Reviews (page 6 of 8)
I’m not in on the joke and this hindered my ability to appreciate this album. But Waits is a very interesting artist.
No standouts, would be better without his terrible singing
I get that there is a vibe here, just not sure I’m catching it.
I tried my best to “get” this. I guess I just ain’t cool enough. There’s other material of his that I like better, and I’ve always appreciated his eccentric and weird style. But trying to listen to mostly spoken word for over an hour is a big ask. Even if it’s witty and clever. Would’ve been much easier if experienced live in the studio sessions. As much as I tried with this, I couldn’t help but think of Mike Myers character in So I Married An Axe Murderer reciting his beat poetry: “Woman…Wo-man…Whoa, man! She makes me horny, Saturday morny…”
This would not be the record I reached for if I wanted to hear some Waits. I can see why it’s on the list, conceptually it’s unique for sure. But I was ready for it to be over almost immediately
He’s oddly charming. And at times this is good. But man, overall kind of a tough listen for me. I could see going to see him live at the right venue and this being good. But not really something I want to put on and listen to. Certainly one of a kind. I’ve heard heath ledger based some of his joker off Tom. Don’t think it was ever confirmed but you can see some of the mannerisms. 2.25
If the drunk dude yelling at you on the street could also play the piano… Rounding up based on the album capturing the feel of a small smoky jazz club, otherwise this would be a 1*. 1.5/5
Eeeeeemmm, it okey, i mean it s good, but i just dont like this type of music, it s boooorinng, so i give 2.
2 is kind. No idea why this is here.
Do you remember that scene in How I Married An Axe Murderer when Mike Myers doing spoken word in front of small band. This album is like an hour and 20 minutes of that, but not nearly as interesting. Kind of just bad
Enjoyed the jazz parts but not his drunk musings.
cut to the chase
How many of his albums do we have to listen to in this list? 2
What did I do to deserve two Waits albums in three days. Less actively unpleasant than the last one but kind of just annoying. RYM: N Saved a song: N
If I’ve learned anything from this list it’s that I’ll hate this. … As expected, I did not like this. HOWEVER, for the first time I could actually understand why others might. Shockingly, I did not actively hate it.
Não sei, não curti muito o conceito
Five albums of this guy... Five!!!! One more to go I guess. Anyways, despite the "fake live crowd" laughing at his terrible lyrics this is the least miserable album I've suffered through so far.
Day 236 Quite liked it at first but it got old really quickly and unlikely I’ll ever return to it, glad I heard it though. Highlights On a Foggy Night Eggs and Sausage
Aaaaaaaaaaargh osti qu’il me gosse ce mec à la noix, c’est le même problème que Nick le Cave, vieux con au piano. Pis c’est quoi, son 8e albums sur la liste? Ça n’a pas d’allure! Au moins, ma délivrance s’approche
The club‑night vibe is cool in theory, but the talk‑sing delivery keeps me at a distance.
There definitely is a time and a place for this sort of music. That scenario that one reviewer described is probably perfect for it. But for me, the idea of getting people in to essentially laugh at you whilst you ramble on doesn't sit right. If it was a live album it'd feel more authentic, but otherwise it feels quite a bit tinpot. I can definitely see myself going to some old fashioned diner, or a smoky jazz bar, with a giant bottle of whiskey in the middle of the table, chain smoking with friends, but the reality is that this sort of atmosphere just doesn't exist - at least not anymore. Makes the album feel quite performative. Therefore, for home listening the rambling between songs becomes too long, especially for 75 minute album. But the actual songs I can enjoy at certain moods. The music behind Tom was good too - the bass player I liked and the piano player even more. My listening experience as of right now probably warrants a 1, but there are times - and more specifically, places - where I can definitely enjoy this, so I deem a 1 too harsh, albeit these times to be rare.
back to tom since the very first album and i can say i havent been missing him. it does nothing for me and it's more just talking but like talking to a drunk uncle and you sadly don't have a beer
Tom Waits is the mustard seed from which the tree of cheuginess sprung, 30 years later.
I never got Tom waits. This doesn’t help. I admit I might be harsh. But I don’t see what all the fuss is about. And even if there is fuss one is enough. And it’s won’t be this one.
I am a big Tom Waits fan, but was not familiar with Nighthawks at the Diner. It's an album you just don't see around very often. And now I know why.... It's an interesting model of recording, setting up a ersatz night club in the studio with a small but enthusiastic audience to listen to Tom Waits, backed by a small capable band of veteran jazzbos, riff on his Bukowski-esque barfly persona. The songs are actually pretty weak; Tom Waits has written a bunch of much-covered songs that are modern standards, but none of them are here. This is more like stand-up comedy or a one-man show than an album of songs. It's an interesting experiment, and I can tolerate it better as a spoken word album. It's where Waits starts his character-driven work -- I prefer his later demented carny hobo persona to this -- and really leans into the gravel speak-sing thing. But frankly, I don't need to sit through this again.
didn't mind the parts where i couldn't hear his fucking voice
Es como estar cerca de un borracho que te da la tabarra en un karaoke.
244/1089 emotional weather report is a cool concept, but this type of raspy jazz talking isn’t something i love. That said, i’m doing this challenge to hear music i wouldn’t listen to otherwise and this is exactly that. Though i did just discover Tom has 5 albums on this list… okay if nothing else, i liked Eggs and Sausage I think this album and genre deserves to be on the list and i’m glad i’ve heard it, however i don’t really like it beyond the provenance 22/100
This isn’t an album it’s more like spoken word. This was a bad album. Tom waits sounded like the black ghost in Big Mouth
There’s some good music in here but preferably without the street poetry.
I enjoy some of his stuff and please no one get mad but I don't understand why this album is on this list. wtf is going on here? he's just chattin and bein all weird. idk. obviously it's not awful but this album is literally only here bc of his name
i've dreaded the day we hit tom waits because i don't love him as a musician as much as everyone else seems to. as an actor, i think he's fantastic (Down by Law and his small-ish role in Licorice Pizza are actually my faves), but ahhhh i just can't get behind his super fried vocals. what's extra bizarre even to me is that i love louis armstrong, and there are some similarities between the two for sure. ultimately it's probably just a genre thing: i love satchmo's style, but not tom waits. brandon i am so sorry. i want to love this, but i just don't.
