What have you been listening to?

[Rev. Powell]

"Heart Attack and Vine" by Tom Waits

"You know there ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk."

[Flick James]

"Heart Attack and Vine" by Tom Waits

"You know there ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk."

Good album. A precursor to his weird years. Plenty of stuff that resembles his 70's work, but also some little hints of things to come.

Are you still listening to the entire Tom Waits catalog in reverse order?

[Flick James]

"Heart Attack and Vine" by Tom Waits

"You know there ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk."

Also, according the wikipedia article about his album, it says it was his best-selling album until 1999's Mule Variations. I like both albums, but it's hard for me to imagine that either one of them out-sold his seminal 80's trilogy releases: Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Frank's Wild Years. I wonder if that information is accurate.

[Psycho Circus]

[Rev. Powell]

"Heart Attack and Vine" by Tom Waits

"You know there ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk."

Also, according the wikipedia article about his album, it says it was his best-selling album until 1999's Mule Variations. I like both albums, but it's hard for me to imagine that either one of them out-sold his seminal 80's trilogy releases: Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Frank's Wild Years. I wonder if that information is accurate.

No, I abandoned the mini-project of listening to all the albums in reverse order.

Love HA&V, but as you point out it's definitely a transition album: sort of 1/2 the 70s style and 1/2 the eighties style. "Small Change" is the same way.

As far as the charts go, I guess it's not too surprising.  The Island releases are classics in retrospect but they were way too strange for the mainstream (still are).  I never even heard of Tom growing up or through high school, it wasn't until 1987 that I first heard him on an underground radio station. 

[Flick James]

"Heart Attack and Vine" by Tom Waits

"You know there ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk."

Also, according the wikipedia article about his album, it says it was his best-selling album until 1999's Mule Variations. I like both albums, but it's hard for me to imagine that either one of them out-sold his seminal 80's trilogy releases: Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Frank's Wild Years. I wonder if that information is accurate.

No, I abandoned the mini-project of listening to all the albums in reverse order.

Love HA&V, but as you point out it's definitely a transition album: sort of 1/2 the 70s style and 1/2 the eighties style. "Small Change" is the same way.

As far as the charts go, I guess it's not too surprising.  The Island releases are classics in retrospect but they were way too strange for the mainstream (still are).  I never even heard of Tom growing up or through high school, it wasn't until 1987 that I first heard him on an underground radio station. 

I first heard him in 1986, the same year graduated HS and started getting into indy films. I saw Jim Jarmusch's Down By Law, my first experience actually going to an indy theatre in Hollywood, and the film contains two Waits songs (and Waits himself in a primary role) from Rain Dogs, "Jockey Full of Bourbon" in the opening sequence and "Tango 'Till They're Sore" in the closing credits. I think the combination of the first song accompanying a steady sequence of driving pan shots of old New Orleans in black and white instantly drew me to the music and I immediately started acquiring albums. Sadly, my ex-wife ended up with all my old LPs, which includes ALL the 80's stuff, plus Small Change, Closing Time, and Nighthawks at the Diner.

[Flick James]

Inspired by Rev and I's recent posts, I remembered I have a copy of this release on vinyl I found at a used record store, and I'm listening to it as we speak. What a great album.

The story behind it is interesting. The album was performed live in front of an audience, but not at a nightclub. Due to the logistical difficulties of getting a quality music recording at a nightclub, they decided to invite a crowd into the old Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles, set it up like a nightclub, and have Tom, accompanied by a 4-piece jazz band (although he replaces the hired pianist on some numbers), perform new material live. This way they could get a quality recording but still have a live performance. None of the material appears on any of his studio albums. The band he hired had to memorize the material over a few days of rehearsals because Tom Waits didn't provide sheet music.

What you get is a live performance of very loungy jazz, but legit jazz. Tom growls out the songs in his fashion, telling numerous stories and jokes throughout. I love the name of the fictitious nightclub he is performing that he mentions in the opening intro "welcome to Rafael's Silver Cloud Lounge." They did it so well that you can almost smell the smoke filled air and the bourbon-stained naugahide.

