Review:

on 2011-11-20 pianoporsche Said:

A decent, but ultimately unfulfilling album, Tom Waits' Closing Time straddles the line between schmaltzy prairie-folk and brooding piano-jazz without committing to either. Make no mistake, Waits is much more comfortable in the jazz idiom; the man has a dense, pedal-heavy piano style that successfully creates the swirling, boozy atmosphere the cover portends. He oversteps into the realm of the cliche with the overly stylized trumpet of "Virginia Avenue" and "Midnight Lullaby," but the payoff of the majestic "Grapefruit Moon" makes it all worthwhile.

The album's true weakness is its first half, which is stacked with far too many half-baked, folksy snoozers. Waits' endearingly self-conscious vocals don't have the road-worn weariness a song like "Ol' '55" calls for; he's much more at home with the soul-baring longing of a song like "Lonely." Vocal shortcomings notwithstanding, those songs are either lacking in substance "(Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards))" or overly sentimental "(I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You)."

Closing Time is the work of a man with potential. When he's not mired in romanticism or wasting his time with banal ruralism, he shows himself to have a keen ear for melody and an impressive sense of mood. However, these gifts ultimately aren't enough to cover up the lack of substance plaguing most of these songs, resulting in an album that's something less than engaging.

Rating: 2.5/5
Rating: 5/10