I really enjoyed the moments of this where the talking ceased and the music was really prominent. I truly struggled to focus on everything Waits said in the moments where his speech was the center. I quickly learned that this is not an album to which one should try to accomplish work tasks.
Gott, war das anstrengend.
Not as horrible as the other three TW albums we’ve had. Voice not as annoying, music OK at times. One more to go.
Not even close to an album I need to hear before I die - especially after enduring multiple other Tom Waits albums on this list. Yes. This is a recording. That doesn't make it an album. Are there any stand-up comedian albums on this list? I looked. There aren't. Those are 'albums' too - some might argue considerably more coherent than this aspiring comic. It doesn't make sense to include something like this without including other divergent non-music albums. All that said, the backing musicians were fantastic. I'd give them a 4, Tom Waits a -2.
I dont get it This was made in the 70s, in California, by a white dude
I think this album appeals to a certain kind of person that is not me
Barely listenable. Is this a joke?
Even though it actually wasn’t a live performance, a small jazz club is probably the most appropriate location to hear Tom Waits perform. I still didn’t like it, but the simulated live recording definitely did help me imagine I was drinking some overpriced cocktail with some girl I was trying to impress. I’ll give it a two, but that’s being generous. Please don’t give me a fourth album from this drunken artist.
Tom is trying so hard to be cool. It's like he's cosplaying someone cooler and more talented than him. The music is better on this album, but I just can't stand his voice.
There is something fascinating about an album like this. A performance within a performance. Fake jazz club, a put upon character and forced voice. It is trying to grab a specific vibe and if you are oblivious to the perfomativeness of it all it could be good. However the illusion shatters when you know its not actually real and it just becomes a whole bunch of a nothing with a guy saying words over some objectively nice jazz music and that's it.
2/5 It's just a whole buncha nothin. I guess the vibe of the jazz club was nice, but it loses its charm once you find out it's completely staged. That, along with the fake drunkenness and the attempted wittiness just gave me the ick on this album. It was bearable as background music, but not more than that.
Just very much not my style of music. Poetry jazz
didnt finish. not for me
Just not my vibe at all
I found it boring
mumbling over some bar music
How many album spots does this guy get?this is, picture a drunk Bob Dylan hosting an open mic jazz night where he is the featured performer. Got it? That’s it. Do you like that idea? Listen then. If not. Tune out
This started out great, with Tom Waits' sardonic humour shining through and serving as the key draw of the songs, where the instrumentation acted as more of a base to keep things subtly ticking along. Before too long, however, it really did start becoming samey and fatiguing, and it's 73 minutes in length so it's an experience I'm unlikely to want to repeat. There are far better and more engaging Tom Waits albums out there, as I've come to establish through my own exploration.
I'm not really into it. I like the idea, but it's all very samey. I really don't understand why people are cheering, laughing and clapping at him saying the most inane shit. It's much better when he gets into actual songs. If you cut out all the bullshit chatter then it might get an extra star.
It's interesting I guess. The jazz club feel is kind of fun. The music is nice, Tom Waits is fine, I think this concept just doesn't do much for me. And so many of the songs are so damn long. The bassist is the best part of this album by far. The comedy bits don't do a whole lot for me. If it was just the music I might enjoy it a little more.
Paints an arrey of scenarios, but his voice is an acquired taste.
It's a nice atmosphere he creates but if I don't see myself playing this ever when I want to listen to music.
how do people stomach this mumbo jumbo? Talk singing? I don't even enjoy this voice and the material is ok at best. Also, someone told me cameron winter is the modern tom waits and now i'm even more disappointed
Næhhhh 2/5
Nice jazz but too much for me
I almost got this, but
I can see why people like this. I however felt it was rambling and a bit much. It felt like I'd stumbled into a collection of drunks, drowning their sorrows in a bar. Not my vibe
Not really a music album
This isn't my style, I can appreciate it but I won't be listening again
We all have different tastes and what we think is good - this simply isn't for me. 75 minutes feels like an incredibly long time for an album of this nature, and it really dragged. I've heard OF Tom Waits but don't recall hearing any of his music before. This was a struggle to keep listening to, and with all respect his voice absolutely grated on me. Just seemed like drunk rambling with background music. A lot of the music itself is actually good and I could enjoy it if it wasn't for the endless rambling. Just completely not my thing. I've seen people saying there are other Tom Waits albums on this list, I just hope they're better/different to this. 2 stars because the music was actually ok a lot of the time.
Welp... it's another concept album. It did have a funny joke, so that was nice. But I think this is totally an album that you don't need to listen to before you die, even if it's not that bad of a listen.
I’m not sure what to say about this one. It was alright.
2 stars It’s not for me. I could appreciate what it had going for it and maybe was mildly amused by some of it. But it was too much of the same and too long. The shtick wore off.
• Off the bat, the intro feels very fake. The canned laughter and audience noises take away from the vibe more than they add to it. • I don't understand why the intro and Emotional Weather Report are two seperate tracks • Some of these intro tracks (namely On a Foggy Night and Better Off Without a Wife) are almost as long as their actual songs • What a nothing song Foggy Night is • At least you can tell when Eggs and Sausage actually starts • I wonder how long it took for him to write this chorus • I really wasn't expecting the monolouge about masturbation • I'm not opposed to long songs at all, but Nighthawk Postcards *feels* like it's 11 and a half minutes long • Tom Waits started sounding a bit like Jim Henson during parts of Putnam Country • He says "nyow" a lot • Big Joe and Phantom 309 was actually quite a nice song • Spare Parts II and Closing is a very fitting way to finish the album I wasn't a fan of this album, it felt like it went on for much longer than it needed to, the faux jazz club setting was offputting from the get go and the drawn out introductions to most of the songs often made it so that when the song actually started, I was already sick of it. I've seen that there are four other Tom Waits albums on this list, so I hope this is the worst of the four. Favourite song: Big Joe and Phantom 309
How many real martinis did they have to give everyone at this fake jazz club to get them to laugh at every mumble uttered by Tom Waits? It's like a concept album of a sitcom where there is an unfunny comic with a really bad laugh track. The music is fine; it mostly just drones on while the stand up bass player stands out. I thought I liked Tom Waits until I heard this album. This was a slog.
