Alice (Tom Waits album)

Alice
Studio album / soundtrack by Tom Waits
Released	May 7, 2002 (2002-05-07)
Genre	Rock, experimental
Length	48:23
Label	ANTI-
Producer	Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits
Tom Waits chronology
Blood Money (2002) Alice (2002) Real Gone (2004)

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	90/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[3]
The Guardian	[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
NME	8/10[6]
Pitchfork	9.0/10[7]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	7/10[10]
Uncut	[11]

Alice is the 14th album by Tom Waits, released in 2002 on Epitaph Records (under the Anti sub-label). The album contains the majority of songs written for the play Alice. The adaptation was directed by Robert Wilson, whom Waits had previously worked with on the play The Black Rider, and originally set up at the Thalia Theatre in Hamburg in 1992. The play has since been performed in various theatres around the world.

The album was co-released with Blood Money, containing songs from a play adapted by Robert Wilson from Georg Büchner's Woyzeck.

It was ranked #2 in Metacritic's Top 30 albums of 2002.^[12]

The songs had been released as a bootleg in several different versions called The Alice Demos many years before its official release. The source is believed to be studio recordings taken when Waits' car was broken into in late 1992.^[13]

The song "Poor Edward" is about Edward Mordake.

In 2006 it was awarded a diamond certification from the Independent Music Companies Association,^[14] which indicated sales of at least 250,000 copies throughout Europe. As of 2003, Alice has sold 140,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Soundscan. ^[15]

Track listing

All tracks written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan.

1. "Alice" – 4:28
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano
   • Eric Perney – Bass
   • Colin Stetson – Saxophone
   • Gino Robair – Drums
   • Ara Anderson – Muted trumpet
2. "Everything You Can Think" – 3:10
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, mellotron, chamberlin vibes, pod
   • Larry Taylor – Bass, electric guitar
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Bent Clausen – Swiss hand bells
   • Bebe Risenfors – Stroh violin
   • Nik Phelps – horn, trumpet
3. "Flower's Grave" – 3:28
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano, pump organ
   • Larry Taylor – Bass
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Dawn Harms – Violin
   • Bebe Risenfors – Alto viola, clarinet
4. "No One Knows I'm Gone" – 1:42
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, pump organ
   • Larry Taylor – Bass
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Dawn Harms – Stroh violin, violin
   • Bebe Risenfors – Alto viola
5. "Kommienezuspadt" – 3:10
   • Tom Waits – Vocals, pod, stomp
   • Larry Taylor – Bass, acoustic guitar, percussion
   • Andrew Borger – Oil drums, frame drum, percussion
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Bebe Risenfors – Baby bass, marimba, bass clarinet, percussion
   • Colin Stetson – Baritone saxophone
   • Tim Allen – Scraper
6. "Poor Edward" – 3:42
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano
   • Larry Taylor – Bass
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Dawn Harms – Stroh violin
   • Bebe Risenfors – Viola
7. "Table Top Joe" – 4:14
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, pump organ
   • Larry Taylor – Bass, acoustic guitar
   • Stewart Copeland – Trap kit
   • Bent Clausen – Piano
   • Joe Gore – Electric guitar
   • Bebe Risenfors – Baby bass
8. "Lost in the Harbour" – 3:45
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, pump organ
   • Larry Taylor – Bass
   • Matt Brubeck – Cello
   • Dawn Harms – Stroh violin
   • Bebe Risenfors – Fiddle
   • Carla Kihlstedt – Violin
9. "We're All Mad Here" – 2:31
   • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano, circular violin
   • Matthew Sperry – Bass
   • Gino Robair – Percussion
   • Colin Stetson – Bass clarinet
   • Carla Kihlstedt – Violin
10. "Watch Her Disappear" – 2:33
    • Tom Waits – Vocal, pump organ
    • Dawn Harms – Violin
    • Matt Brubeck – Cello
11. "Reeperbahn" – 4:02
    • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano, chamberlin
    • Matthew Sperry – Bass
    • Gino Robair – Percussion
    • Carla Kihlstedt – Violin
    • Colin Stetson – Bass clarinet
    • Ara Anderson – Baritone horn
    • Myles Boisen – Banjo
12. "I'm Still Here" – 1:49
    • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano
    • Dawn Harms – Violin
    • Matt Brubeck – Cello
    • Colin Stetson – Clarinet
13. "Fish & Bird" – 3:59
    • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano, toy glockenspiel, pump organ
    • Larry Taylor – Bass
    • Matt Brubeck – Cello
    • Bebe Risenfors – Clarinet
    • Ara Anderson – Trumpet, baritone horn
    • Dawn Harms – Stroh violin, violin
14. "Barcarolle" – 3:59
    • Tom Waits – Vocal, piano, chamberlin vibes, cymbals
    • Matthew Sperry – Bass
    • Matt Brubeck – Bass
    • Colin Stetson – Saxophone
    • Bent Clausen – Piano solo
    • Dawn Harms – Violin
15. "Fawn" – 1:43 (Instrumental)
    • Tom Waits – Piano
    • Matthew Sperry – Bass
    • Gino Robair – Marimba
    • Colin Stetson – Bass clarinet
    • Carla Kihlstedt – Violin

Chart information

References