[Rev. Powell]

Inspired by Rev and I's recent posts, I remembered I have a copy of this release on vinyl I found at a used record store, and I'm listening to it as we speak. What a great album.

The story behind it is interesting. The album was performed live in front of an audience, but not at a nightclub. Due to the logistical difficulties of getting a quality music recording at a nightclub, they decided to invite a crowd into the old Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles, set it up like a nightclub, and have Tom, accompanied by a 4-piece jazz band (although he replaces the hired pianist on some numbers), perform new material live. This way they could get a quality recording but still have a live performance. None of the material appears on any of his studio albums. The band he hired had to memorize the material over a few days of rehearsals because Tom Waits didn't provide sheet music.

What you get is a live performance of very loungy jazz, but legit jazz. Tom growls out the songs in his fashion, telling numerous stories and jokes throughout. I love the name of the fictitious nightclub he is performing that he mentions in the opening intro "welcome to Rafael's Silver Cloud Lounge." They did it so well that you can almost smell the smoke filled air and the bourbon-stained naugahide.

I'd just like to emphasize that the stories he tells before each song are comic masterpieces.  He's talking about eating at greasy spoons and he tells the story about how his veal cutlet is so undercooked it gets up off the plate and tries to beat up his cup of coffee, but "the coffee just wasn't strong enough to defend itself."

There's also the whole prologue to "All My Friends Are Married" where he talks about calling himself up and taking himself out on a date. 

[Psycho Circus]

My favourite Scorpions album. A hard rock masterpiece.

[Flick James]

Inspired by Rev and I's recent posts, I remembered I have a copy of this release on vinyl I found at a used record store, and I'm listening to it as we speak. What a great album.

The story behind it is interesting. The album was performed live in front of an audience, but not at a nightclub. Due to the logistical difficulties of getting a quality music recording at a nightclub, they decided to invite a crowd into the old Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles, set it up like a nightclub, and have Tom, accompanied by a 4-piece jazz band (although he replaces the hired pianist on some numbers), perform new material live. This way they could get a quality recording but still have a live performance. None of the material appears on any of his studio albums. The band he hired had to memorize the material over a few days of rehearsals because Tom Waits didn't provide sheet music.

What you get is a live performance of very loungy jazz, but legit jazz. Tom growls out the songs in his fashion, telling numerous stories and jokes throughout. I love the name of the fictitious nightclub he is performing that he mentions in the opening intro "welcome to Rafael's Silver Cloud Lounge." They did it so well that you can almost smell the smoke filled air and the bourbon-stained naugahide.

I'd just like to emphasize that the stories he tells before each song are comic masterpieces.  He's talking about eating at greasy spoons and he tells the story about how his veal cutlet is so undercooked it gets up off the plate and tries to beat up his cup of coffee, but "the coffee just wasn't strong enough to defend itself."

There's also the whole prologue to "All My Friends Are Married" where he talks about calling himself up and taking himself out on a date.  

Another added note. Tom did two shows a night for two nights to make that album, and he hired a typical 70's stripper to perform as the opening act to get the crowd in the proper mood, while the jazz band he had assembled for his act played 60's/70's bump and grind music. Tom makes the joke in his opening intro "I'd like to thank Lewanda for opening the program this evening. I'm so g**damn horny the crack of dawn better be careful around me."

[Flick James]

My favourite Scorpions album. A hard rock masterpiece.

I used to have that on vinyl. Fine album. "The Zoo" is legendary.

[Rev. Powell]

Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra; Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta; Hungarian Sketches

[Psycho Circus]

The poor man's Giant. The heavier follow up to their rather pedestrian 1989 AOR debut.

[HappyGilmore]

Back in Black by AC/DC


Flyleaf by Flyleaf

[Rev. Powell]

"Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart" by Camper Van Beethoven