Tom Waits – Alice (canadian Bootleg) (1999)

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."

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…

Tom Waits released Real Gone in October 2004. Waits' only album to date to feature absolutely no piano on any of its tracks, Waits beatboxed on the opening track, Top of the Hill , and most of the album's songs begin with Waits' vocal percussion" improvisations. A more rock-oriented effort, with less blues influence than his previous releases, Harp Magazine chose it as the finest release of the year. The Real Gone Tour played sold out locations in North America and Europe in October and November 2004, and on 21st November performed at Amsterdam s Koninklijk Theater Carré, where Tom and band put on a quite mesmerising show which included several numbers from the new album alongside a fine selection of choice cuts from previous records. Recorded for live FM Radio Broadcast, this entire show is now available for the first time on this dynamic 2CD Set.