "Potters Field" from "Foreign Affairs" (1977)
5. "Eggs and Sausage" from "Nighthawks at the Diner" (1975)
6. "Please Call Me Baby" from "The Heart of Saturday Night" (1974)