Top tracks — play these first
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Old Boyfriends — This track encapsulates the album's melancholic tone, featuring wistful lyrics that reflect on lost relationships with a haunting melody that lingers in the listener's mind.
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Broken Bicycles — With its poignant imagery and simplicity, this song evokes a sense of longing and nostalgia, making it a standout moment that highlights Waits' lyrical prowess.
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You Can't Unring a Bell — This track combines sparse instrumentation with reflective lyrics about irreversible choices, embodying the album's central themes of love and regret.
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This One's From the Heart — As the title track, it serves as an emotional centerpiece of the album, delivering heartfelt sentiments through Waits' signature gravelly voice and rich musical arrangement.
Elevation
Our rating, out of 100 — and why.
AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.
The album's narrative approach and eclectic instrumentation create a unique listening experience.
What we noticed
- Tracks often shift in instrumentation and mood, with some pieces featuring lush orchestration while others are stripped down to piano and voice.
- Several songs utilize unconventional song structures, eschewing traditional verse-chorus formats in favor of more fluid arrangements.
- Composition 25% of the score
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7/10
- Craft 20% of the score
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8/10
- Durability 25% of the score
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6/10
- Distinctiveness 18% of the score
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8/10
- Sequencing 12% of the score
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5/10
the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics
production, performance, arrangement
whether it rewards returning to it
whether it sounds like itself
running order, pacing, length
Significant within its genre. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.
Is this for you?
Good fit if you like
- nighttime melancholy with whimsical storytelling
- dynamic narrative flow through tracks
- short bursts of reflective emotion
- piano-driven intimacy for quiet moments
Maybe skip if you
- seeking upbeat party vibes
- prefer standalone hits over narratives
Where this album fits
- In the catalog
- Experimental — This album represents a notable departure in sound and approach for Waits.
- Career context
- By the time 'One from the Heart' was released in 1982, Tom Waits had established himself as a distinctive voice in music with his prior albums like 'Small Change' and 'Blue Valentine.' This album marked a significant departure from his earlier work, being a soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola's film, which showcased Waits' artistic versatility and deepened his exploration of theatricality in music.
- Stylistic neighbors
- Leonard Cohen· Nick Cave· Captain Beefheart
Tracklist
Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.
- 1 Opening Montage: Tom's Piano Intro / Once Upon a Town / The Wages of Love 5:16
- 2 Is There Any Way out of This Dream? 2:13
- 3 Picking Up After You 3:54
- 4 Old Boyfriends 5:53
- 5 Broken Bicycles 2:53
- 6 I Beg Your Pardon 4:26
- 7 Little Boy Blue 3:43
- 8 Instrumental Montage: The Tango / Circus Girl 3:00
- 9 You Can't Unring a Bell 2:20
- 10 This One's From the Heart 5:45
- 11 Take Me Home 1:37
- 12 Presents 1:00
Reference: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz · Wikidata
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