OK I know Tom Waits has a devout following and sometime down the road when I'm 60 or 70, I'll appreciate this more, but I kept on saying to myself, "Can you shut up Tom and let me hear the jazz?!!?!" 2 / 5 stars.
Big fan of Waits songs but the consistent narrative throughout the album was distracting. Not my favorite by a long shot.
I would actually choose to listen to this again if I could remove his terrible voice.
Bra vibes, men vad länge han maler på.
This was okay not great. Then with the intro talking on every song got worse. I mean he’s pretty funny but on every song?
As much as I love Tom Waits, I don't love this one. Lounge lizard Waits is not my favorite era. His stage banter is pretty weird and funny, but the songs aren't his best work and an album of stage banter isn't that great. 2 stars.
I was wondering if this entire album was going to be spoken word cocktail jazz, and by God it was. It almost sounds like it operates as a “fake” live recording, and that’s sort of true I guess (this was recorded over a few days in front of a small, invited audience apparently). I know very little about Tom Waits outside of one or two of his songs and his performance in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I will admit that he does have some amount of charm. However, that charm quickly wore out as the album went on. Mr. Waits strikes me as a bit of a goofball, but more like the goofball who spouts out pseudo-intellectual nonsense from time to time. Tough listen, but captures a unique atmosphere I guess. I have a feeling that this isn’t the last I’ve heard of Tom Waits on this list…
Meh
Don't like it, but interesting
I feel like there’s something here to “get” that I don’t understand. This is like spoken word over jazz and his voice is so peculiar that I hardly followed what he said. It wasn’t unlistenable, but it was more of scene-creating album than what I would strictly define as music
Jazz, blues, molt repetitiu. Se m'ha fet llarg.
Well what can you say. It's a thing. Well hidden genius but probably not his best material. You should probably listen. Spare parts 1 is possibly the best track and yeah give it a shot. Really more a historical record than an 'album' tho. And with other better albums I'd give this a miss
Guez
There's the odd good song, but all the droning intro's an in-jokes make this a hard listen. I do get the appeal of Waits, but the good is outweighed by the bad in this one.
Drones on and on and on....... Not bad, just dismal
Long, chiant, et re-long derrière.
Not my cup of tea
I mean come on.... really? Best Song: Sausage and Eggs Rating: 3/10 Stars: 2
Not as bad as I thought it would be after reading reviews.
Am I supposed to know who this guy is? I feel like the enjoyment of this album solely depends on if you know this guy's character or not. Is he a comedian? I don't really get it. It sounded like everyone in the crowd had fun so good for them.
i'll give it points for being an interesting concept on paper, but if i wanted to listen to a gravelly man talk-sing and aimlessly vamp, i could just go to a dive bar. i'm sorry, tom waits. i couldn't tom wait for this to be over.
idgi
Neat concept but cannot stand his voice
Bro sounds wasted
Band is great but Waits’ slurred, grumbled, phlegmy mess of a vocal style is not appealing to me in any form.
in a nutshell: jazzy slam poetry Overall: 3/10
Respect, but I will not seek this out. Probably would have kept my interest longer live, but it got old. I did like Big John and the Phantom 309.
I cannot get behind the pseudo stand-up routine in between every song on the album, it really drags it down. Tom Wait's voice is very unique but the songs themselves are so damn boring.
painful but had some chuckles
Long. Quite like the concept, probably a bit too much of the same thing. A lot of 'talking in a gravely voice'. Some nice jazzy music
Conversazioni cantate con piano e basso di sottofondo, stile barettino con fumo di sigaretta e bourbon. Carino ma lunghissimo, perso motlo entusiamo
After countless number of Tom Waits albums (and I am confident this is the last one I will have) I can categorically say...no
Ikke for meg, men kan se appellen.
It’s official, I will never “get” Tom Waits.
I never would have claimed to enjoy jazz. I don’t know if this classifies as jazz, but, if it does, I was right. I don’t enjoy jazz.
Not my fav tom waits
This like you wanted to grab a bite to eat and accidentally stumbled into this dive bar and a crazy guy at the piano won’t stop talking and you wish you’d gone somewhere else.
Really liked this at first. Really really dragged by the end. The comedy was rhe best part.
Acho que preciso parar para sentar e, de fato, acompanhar as letras. O instrumental é bem interessante, embora
Not for me
More of a bit, or performance piece, than an actual album. Waits can sing, of course. But there’s a lot of spoken word here. And more acting and comedy . . . than actual songs.
It's a no for me dawg.
Two questions: 1. Is this Jazz? 2. Is Jazz always this horny?
2 - liked the intros to the songs more than the actual songs
Jeg liker ideen Tom Waits. Raspete whisky-og-sigg-stemme som mumler over halv-kaotisk bakgrunnsjazz. Åpenbart en kul fyr. Men jeg kjenner jeg har ganske lite tålmodighet for dette som musikk. Jeg har det ikke i nærheten av like morsomt som Waits og publikum tydeligvis har det. Egentlig kjeder jeg meg. Også holder det på i godt over en time. Fy faen.
More like a story telling session, not to my personal taste
This is an interesting live, jazz album. Not great, but interesting. Pitchfork: n/a Rolling Stone: n/a Best Songs
I really wanted to like this. I feel like I really like Tom Waits as a person and love his acting roles especially in Jarmusch movies and in The Dark Knight. #iykyk I just couldn’t get into this faux jazz lounge album, though.
Zuhause, Heidenheim, Deutschland. Schon arg öde.
It was easy listening
Man, I am torn on this one. On the one hand it's definitely not for me. I really didn't enjoy it. I didn't realize going in that the majority of this was gonna be spoken word stories over a light jazz background. Not my thing. On the other hand, I appreciate that it exists. Unlike some albums on this list, I can understand why some people would like it.
It was a lot of just rambling and sitting at a lounge with one guy singing and talking all night but he wasn't really interesting or funny. I don't think I would stay at this bar all night. Plus why are we at a diner, it should have been Nighthawks at the lounge. I guess he was just overly explaining every tiny detail of a diner (checkered counter, eggs, tips, etc). This just feels like he could have picked any random topic, location, place and explain it with traditional jazz instruments and sounds behind it. Nothing was really all that imaginative or different. This was just a house band with a really random singer.
