Songs For Kid

This is the final chapter of a trilogy of albums in which I explored and arranged popular songs. The entire project was made in collaboration with vocalists Theo Bleckmann and Kate McGarry, pianist Gary Versace, and the Frankfurt Radio Big Band. For the first recording, Songs I Like A Lot, I selected the majority of the songs for the album. Many of the songs I chose were from my childhood, and as I started to really listen to them again, I was surprised by how well I actually knew them. The second recording, Songs We Like A Lot, is composed primarily of songs that Theo and Kate liked and chose for me to arrange. Uri Caine held down the piano chair on this recording. And for this third and final recording, Songs You Like A Lot, we asked listeners to nominate their favorite songs for me to arrange. We then had an internet-wide vote on a list of nominated songs, and I chose (with the help of Kate, Theo and Gary) from the top 20 most popular songs.

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.