Superquick review: Tom Waits's "Mule Variations"

[cyrano]

I'm not even finished listening to it! Holy God! Oh! And I'm already reviewing it! (Well, because I'm supposed to go to bed.) Holy God! Tom Waits! Dirty bar room with sticky floor. Back porch with chickens poking around! Several times, I had to just stare at my iTunes, mouth agape, trying to take it in!

And then! There was the "Word Jazz" track, "What's He Building?". Creepity! ZOMG! So good! All of it! Well, except when he channels Randy Newman in "House Where Nobody Lives" which was tiresome but the REST! Jesus God, I almost died. And it keeps getting better! "Chocolate Jesus"! I still have four tracks to go!

Five! Five wags with great enthusiasm and knocking shit off the coffee table!

Comments

[jakejr.livejournal.com]

Okay, well, sooner or later you need, like, everything, more or less, given that he's one of our greatest living songwriters.

But right now, what you need to do is find Nighthawks at the Diner. It's live, so it's got his characteristic (and frequently hilarious) rambling mumbling between tracks, and it was recorded in the 1970s, before his smoking stripped the last of the sweetness out of his voice.

Not that the roar he has in his chest now isn't beautiful, too, in its own way, but I love the sound of his voice back then.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I had often wondered what had happened with his voice.
(And I'm often amused that what really got me into Tom Waits was Sports Night.)

[jakejr.livejournal.com]

I have no special knowledge, of course, but I have always assumed it was smoking. He certainly smokes on camera often enough, and the gravel that has developed over the years is what I think of as very characteristic of long-term, heavy smoking. I think he's now making the most of the depth and gravel he's acquired by dragging it out of some deep part of his chest and cultivating that great big roar (I recently saw him play The Devil* in a film and nearly died it was so perfect).

And in my case, like Leonard Cohen's work, I was introduced to Tom Waits through other people's covers of his stuff, and came to know the originals later.

Seriously, though, Nighthawks. Are you listening to it yet? ... How about now?


*Or, at the very least, a major bargain-making demon--I don't recall if they made it textual that he was the big cheese himself.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing that was "Imaginarium"--with a name like Mister Nick, you have to think...
So who does Tom Waits covers? I mean, I've heard Sarah McLachlan do Ol' 55, and can only imagine how different the original must be. I haven't gotten Nighthawks yet--we're kind of snowed in and managed to get the two miles to a diner for food tonight but not anywhere near the library yet.

[jakejr.livejournal.com]

It was indeed Imaginarium...

And who doesn't cover Tom Waits is a better question, perhaps. Holly Cole did an entire album of his songs reimagined as jazz trio torch songs, for one, but here, see what the internets have to say about it. http://www.coversproject.com/artist/tom%20waits -- the first ten listings or so are things he's covered of other people's, but it very quickly turns the page over to the VERY long list of people who've done his stuff. No idea how complete the list is, but it hits all of the ones I could think of offhand.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Okay, that's a pretty awesome website. (Although after "Big in Japan" I feel like I'd need to doublecheck anything I took away.)
And now I'll add the Holly Cole album (and maybe Scarlett Johanson) to the list of Tom Waits CDs I should check out. (:

[jakejr.livejournal.com]

The "Step Right Up" tribute album is recommended, also. And let me know what you think when you do get to Nighthawks.

I bet someone somewhere's done a more comprehensive (and accurate) listing of covers of his stuff, but that was the one I came up with first last night.