According to what I can find about this and the other new Waits album, this is the first official recording of an opera Waits co-wrote in the early nineties with his wife and frequent collaborator Kathleen Brennan. As can be expected, the music and thematic elements vary from the blues to jazz to carnival shouts, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes absurd and sometimes outright bizarre, yet still managing to hang onto a common thread that keeps the proceedings from falling apart. While it’s always nice to hear Waits’ inimitable howl, Alice is also easily one of his best albums ever and should easily satisfy the recent convert and long-time follower alike. Highly recommended.
–jimmy (Anti/Epitaph)