I like some Tom Waits albums but this isn't one of them. I feel like the whole thing is a joke that I don't really get which makes it a little surreal but the shtick gets old pretty fast. This album is early in his career so I get that he's maybe just trying to get a footing in his poetry but it comes across as kind of cartoonish and phony. Even when I omit all the ridiculous intros and just try to listen to the songs, it doesn't really hold up as good/interesting jazz. Very samesy and way too long. pass.
I don't even know what to think of this, lol. I guess it's an interesting concept to create a "jazz club" in a studio with a live audience, but there's an authenticity missing for me because of that, which clouds the experience. It has a weird fakeness to it, and the audience laughs at a lot of things that really aren't that funny. Plus I'm not getting a lot of actual "songs" here, which is also an issue. It's too many stories where he's just droning on about some nonsense or another, and not nearly enough singing. At least the backing band was good, but this isn't something I'd listen to again. I can't pick out a single track I'd add to a playlist. I gave Rain Dogs a 5, so this might finally be the first artist on my controversial list!
I think you just had to be there.
Listen, if someone said to me in 1975, "Hey, do you wanna go down to the Record Plant and listen to Tom Waits record an album?" I would've said for sure, even though I'm not a fan. Because as a live experience, this was probably a great time 50 years ago, though probably not something I'd ever revisit in album form. Also: Waits was only 26 when this came out. Dude has sounded like a fiftysomething his whole life. BUT HEY now I know where Large Marge from Pee-wee's Big Adventure originated.
Not my scene
Album gets off to an unpromising start with a string of cuts that all sound the same - monologues over basically the same descending bassline. "Better Off Without A Wife" is the first track that resembles an actual song. Then it's right back to talk-singing over expert-but-nondescript jazz backing for nearly the entire rest of this double album ("Nobody" excepted). Waits has a lot of personality and his backing band is top-drawer but this album is little more than a curiosity compared to his more straightforward, song-oriented albums (such as 'Rain Dogs').
Storytelling with music. Very special.
It’s a comedy show
**very strange album (to me). Mostly a voice talking through background music. I think it be better album without vocals and just instrumental.
Jedino zbog čega ovaj album nije nešto najgore što sam ikad čula je ovaj fini jazz iza njegovog prokletog brbljanja i keslanja.
Jesus, this goes on and on and on. Not even sure this should be on the list because for me it’s a performance piece. I can imagine it at the Edinburgh Fringe. It’s Waits playing a character. The bits aren’t funny and the audience sounds fake and laughs in weird places. Should’ve been a poet or a writer, and I know he’s done a bit of acting. Anything but a singer. 2 because the musicians are decent and it would probably work as a stage shoe
I like Tom Waits, but I havent listened to a whole album before, so lets gargle some glass and get to the show! I did not expect spoken word jazz. I really dont know how to react to this album. I like it, but I don't know why. I think I need to listen, really listen to it, because I know there is a lot of wordplay going on, probably nothing but. However I was busy and it was on, so it really did land like I think it should have. Also, they people in the audience seemed to know the music beforehand, so is this a live album of previously recorded stuff? Or is it just a hip spoken word jazz audience? Tom Waits is a condundrum, but he proves any one can be successful in any industry if you give yourself to it.
210/1089 - What a giant waste of time. Generic jazz with some rambling personificafion of an HVAC unit. Some of it is kinda okay I guess and the concept is somewhat interesting but that's about it.
Some of it was very charming, but most of it was insufferable. An hour and fifteen minutes of what sounds like your drunk uncle rambling and singing off key.
Cookie Monster sings the blues
I'm slowly starting to realise the appeal of Tom Waits, his gravelly voice is becoming more and more tolerable the more of his stuff I hear. Which is a shame, because his overall style is growing on me, but this album specifically I think has its own flaws outside of that. I just find his way of talking to the audience to be so unoriginal, and the very simple dinner jazz playing in the background is far too repetitive and same-y for an album that's over an hour long.
Some nide jazz but too much talking. Tom waits is just not remotely funny. His nonsense chatter ruins it because when he is singing it is a nice album.
An interesting album, very different type of music, a guy singing/talking over a jazz band about who knows what, just a lot of random lines. Hard to follow unless actively listening. Not terrible but I don’t think I would recommend.
Like a 3 minute 'comedy' sketch. Of a knarled old jazz club compere, at 1am, after a skinful of bourbon, trying to make lame gags and then growling half a tune over the house band. Only he drags the sketch out to over an hour. And if you bought the double album then you'd feel compelled to listen to it over and over again. I'm so glad I didn't buy it. (redeeming quality; the house band.; drags this up to a 2)
Great control of the atmosphere but while I normally like Tom Waits I think his vocal performance fell somewhat flat on this album. Ultimately this works best as something to put on in the background and not pay too much attention to.
I did not at all care for the constant yapping that went on and on from start to finish. Shitty jokes and a sleazy personality is all I get from this guy. I get that that's the bit but lord if I wanted to get a good laugh I'd turn on Spongebob and not this. I will say the band was putting in overtime with the splendid production they laid down on here. Unfortunately it doesn't water down all the crappy comedy improv I had to listen to for over an hour. Top: ??? MID 2.00-2.50/5
weird, spoken word. fine ig
Cover 7 Not a fan. Sometimes Tom Waits can seem pretentious. There's some of that here. Not much though. Still, he kinda annoys me.
I can't quite put my finger on it, but I found something very cringeworthy about this one. The crowd laughing and cheering at lame, unfunny asides and jokes. The stories. Tom Waits' voice generally. Maybe I'll enjoy his other records more when they come up.
Who listens to this??
Hotel lobby piano performer
Car journeys are usually quite boring. This only made it more so.
Not really a favourite.
• 2/5 • Sort of an extended performance art project from Waits, but the backing jazz band is legit and he’s entertaining •It might be fun to see the imagined show live but I don’t need to hear the album again
falatório da porra
This album was like the podcasts I listen to when I fall asleep - I wanted to listen but was lulled to bed. The gravelly voice and the smooth jazz in the background, I was a goner.
Too.much impro type jazz
Tom Waits, the guy I’ve always heard of and said “yeah, I’ll have to check him out some day”. So now I have… I chuckled for a bit, but ya know, after a few minutes something else got my attention. It’s hard to focus on a guy getting off on his own word play for over an hour. It wasn’t over my head, just tiresome. The part where he admits to masturbation was highly relevant.
