Alice

By Tom Waits

I am trying to teach myself to play the piano for about three years now(without taking lessons). Just for fun. In my opinion Waits simply is the best songwriter. His music inspires me to play along. 'Alice' is an excellent album containing beautiful songs. I was disappointed one song...

from the album was missing in the book (Kommeniezuspat) and one or two songs are transcripted in a slightly different key (comparing to the original).

According to Waits, his father was throwing away an old console piano. Tom did not know how to play. The piano was in such disrepair that except for a few white keys, only the black keys worked So Waits taught himself piano on the black keys, basically. This explains his...

use of F sharp giving the listener or piano player the easy opportunity to play in G. Notice that most of his songs are in C or G. In the Alice sheet music, the proper notation is used and for guitars, one is advised to place a capo on the first fret (making the open 1st and 6th strings F sharp). He also includes Kathleen Brennan as co-writer of the songs--finally. She has been working with him throughout their more than twenty year marriage.

Tom Waits dual release of 'Alice' and 'BloodMoney' were more than any Waits fan could dream of, hope for or imagine. Both albums shine with a brightness only seen from the darkest of rooms. If you get Waits musical poetry, you're sure to love Alice. Poetic in ways of...

old albums, but with the finesse of newly polished brass in a dusty,cobweb filled attic. He grows in perfection like a fine aperitif each year passing bringing finer richer notes to his music/poetry. The balance of sadness, beauty and grit is finely tuned and the overall feeling is that of waking up the next morning after falling in love while stumbling drunkenly on the nod of some excellent Turkish and Bourbon in out of the rain to a dirty old bodega to find some old bum playing like fire on the piano with a backup band from heaven and hell. Perfectly Tom Waits.