Roger Ebert memorably described the 1982 flop One From the Heart as “a major disappointment,” saying director Francis Ford Coppola had released “an interesting production but not a good movie.” I’ve never seen it, so I’ll just have to take everyone’s word that the film deserved its fate.
Fortunately, the same can not be said about the accompanying soundtrack album that was entirely written and performed by Tom Waits and featured Crystal Gayle as his guest vocalist. He invited the country star to sing on this soundtrack when his first choice, Bette Midler, was unable to participate due to scheduling conflicts. After Midler declined the offer, Waits heard Gayle sing “Cry Me a River” on the radio and the job was hers.
My copy of One From the Heart is on an old bootlegged, 12-song cassette that I just transferred to compact disc using my home stereo system. Then I burned it to iTunes so I can sync it to my iPod. It has a slightly different song selection and sequence order than the official release. I never replaced it because the Columbia Records version included additional instrumental selections that seemed incidental to the rest of the music, and I preferred the cassette’s running order.
Of the 12 tracks, four are duets. Gayle stars as a soloist on three more and the rest are all Waits – including the instrumental, “Tango.” Most of the set is typical of Tom Waits. The songs make the listener believe they’re in a seedy, underground smoke-filled bar with a trying-to-smile Humphrey Bogart downing a whiskey with a woman he both loves and loathes at the same time.
Gayle proved she is a surprisingly effective jazz singer. “Picking Up After You” is one of the best duets to ever come from such an unlikely pairing. No, let me correct that: The song ranks up there as one of the all-time great duets by any anyone, anywhere, anytime, any genre. “Picking Up After You” also includes a wonderful, soulful trumpet solo from Jack Sheldon, who likewise stars on several other tracks.
“Old Boyfriends” is a winner too. It’s an emotional torch song that is far removed from Crystal Gaye’s best-known country hit, “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.”
Waits shows off his out-of-the-mainstream personality on the almost spoken-word “Can’t Unring a Bell” by using bass and tympani as the only instrumental accompaniment. Other highlights include Gayle on “Is there Any Way Out of This Dream,” and Waits on “I Beg Your Pardon” and “Broken Bicycles.”
One From the Heart was produced by longtime Waits associate Bones Howe and also features tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards, drummer Shelly Mann, and Greg Cohen on bass. In addition to vocals, Waits played piano and helped with the string arrangements.
Don’t file this record under “soundtracks” because One From the Heart really is a Tom Waits album from start to finish. Crystal Gayle’s superb vocal contributions are just icing on the cake.
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