2 stars, 1 each for the bassist and saxophonist for trying to make this trainwreck less trainwrecky
Meh
i like the concept and could listen to this in a chill morning or evening if his voice wasn’t so annoying and/or the music had any evolution.. the vibe was nice at the beginning but by music 8 i was like ok is that all so why is this so long
2.5
Ik vind het wel nice, maar de manier hoe hij praat doet me denken aan trump, verpest het wel een beetje.
Not a huge fan
I can cope with jazz in small doses, but this was over an hour long and it bored me, despite the spoken word element.
Ma piace davvero a qualcuno?
Bit odd but ok
I promised myself to listen to this without skips and try to understand what the deal with Tom Waits is but ... Nah, couldn't make it. The album becomes boring too soon. The music itself is not bad at all. But the songs are all the same and those intros and laughs are annoying as hell.
Tom Waits’s voice is famously divisive, and for some listeners, it can be downright grating. It’s a gravel-pit growl that sounds like he gargled razor blades and whiskey for breakfast, with a tone that often borders on unintelligible muttering or aggressive barking. For those not attuned to his style, it can feel more like a test of endurance than a listening experience, making even his most heartfelt ballads feel like they’re being delivered by a malfunctioning garbage disposal. While some call it raw and authentic, others hear little more than an off-key croak dragging over a piano’s funeral. Pity really because beneath the voice were some engaging tunes. 2/5 7/6/25
Da bini chli schlecht worde mit de Albe willi mi ide erste wuche noni getraut han zum eigni musig z lose. Bim Tom Waits hani aber au ned so viel verpasst. Ischs en musiker oder en stand-up comedian? Han ufjedefalls wenig z lache gha. “Chlopf Chlopf” - “wer isch da?” - “Nurzwä” - “Nurzwä wer?” - “Nurzwäi Pünk für de Lustig”
Not for me
Listened before?: No Tedious, for me.
One long monologue with some music in the background
I didn't get much out of this one. He always keeps it interesting though, it really does transport you to sitting in an intimate jazz-club. After a while the laughter did annoy me, it felt like hiring a laugh track Rating: 2.0
It is doing nothing for me, sounds like the drunken ramblings of an old man, where you kind of have to smile politely and edge away. Was it meant to be funny? The laughter reminded me of the canned laughter on friends when the joke wasn’t even funny
I own this record. It's been in my collection for 25 years. It's beat. I've tried to get into it multiple times. It flies over my head. Is it jazz? Is it a live album? Is it stand up? It feels like less than the sum of its parts. I don't know. It don't get it. I keep holding on to it because i feel like one day it will click. I guess it could see putting it on in the background because all the song are the same. But some of these long ass songs are tedious.
The music is wonderful and I can tolerate Tom Waits’s voice on here compared to his later work
Emotional Weather Report is so smart - love his little laugh at the end of 'emotional situation' a bout a minute in. Fun lyrics on this album in general, but nothing stands out musically, so I preferred the 'intro' tracks. Gave up a few tracks in, as I can just read the lyrics without listening to nondescript music alongside!
It was just ok. Nothing more nothing less.
Egg and Sausage
Initially I had to get used to the gravel voice of Tom Waits, as I never listened to any of his songs before. Didn't expect it to be a live album. Decent album, didn't finish listening to it, even though I tried.
I fall into the camp that does not understand the appeal of Tom Waits. I find his growly, mumbling, booze-soaked sounding voice to be very annoying. His hipster patois as well. I don't find his sing-song, spoken patter/poetry(?)/stories to be humorous or appealing either. I couldn't finish this one. The only thing that is saving it from a one-star rating is that I like the jazziness and might actually see something pleasant in this if it were done by someone else.
Interesting album, really like the voice... not to sure about the talking parts Like the vibes tho 2/5
Tom Waits is like Marmite - you either love him or hate him, and I fall in the latter camp. As intended, the album conjures up the image of a smoky late night Jazz club, which is why I'm not really a fan.
Gillar inte hans röst!
He’s so horny the crack of dawn has to watch out for him. Three parts jazz album, one part comedy routine? Definitely a vibe, but I don’t think I’ll return to it anytime soon.
Did not enjoy this. Does this need to have mini intros into multiple songs? It slows everything down and makes what's already an unnecessarily long album even longer. The lyrics aren't half bad, but the graverly voice over the top of them did grate on me after a while.
Decent jazz musicians but I don't know why anyone would ever listen to this
Ok, interesting but not my thing
Jazz, with spoken-word style vocals. Some entertaining lyrics
ts better be funny or im gonna be pissed tom waits more like im tom waiting for this to end amirite im two tracks in and im already sick of it, why does this have to one and half hours. this the type shit madlib would sample at the end of a doom or quasimoto song, but its goes on for an hour. this just listening to your drunk uncle yap but theres jazz band accompanying him, and like he's mostly spewing bullshit but there randomly he says something really insightful im don't hate the lyricism (idk if its lyricism he's just yapping), this album just so arduous i can't stand it.
Two Tom Waits albums in the same week. And the same rating, same reason - I see the appeal, so not going to give it a 1, but I also just don’t like it. Also are there really 5 Tom Waits albums on this list but not a single Heart album??
This does nothing for me. Interesting style of music (playing jazz and talking over it) but it’s too hard to follow.
Eclectic Tom. More like a slam poetry album.
1.75/5 I liked some of the faster jazzier parts but the intros and super dragged out songs made this a painful listen for me.
Arguably the best (possibly?) Tom Waits album I’ve had so far, but still bloody bad. Annoying voice, annoying little chuckles here and there, and background jazz. Not for me.
I didn't dislike it, but it got very repetitive quite quickly. I did make it the whole way through so it's a minimum 2 stars. However, at the basic level it's a jazz album and there are numerous other jazz albums I own that I consider way better than this, and they are not on this list. So I'm going to stick with 2 stars.
I get what he's trying to do, and it kind of works, but it's not something I'd choose to listen to. I might enjoy reading an illustrated book of the lyrics more.
