Artist: TOM WAITS
Album: THE BLACK RIDER (CD)

Release date: 1993
Media type: CD

The Black Rider is an album by Tom Waits, released in 1993 on Island Records. The album contains studio versions of songs Waits wrote for the play The Black Rider, directed by Robert Wilson and co-written by William S. Burroughs. The play is based on the German folktale Der Freischьtz, which had previously been made into an opera by Carl Maria von Weber.

The Black Rider premiered on March 31, 1990, at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, Germany. Its world English-language premiere occurred in 1998 at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival.

Waits's collaboration with Wilson would later continue with the plays Alice (1992) and Woyzeck (2000), the music to which was released on the albums Alice and Blood Money, respectively.

All songs written by Tom Waits, except where noted. Recorded in 1989 by Gerd Bessler at his Music Factory in Hamburg, Germany (2, 3, 6–9, 14–16, 19, 20), and in 1993 by Chad Blake at the Prairie Sun Recording Studios in Cotati, United States (1, 4, 5, 10–13, 17, 18).

TRACKLIST:

1."Lucky Day Overture" – 2:27
Tom Waits – vocal, calliope
Ralph Carney – sax
Bill Douglas – bass
Kenny Wollesen – percussion
Matt Brubeck – cello
Joe Gore – banjo
Nick Phelps – French horn
Kevin Porter – trombone

2."The Black Rider" – 3:21
Greg Cohen – bass, percussion, banjo, viola
Tom Waits – organ, vocal

3."November" – 2:53
Tom Waits – piano, banjo, vocal
Greg Cohen – bass, accordion
Don Neely – saw

4."Just the Right Bullets" – 3:35
Matt Brubeck – cello
Kenny Wollesen – percussion
Joe Gore – banjo
Ralph Carney – bass clarinet
Tom Waits – vocal, piano
Larry Rhodes – bassoon
Bill Douglas – bass
Francis Thumm – organ

5."Black Box Theme" (instrumental) – 2:42
Tom Waits – chamberlain
Don Neely – saw
Bill Douglas – bass
Matt Brubeck – cello
Kenny Wollesen – percussion
Nick Phelps – French horn
Larry Rhodes – bassoon
Joe Gore – banjo

6."'T' Ain't No Sin" (Walter Donaldson / Edgar Leslie) – 2:25
William Burroughs – vocal
Tom Waits – marimba, Emax
Greg Cohen – bass clarinet, Emax

7."Flash Pan Hunter/Intro" (instrumental) – 1:10
Henning Stoll – contra bassoon
Stefan Schafer – bass
Volker Hemken – clarinet

8."That's the Way" (music: Waits, lyrics: William S. Burroughs) – 1:07
Hans-Jorn Braudenberg – organ
Henning Stoll – viola
Stefan Schafer – bass
Volker Hemken – clarinet
Tom Waits – vocal

9."The Briar and the Rose" – 3:50
Hans-Jorn Braudenberg – organ
Henning Stoll – viola
Stefan Schafer – bass
Volker Hemken – clarinet
Tom Waits – vocal

10."Russian Dance" (instrumental) – 3:12
Tom Waits – Emax strings
Matt Brubeck – cello
Linda Deluca – viola
Bill Douglas – bass
Kathleen Brennan, Clive Butters, Tom Waits, Francis Thumm, Joe Marquez – boots

11."Gospel Train/Orchestra" (instrumental) – 2:33
Linda Deluca – viola
Nick Phelps – French horn
Larry Rhodes – bassoon
Kevin Porter – trombone
Ralph Carney – bass clarinet
Joe Gore – guitar
Kenny Wollesen – percussion
Bill Douglas – bass
Matt Brubeck – cello

12."I'll Shoot the Moon" – 3:51
Kevin Porter – trombone
Francis Thumm – organ
Bill Douglas – bass
Ralph Carney – sax
Kenny Wollesen – percussion, marimba
Joe Gore – guitar
Matt Brubeck – cello
Tom Waits – vocal

13."Flash Pan Hunter" (music: Waits, lyrics: Burroughs) – 3:10
Ralph Carney – bass clarinet
Matt Brubeck – cello
Joe Gore – banjo
Larry Rhodes – bassoon
Bill Douglas – bass
Francis Thumm – organ
Kenny Wollesen – percussion
Don Neely – saw
Tom Waits – vocal

14."Crossroads" (music: Waits, lyrics: Burroughs) – 2:43
Tom Waits – guitar, chamberlain, vocal
Greg Cohen – bass
Gerd Bessler – viola

15."Gospel Train" – 4:43
Tom Waits – train whistle, vocal, conga, log drum
Greg Cohen – percussion, bass
Ralph Carney – bass clarinet
Bill Douglas – bass

16."Interlude" (Greg Cohen) (instrumental) – 0:18
Henning Stoll – bassoon
Christoph Moinian – French horn
Volker Hemken – clarinet

17."Oily Night" – 4:23
Matt Brubeck – cello
Kenny Wollesen – percussion
Bill Douglas – bass
Ralph Carney – sax, bass clarinet
Nick Phelps – French horn
Kevin Porter – trombone
Larry Rhodes – contra bassoon
Joe Gore – banjo, guitar
Linda Deluca – viola
Featuring "The Boners"

18."Lucky Day" – 3:42
Tom Waits – organ & vocal
Bill Douglas – bass
Ralph Carney – baritone horn
Matt Brubeck – cello
Kenny Wollesen – percussion
Joe Gore – guitar

19."The Last Rose of Summer" – 2:07
Tom Waits – organ, vocal, chamberlain
Greg Cohen – bass

20."Carnival" (instrumental) – 1:15
Tom Waits – chamberlain, Emax
Greg Cohen – bass