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Wicked Grin
by John Hammond

John Hammond reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 88 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.3 out of 10
based on 10 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 6 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Tom Waits produced the album and wrote 12 of the 13 tracks.

LABEL: Pointblank
RELEASE DATE: 13 March 2001
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Blues

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
Rolling Stone
His album of Waits' penned-and-produced songs may be the masterwork of Hammond's long career, as well as further testament to Waits' unique genius.
Read Full Review
90
The Onion (A.V. Club)
A near-perfect mix of two sympathetic talents operating in top form.
Read Full Review
90
CDNow
Wicked Grin is a rousingly successful experiment. The album's best moments equal -- and often surpass -- anything in both artists' consistently creative careers.
Read Full Review
90
Dot Music
In Hammond, [Waits] has found a worthy collaborator, one who gets to the heart of what these strange lyrics are actually about and imbues their sharp angles, acute observations and nicotine-stained introspection with some real insight and understanding.
Read Full Review
85
Wall of Sound
As expressive as Hammond's guitar work is on signature songs like "Heartattack and Vine," it still has a sweet sound, and that, too, is mostly a new context for Waits' songs. The horror and the hardness is less immediate, slightly more mannered.
Read Full Review
80
Q Magazine
Wicked Grin is a bona fide revelation.... A rambunctious joy from beginning to end.
Read Full Review
80
All Music Guide
Choosing from a wide variety of Waits' material, Hammond infuses these unusual tracks with a bluesman's spirit and a crackling energy that practically reinvents the songs, instilling them with an ominous, rhythmic swampy feel.
Read Full Review
80
Sonicnet
The collaboration ultimately benefits both players, adding a touch of art house abandon to Hammond's at times studied formalism, and authenticity to Waits' Martian grease-monkey blues.
Read Full Review
80
Launch.com
Hammond's vocal, minus Waits's affected (and annoying) growl, puts the emphasis where it belongs--on the songs. The effect is to make peculiar vistas like "Jockey Full Of Bourbon" and "Murder In The Red Barn" even more vivid and the tunes truly sound like artifacts from another era.
Read Full Review
70
HOB.com
The material is perfectly suited to Hammond's subtle syncopation and sauntering vocals. The warmth of the recording makes it seem all the more like listening to a master storyteller sharing tales that have been passed down through generations.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kacey E. gave it a 9:
If I could give it a 9.5 I would. This album embodies the best of John Hammond and Tom Waits. The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because I'm holding out hope that they get together to produce another album again.

Nod R. gave it a 9:
well, i had to choose between this and waits new alice . havent heard alice yet but based on one front to back listen, it's gonna have to be real good to beat this. waits voice is for me a little to eccentric at times. so i dig this collaboration, cuz as a songwriter he is a national treasure. only gave it a 9 instead of 10 only because i've only had a chance for one listen, but my first impression is bring on vol. 2!!!!!!!

Carl M. gave it a 10:
Damn Decent

David F. gave it a 9:
Blues sensibility added to Los Angeles retro-sleaze/ romanticism. But nobody does "Heart Attack and Vine" quite as good as Waits.

Peter M. gave it a 9:
It's great...but the originals still have an axe-edge that's too smoothed out by Hammond's mellow dispassion

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