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Tom Waits's first full foray into the movie business would have been much more widely praised at the time, and the soundtrack would played today, if the film had not met with bewilderment and accusations that Francis Ford Coppola's ego had created a monstrous, expensive folly. To be sure, One from the Heart is a curate's egg of a movie, but the songs, production, (by Waits's early studio mentor, Bones Howe), and the performances capture pure romance far better than the gauche visuals of the movie. Set over the course of one night, the soundtrack essays the thoughts of a pair of lovers--Waits and Crystal Gayle. Although working in an unfamiliar idiom, Gayle is a fine singer who is well suited to the material. Lush string and smoky jazz-club arrangements adorn these torch songs. There are a few hints of the weird and surreal Waits, particularly on the splendid "You Can't Unring a Bell." For Waits's fans that love his romantic sides, this album contains as many reasons to be cheerful as Blue Valentine and Closing Time. --Rob Stewart, ISBN13: B0000025P6 ISBN10: B0000025P6 Material Type: audioCD