Tom+waits

Digitally remastered edition. Closing Time is the debut record by Tom Waits and it foreshadows the distinctly lyrical storytelling and original blending of jazz, blues and folk styles that would come to be associated with the artist. Waits performs enduring classics of his career such as Ol' 55 (covered by the Eagles), the heartbreaking "Martha" and the gentle acoustic folk of "I Hope I Don't Fall In Love With You". Produced and arranged by former Lovin' Spoonful member Jerry Yester, Closing Time was the first of seven of Waits' major releases by Asylum. The album is noted for being predominantly folk influenced although Waits intended for Closing Time to be "a jazz, piano-led album."

STUNNING BROADCAST RECORDING FROM THE GLITTER AND DOOM TOUR. Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, the three CD set of Tom Waits’ rarities and previously unreleased archive tracks, was issued in November 2006, and was the great man’s first new album since 2004’s Real Gone. The record was released to highly positive reviews, scoring 92 out of 100 on aggregator Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim". It ranked second on Metacritic's Top 30 albums of 2006, and was nominated for the 2006 Shortlist Music Prize and the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Prior the release of Orphans…, Waits performed a short series of shows in the summer of 2006, across the South and Mid-West of the US, which he titled ‘Orphans’. Featuring numbers from the pending box set, Tom’s son Casey played with him in the band accompanying Tom. • In 2008, Waits embarked on his ‘Glitter and Doom Tour’, starting in the U.S. and then moving to Europe. Both of his sons played with him on the tour. At the June concert in El Paso, Texas, he was awarded the keys to the city. Among the finest concerts Tom and entourage played on this tour however, was their show at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta Georgia, on 5th July. Performing a quite extraordinary set covering cuts from numerous past records, plus a smattering of new material to boot, the event was dazzling. Previously unreleased, this new 2CD Set now contains the entire live broadcast, which was transmitted in the greater Georgia area at the time.

Franks’ Wild Years emerged in 1987. Between the subtitle Un Operachi Romantico in Two Acts, the album title’s callback to the Swordfishtrombones character, and the presence of “Frank’s Theme,” the record could be viewed as an account of Frank’s misadventures. But Waits is a born three-card monte man, so that could all be obfuscation.

Franks’ Wild Years emerged in 1987. Between the subtitle Un Operachi Romantico in Two Acts, the album title’s callback to the Swordfishtrombones character, and the presence of “Frank’s Theme,” the record could be viewed as an account of Frank’s misadventures. But Waits is a born three-card monte man, so that could all be obfuscation.

Bad as Me is Tom Waits' first collection of new material in seven years. He and Kathleen Brennan - wife, co-songwriter, and production partner - have, at the latter's insistence, come up with a tight-knit collection of short tunes, the longest is just over four minutes. This is a quick, insistent, and woolly aural road trip full of compelling stops and starts. While he's kept his sonic experimentation - especially with percussion tracks - Waits has returned to blues, rockabilly, rhythm & blues, and jazz as source material. Instead of sprawl and squall, we get chug and choogle. For "Chicago" - via Clint Maedgen's saxes, Keith Richards' (who appears sporadically here) and Marc Ribot's guitars, son Casey Waits' drums, dad's banjo, percussion and piano, and Charlie Musselwhite's harmonica (he appears numerous times here, too) - we get a 21st century take on vintage R&B…

Tom Waits’ Glitter and Doom Live doesn't fall into the various traps that many other concert recordings do, though it does have its problems. This double-disc set marks his third live effort in his nearly 40-year career, each one summing up his career to the point of its release. The first, Nighthawks at the Diner, issued in 1975 on Asylum, is regarded by many as one of the greatest live albums of all time. Big Time, released during his tenure at Island in 1986, is hotly debated in fan circles. It is likely that Glitter and Doom Live will be too, but for different reasons. The musical performances here were culled from Waits’ historic sold-out tour of the U.S. and Europe. He compiled and sequenced the tracks himself, intending to make them sound like a single show. The material leans, understandably, on his recordings with the Anti label…