A Beer Tale (2012)

Tom Waits - Used Songs 1973-1980 (2001) {Elektra–Rhino 8122-78351-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 402 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 184 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 40 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1973-80, 2001 Asylum / Elektra / Rhino / Warner | 8122-78351-2
Rock / Blues / Blues Rock / Singer-Songwriter

Rhino's fine 16-track collection Used Songs (1973-1980) chronicles Tom Waits' first seven albums, all recorded for Asylum Records. This contains pretty much all his staples from the '70s – "Heartattack and Vine," "Burma Shave," "Ol' 55," "Jersey Girl," "(Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night," and "Tom Traubert's Blues" among them – sequenced not chronologically, but sequenced for maximum impact. Given the sheer amount of music Waits made for Asylum, it shouldn't be surprising that there are some fan favorites missing, but there are no complaints with what is here, and this provides a near-perfect encapsulation of his pre-Island years, especially for those only familiar with the Island recordings.

Jan Vayne is a Dutch pianist. He began piano lessons at the age of 4 years and by the time he was 10, he had won his first prize. In 1984 Vayne began his study at the conservatorium in Zwolle and he graduated with a soloist diploma. He received much acclaim after several appearances on Dutch television talk shows.

Mark Lanegan's first solo album, 1990's The Winding Sheet, was a darker, quieter, and more emotionally troubling affair than what fans were accustomed to from his work as lead singer with the Screaming Trees. The follow-up album, 1994 's Whiskey for the Holy Ghost, used The Winding Sheet's sound and style as a starting point, with Lanegan and producer/instrumentalist Mike Johnson constructing resonant but low-key instrumental backdrops for the singer's tales of heartbreak, alcohol, and dashed hopes. While The Winding Sheet often sounded inspired but tentative, like the solo project from a member of an established band, Whiskey for the Holy Ghost speaks with a quiet but steely confidence of an artist emerging with his own distinct vision. The songs are more literate and better realized than on the debut, the arrangements are subtle and supportive (often eschewing electric guitars for keyboards and acoustic instruments), and Lanegan's voice, bathed in bourbon and nicotine, transforms the deep sorrow of the country blues (a clear inspiration for this music) into something new, compelling, and entirely his own. Whiskey for the Holy Ghost made it clear that Mark Lanegan had truly arrived as a solo artist, and it ranks alongside American Music Club's Everclear as one of the best "dark night of the soul" albums of the 1990s.