Grapefruit Moon: The Songs of Tom Waits

I have a soft spot for Southside & co., and think the first three Jukes albums are great pieces, in the same way the first three Boz Scaggs albums on Columbia are great.

BUT...I never took him or the band entirely seriously; they were more in the line of 'real good local guys who got a big hand up from Springsteen and Van Zandt.' In other words, I was not entirely sure what Southside brought to the game.

I get it now; this is the work of considerable musicians who are technically solid, and loaded with soul - and with the kind of self control you only get on *great* big band records. Southside's a helluva singer, and gets to the heart of Waits' songs - if you can't hear the music in Waits' own records because the instruments or the singer are too eccentric for you, this is the cure.

The other thing this reminds me of, strangely, is Dylan's 'World Gone Wrong.' It's singer versus big mysteries, and everybody wins.

I can't think of the last time a new album moved me so much.

Scott Atkinson
Watertown NY

Being a Jersey Shore musician and fan of Southside and Tom Waits, I find this as one of the best albums he has ever done and the arrangements by La Bamba really show his skills as a new generation big band leader, reminds me of the great big bands of the early seventies ie: Chicago, Electric Flag, Al Kooper's Blood Sweat & Tears and I am not forgetting Buddy Rich and Maynard Furguson. All I have to say is what a shot in the arm for Southside,La Bamba, and lets not forget Tom Waits.This really brings his talent as a songwriter and poet to another level.

Tom Waits and Southside Johnny Lyon. The imagry is undeniably gritty. In your mind's eye you can see two guys in a dark old man's bar. They'll be sitting in either a booth in the corner or at the end of the bar; either way, they're be in shadow. You also will avoid eye contact 'cause there's nothing but toughness to be seen here. And yet, you're talking about the men that gave us 'Jersey Girl' and 'Hearts of Stone,' so they are capable of wearing their hearts on their sleeves.

This album has been of pet project of Southside for a while. First as a dream and then as a genuine recording effort in 2005 and 2006. But, Southside Johnny covering Tom Waits wasn't going to be a walk in the park. A walk along the boardwalk early Sunday morning after the bars and clubs have closed or along an alley under the same conditions; those could be the case. Now, let's add a big band sound to it...really heavy horn section led by long-time partner Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg. That puts yet another twist on the songs of the enigmatic Mr. Waits and the blues wail of Mr. Lyon. The fact that it has been released says buckets about Southside's opinion of Tom Waits. I have to wonder what Waits thinks of this effort. Hopefully, he will see it as the act of love and respect that - to my mind - it is.

The result: one excellent recording.

This CD is more about LaBamba's band than it is hearing Southside Johnny singing Tom Waits. I really wanted to hear Southside's take on Waltzing Matilda but that would be too slow and wouldn't fit the flavor of the CD.

I've been a Southside fan for 30 years, and also a Tom Waits fan. I was looking forward to this CD, but I didn't expect anything like this. Southside's voice is a perfect match for the music of Tom Waits, and LaBamba's big band is perfect. I never thought big band arrangements for Tom Waits' music could sound so terrific. Get this album. You won't be disappointed. Like another review stated, once you start listening to this it is hard to stop!