Blood Money

Q - 4 out of 5 stars - "...A powerful and almost gleeful celebration of the horrors of the world...[Wait's] tunes and rhythms are at their jauntiest..." Mojo - Ranked #18 in Mojo's "Best Albums of 2002" CMJ - "...A subdued LSD hootenanny..." Uncut - Ranked #11 in Uncut's "100 Best Albums of the Year" Alternative Press - 8 out of 10 - "...BLOOD MONEY works perfectly....[its] biggest strength is in its lyrics, which are rich with symbolism..." NME - 7 out of 10 - "...A cacophonous, fearsome and shadowy delight..." Rolling Stone - 3.5 out of 5 stars - "...[Waits'] throat is...pure theater, a weapon of pictorial emphasis and raw honesty....BLOOD MONEY is especially grim, a bitter suite about greed and moral bankruptcy..." Spin - 7 out of 10 - "...From the fantastically sinister mock-tango instrumental...to the hilarious whiskey-bar soundtrack...this album has an edge and forward motion..." Magnet - "...It all sounds like familair Waits territory, but the earth here is scorched, the characters more distressed, the tone more funereal..." Mojo - "...Makes for an extravagant headphone experience if you're in the right frame of mind....[It's] brutal, nihilistic, dark and visceral...with moments of tender, almost unbearable loveliness..." Mojo (1/03, p.74) - Ranked #18 in Mojo's "Best Albums of 2002" Uncut (1/03, p.94) - Ranked #11 in Uncut's "100 Best Albums of the Year" Rolling Stone (5/23/02, p.78) - 3.5 out of 5 stars - "...[Waits'] throat is...pure theater, a weapon of pictorial emphasis and raw honesty....BLOOD MONEY is especially grim, a bitter suite about greed and moral bankruptcy..." Spin (6/02, p.109) - 7 out of 10 - "...From the fantastically sinister mock-tango instrumental...to the hilarious whiskey-bar soundtrack...this album has an edge and forward motion..." Q (May 2002, p.114) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...A powerful and almost gleeful celebration of the horrors of the world...[Wait's] tunes and rhythms are at their jauntiest..." Mojo (5/02, p.94) - "...Makes for an extravagant headphone experience if you're in the right frame of mind....[It's] brutal, nihilistic, dark and visceral...with moments of tender, almost unbearable loveliness..." Alternative Press (7/02, p.96) - 8 out of 10 - "...BLOOD MONEY works perfectly....[its] biggest strength is in its lyrics, which are rich with symbolism..." Magnet (6-7/02, p.111) - "...It all sounds like familair Waits territory, but the earth here is scorched, the characters more distressed, the tone more funereal..." NME (5/18/02, p.35) - 7 out of 10 - "...A cacophonous, fearsome and shadowy delight..." CMJ (5/20/02, p.6) - "...A subdued LSD hootenanny..."

'Blood Money' follows along the same lines as 'Alice', in that it was also originally written for an opera. Inspired and loosely based on the sociopolitical play 'Woyzeck', which was written in 1837. This is a more traditional sounding Tom Waits album, mixing folk, country, blues and jazz ballads, therefore not as avant-garde as 'Alice'. Both albums have been released simultaneously.|