Album #500!! Every interlude track here is unnecessary. I don't like them in genuine live albums either, but this is especially egregious because the live element is completely manufactured here. Tom Waits could have easily let each track bleed into the next without the two minutes of gravelly boomer-banter separating each song. The lyrics and general attitude remind me of George Thorogood and the Destroyers. Sort of a "Hey, you old guys, you manly men, you with me? Wives are bad, eh? Drinkin' whiskey, heck yeah, it's sure darn good bein' Murican." Boomer-pleasing at its finest. But heck, at least George Thorogood has a pretty good rock-esque vocal. Tom Waits's voice is incredibly grating, especially after the first half hour when you realise you're only a measly 40% through the album. And normally the word "grating" in my review warrants an immediate 1-star rating – but there's some good stuff here too. I do like the pianist and especially the bassist on this album. The latter is clearly having a blast (or is putting on an extremely convincing façade of blastness) with his complex walking lines. The style is aggressively jazzy, almost begging for a better singer than the hostile mob that is Tom Waits. With a Fitzgerald, Vaughan, or Holiday, this could easily be a 4- or 5-star album – and a big improvement on the slog that is Fitzgerald's Gershwin Songbook. A missed opportunity for sure. All in all, Nighthawks At The Diner is of slightly worse quality than the other Tom Waits entry I've listened to, Rain Dogs. But not quite bad enough to warrant the "rating of shame". 2/5 Key tracks: Eggs And Sausage, Better Off Without A Wife, Nobody
strange
Sehr jazzig, die rauhe Stimme passt gut in die Atmosphäre, war für meine Stimmung am Morgen aber nicht geeignet. 2/5
I love this musically, but the spoken word, beat poetry vocals are not my favorite thing in the world. Lyrical content is good, sometimes funny, sometimes makes you think, but I find when I listen to Tom Waits, I want to be a fan of his more strongly than I actually enjoy his music. So who knows, maybe I’m just a poser?
Live album that sounded way more loungey/jazzy than I anticipated for a Tom Waits album -- no nearly as mournful, raspy or dejected sounding as some of his other stuff. I liked it but it wasn't very memorable.
Weird but decent
Tom Waits music sucks
Brorsan lyssnade en del på tom waits, det finns ju grymma låtar. Det känns som en artist som hit and miss. Detta var en miss. Rätt jobbig "musik". Hoppas få höra bättre skivor med Waits (albumet downtown train är på kanske?)
Att det är studioinspelat med fejkad jazzklubb ger lite avsmak. Eggs and sausage är en bra låt och jazzen är det inget fel på, men på det stora hela är det för mycket ointressant snack och i övrigt inte så spännande.
Now that I properly know who Tom Waits is and cleared up the Petty confusion, I was excited to hear more. I had just finished up a witty album before this one and you'd think I'd be all over this. However, I just didn't vibe with this one. It was a bit to slammy? Or just talky in general. There were a few good tracks and had I been present at the recording it probably would have been ok to go along with a nice multi-course meal, but I probably did a disservice listening during weekend chores. A couple of songs were relatable, but I was mostly waiting for it to end. Still optimistic about more from Mr. Waits later on, I just hope those have a little more music and a little less talking. Favorite track "Better off without a wife" 2/5
I like tom waits but this album was not for me
this is basically an old chap just chirping over some late night jazz. his voice has a distinct, smoky, laidback tone to it. eggs & sausage and both of the “spare parts” songs were the highlights. honestly felt like some songs on the album were too long, and it felt like he lost direction at one point
Lot of talking over jazz. Got bored, didn't have the attention to really pay attention to what he was saying. More listens definitely needed. Will these listens happen anytime soon? i think not.
Good storytelling, but the music was not my thing.
Rly jarring voice. Music is alright
My usual reaction to Tom Waits... interesting, but not entertaining. I rather like his persona and storytelling, also versatility in the compositions. It listened at times like theater or a comedy album. Probably decently fun as a live show. Just not my bag-of-bananas.
I'm on the fence with this one. I get it, its a cool set-up, at least in the appearance of a "live jazz club". But Tom kind of drones on and one sometimes and I loose the focus of what is actually going on. I also struggle to hear him sometimes. It's like a lot of mumbling and grumbling. The album is different for sure and I can see it as something to check out at least once, but I struggle to think of actually wanting to listen to this ever again.
Tom's "neo-noir hangdog vagabond persona", as someone else here described it, hits me like nails on a chalkboard. The music and songs are good, I just can't listen to the man.
Kiva konsepti, hassua että tätä kuuntelee ihan mieluusti levyltä kuin tällaista voisi livenä kuunnella. Ok hauska, mutta käy vähän tylsäksi jatkaa suht samaa melodiakulkua, tai siis taustaa, tunnin verran puheen taustalle. Mutta erottuu joukosta. Kaks puol.
Kornista "klubi"-asetelmasta huolimatta jollain tapaa sympaattista. Jopa jazz menee, koska se on riittävän New Orleans. Saattaisin jokusen biisin kuunnella toistekin.
“$h1tehawks at the Diner” I want to buy the vinyl version and melt it into an ashtray apposite for this gravelly-voiced, unfunny and dull effort. Would make it onto my list of 1000001 best albums. I suppose you had to be there.
Really, this guy again? At least this time it was listenable.
Not a big fan and if I like an album it’s Closing Time.
I never listen any album of Tom Waits - now I know why
Good music and nigh unbearable logorrhea. Tom Waits seems like one of those dudes who’s drunk on his own shoddy poetry.
This was an interesting album. Waits is a strange cat. He talks at various parts in the album and, to be honest, his singing is not much different than the way he talks. He is a storyteller through song and as you listen you can imagine the scenes he describes. In the end, a little Tom Waits goes a long way. I struggled to make it thru the album.
Love Tom Waits but really struggling with this album. Finally got to Big Joe and Phantom 309 and dig that one a little more
This did not appeal to me.
1.5
I actually liked this one a lot more than Heartattack and Vine. But it's just too much. The same thing for over an hour. No thanks.
3/10…gesprochenes Wort/ Jazz
What is this?
