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]

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.