Tom waits is dreadful jazzy Tom waits should be more dreadful but is somehow a tad better than normal Tom waits 2/5
Man, I'm glad we didn't stick with this version of Tom Waits. I found this to be a chore. It has a certain style to it, but it's just not a style I care for. 1.5/5
Brow-furrowing jokes, the worn-out atmosphere of a smoke-filled jazz club, all wrapped up with everything else that makes Tom Waits uninteresting. Again, whatever. 35
Ok but actually what was this? In doing some reading, I found that it was a studio album performed in front of a small live audience to emulate a jazz club. So it’s a live album…? I could meander on about the intricacies of this thing, but I think my take comes down to this - this album had a decent concept at conception, but never fully develops or goes anywhere. Instead it becomes this weird album full of clever wordplay and weird, somewhat unintelligible stories that don’t seem to have much of a point. I wanted to like this. I really did. I like Tom Waits. I like jazz. I like the feel of this album. But it’s too damn long, never goes anywhere, and is overall just plain boring. Two stars, regrettably. Not for lack of trying on his part, I just got bored. Standout Tracks: Opening Intro, Emotional Weather Report, Better Off Without a Wife, Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emission)
Schtick perfection in process. To be fair, he inhabits it completely these days … If this is the representative TW album in this list (I’m 700+ in and this is the first) I’ll be very cross indeed.
Like a lounge core gig from Hell.
Better than other Waits, but I would still prefer to never listen. 1.5/5
🥱
Han e jo seg sjøl lik
Most interesting of any album I have heard thus far. Humor album at a Jazz Club, but recorded in the studio. Just for the ambition I have to give it a 2
meo corte pero habla caleta loco y no me gusta su voz
Kinda cool! But not my thing.
not my favorite tom waits thing. i think he does the whole spoken word vibey sleazy thing better in the later albums. didn't hate it, but really didn't feel it otherwise.
I don’t know what people see in Tom Waits. It’s not my thing.
Yeah idk Tom waits is like mumble grumbly singer songwriter nonsense. Boring
Tom waits is an acquired taste and not one that I want to go through acquiring.
What the flip is this? Seems it's popular with people in the States, but this is a pretty solid "no" from me.
Is it supposed to feel real, or like a play? An interesting concept. But I just don't feel it. The crowd seems scripted. The occasional bits of crassness seems pretentious.
This is weird so far This is weird still 2/5
Over the multiple revisions and editions of this book, its authors have seen fit to eliminate albums by Adele, Arcade Fire, Bowie, Johnny Cash, Kendrick, Radiohead, The War on Drugs, the White Stripes, and many, many more less notable albums. But for reasons I will never grasp, they've never excised a single Tom fucking Waits album. This is one part comedy routine and one part Hollywood circle jerk with a contrived “live audience;” a Disneyland gin joint.
meh
this just isn't for me. i usually love jazz and spoken word but waits is too growly and grumbly for me and i also just dont want to listen to this guy complain about his lower middle class life for an hour. jazz artists usually have drug addictions and violence and other depressing shit to talk about, or at least an infatuation with an interesting breadth of women they can go into detail about, but he just talked about how his bitch wife wouldn't let him go fishing and his shitty car keeps needing to get fixed. even the love songs have no substance, never talk about the subject of affection just how walts is such an epic lover and so in love and hes the best lover and hes gonna love you sooo much. to top it all off apparently he was a raging alcoholic and he barely talks about that, or any of the detrimental effects it has. honestly if this was an album about an alcoholic admitting how he ruined his life i think i'd have enjoyed it a lot more. the instrumentals are great, the lyricism is actually really fucking good however he just isn't talking about anything interesting, but his voice is the real dealbreaker and it features far too prominently on the release for me to overlook it. maybe i just dont like vocals guys i think i should start listening to video game music instead. fuck i love saxophones though.
Functional, smokey late night jazz. It's not terrible, but there's not much in the way of melody from gravel voiced Waits and there's a sense of 'you had to be there' to the proceedings. In fact, he'd probably get booed off the stage after a couple of tracks. He just ain't that interesting.
I'm unsure what environment is ideal to listen to this. I'd probably enjoy this being performed live at some jazzy open mic night, but listening on headphones at my desk... it sounds like a lot of drunken drivel.
Blues, Sprechgesang live, 1975 -> 2
never listened to a full spoken word album, it’s like a comedy show over jazz instrumentals, his voice is kinda annoying in this, the jazz was a vibe though
I wouldn’t call what is on this album “songs”. It’s basically Tom Waits talking shite whilst some musicians tinker around in the background. One of them is him describing what he had for breakfast. It gets two stars purely on Waits voice alone, which has an almost ASMR like quality to it.
Boring
I'd give more stars if it was just the bass man
2+
This feels like something to listen to live, not as a recording.
Really good album
Tom Waits is one of those artists I really want to like. His voice is unique and the swagger in his delivery is undeniable. But the music just doesn't do it for me because the lyrics are too intentionally convoluted.
Poetry reading meets amateur standup comedy performed with a mouth full of gravel. My second Tom Waits album I've had to endure and I know more are coming.
Bro just yapping on a jazz beat, lol. Did have a few good ones though
Comedic at times.
If I want to listen to a nightclub singer for 75 minutes, I'll just go to the nightclub. My memory of Waits from his Letterman appearances is that he was kind of a weird guy. This album fits with that perception.
Un album vraiment trop long pour ce que c'est. Je comprends ce que l'album essaye de faire, mais j'avais constamment l'impression d'avoir manqué un évènement et d'écouter l'enregistrement pour me remonter le moral. La majorité du temps Tom fait juste radoter des trucs sur la musique (suposément drôle mais je n'ai jamais rien compris), c'est la même chose du début à la fin. Vraiment pas mon style. 3/10
Far too slow and way too much talking for me even aside from the intros.
interesante concepto de live album(? me senti igual de intrigado de lo que me sentiría en una club de jazz real
Pretty Meh for me. Could easily pass me by as background music in a bar. I get what he is trying to achieve. But wasnt my thing.
I don't like Tom Waits, but as this album is earlier in his ouevre, he hasn't developed as much of the rasping growl that I really detest. The music was OK - I was not expecting much jazz, but overall I couldn't really get into this one
ey yo he yapping again. 1.5 just for the jazzy baselines and interesting concept - but it's still quite shit.
I like Tom Waits, but an hour plus of piano noodling and beatnik rambling is too much to handle
Moderately entertaining Jazz with spoken words.
Is okay
Somehow falls in between music and acting to me. I felt like Tom Waits was playing a role the whole album, in other words being a total poser.
I'm not up on the current discourse surrounding Tom Waits. There was definitely a time when it was not cool to not like Tom Waits. So I've tried. I've had a couple of his albums moldering in my library for many years and I almost always skip over them. But if I'm being honest, the more I listen to this guy the less I want to hear. I just don't need him in my life at this point.
Ik ben niet zo'n fan van live muziek. Ook jazz is niet mijn favoriete genre. Dus alles bij elkaar wordt ik hier niet warm van. **
Listened Before? N Tom Waits is a weird guy. Creative... but weird. This album was a cool concept and probably my favorite of the 2700 Tom Waits albums on this list so far but that's not saying much. It was just okay. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Eggs and Sausage
It's a unique listening experience, but not one that was particularly engaging. Very much a product of its time and the problem with the 1970s LA based humor is that it's audience 50 years on is pretty niche. Nothing sonically negative, but feels creative just for creativity sake.
Had to muscle through it. My friend has been obsessed with Waits since we were in our early 20s, so I've heard it all before. I'm a fan of him as an artist, but it's hard to get into his music sober, for me at least. I also remember finding out he was wasn't a drunk irl and being disappointed. I was young. Now I find that cool.
If the guy doesnt talk the songs could be quite pleasant bluesy/jazzy. But his raw voice and mostly the lyrics are distracting (together with the laughter). Eggs and Sausage is the first number he actually sings, and it is pleasant. Better off without a wife is also quite okay. I think I would enjoy this a lot more if it was only songs, and no talking/cabaret at all.
THE VOICE, SO RICH, but gotta say not my thing, maybe in a bathtub w a glass of wine just listening to it like a performance, not musical enough for meh
Dit is weer helemaal niks
Some yuppie yapping over generic jazz.
i can appreciate this on the surface but it’s not for me
Interesting but not a fan
Spätabends in einer Bar nach einem anstrengenden Tag mit einem Glas Rotwein, kein Gespräch, einfach mit sich, den Gedanken und Tom Waits sein...
It does feel like I'm in the diner with them, but I think it's safe to say that it gets quite boring. Also, it's not my music taste at all. Maybe it's the lyrics that should make this shine but I'm generally not a very lyric-oriented person. Sorry for such a low rating, it's just straight up sluggish.
I've never heard of this guy before, but apparently he had a song in the Shrek 2 soundtrack, so I trust that this guy has enough cultural significance to be on this list. However, I don't like this album. I've never really understood what people mean when they say that certain music is "pretentious". I get it now. This is pretentious. Maybe I just don't get it. I'm sure this has value to some people. I'm not one of those people. I think the background music works. If this was just instrumentals, it would be a decent background noise album but nothing more than that. Possibly high 2 or light 3. However, things change once this guy starts talking. Not singing, talking. Well, okay. He does actually sing a few times in this album. His voice is weird. It's not the worst voice I've ever heard, but it's not great. He could probably sing, maybe. It's very racially ambiguous. That's not important, I just felt like mentioning it because I don't know what else to say. The things he says don't really make sense. I'm tired. This album drags for way too long. I can't wait to listen to the other 4 albums this guy has. Yippee! I'll give it a light 2 because there's a semblance of something valuable here.
I'v always had a problem distinguishing Tom Waits from the British actor Tom Watt. So I always think I'm getting Lofty from Eastenders. First off, this is more than just about the bass. The drums are lovely and the sax is just right. The piano is pretty solid as well and most of the guitar works. So, more than the bass player. The slightly rambling intros remind me of Springsteen intros from about this time. The differences are that a) the music that followed the intro was generally pure rock and roll with Springsteen rather than a bit more rambling; b) Bruce is funnier in an everyman sort of way; c) Springsteen didn't put out a live album for more than 10 years, and even then the intros were generally pretty short. I'm not sure it was a good idea to inflict this level of wankfest on the world. I mean, it's OK as far as wankfest goes, but it's not really my thing.
This was certainly an interesting listen, and while I can appreciate Jazz music, it's just not really my thing. I laughed at "I'm so horny the crack of dawn better be careful around me"
Probably fun live, but I got really bored just listening to it.
Es como un contry-jazz, más recitado que cantado. No es una mierda pero no es algo que me guste particularmente.
Maybe some fun stories, and I love piano music, but I didn't like listening to this.
Too much talking
It pains me to give Tom Waits a 2, but this album is a slog to get through. There are some great songs and funny moments sprinkled in, with hypnotic jazz instrumentation backing it all, but the majority of this is just a spoken word thing leading up to something else that doesn’t really pay off.
Een te dominante, te rauwe, te vertellende stem. De intro's van de laatste intro's zeggen genoeg. - I'l tell you a story - It's storytime again Aan het eind van dit album wil ik dat echt niet meer horen. Het heeft lang genoeg geduurd. Wiki meldt dat de waardering voor dit album met name een waardering is voor het creëren van de sfeer van een Jazzclub. Eerlijk is eerlijk. Dat is heel knap gedaan. En daarmee is het interessant om eens te horen. Maar ik zet het geen tweede keer meer op.
The jazz club vibe is really unique. It makes you feel like you are in the room with Tom and company, and the experience deepens as the album progresses. The bass line is truly excellent in this, really carries the album. Overall however, I don't think the monologues are for me. Maybe it is that I know too many men who are trying to emulate Tom's energy in this, or maybe I just don't connect with his stories.
Tom Waits is able to write astonishingly beautiful songs. But for the running time of 1 hour and 13 minutes, there is a surprisingly low amount of songs on this album. Much is spend with talking to the fake audience in this fake concert. The rest isn't anything to write home about. Waits serves his usual schtick of low life lyrics, here mixed with a jazz band. But that doesn't make for a good album and comes across as pretentious. 2/5
Can critics pls stop recommending me white dudes from the 60s and 70s. I can see how other people may like this but I don't. It feels like the entire point of the album is to recreate a jazz bar setting atmosphere with a live studio audience. But that's a gimmick that I get tired of 1.5 songs in. Why don't people just listen to live recordings of jazz musicians? Or go to a jazz bar? Both options offer more enjoyable music. Why listen to a dude recite a script about how horny he is or how sad this random pretty woman's life is.
Kinda funny but barely music
Kept waiting for the bit to end but then the album did...
Quite like the sort of love vibe, tom has a nice gravelly voice, first track or two I quite liked as an intro. Then it basically continued for an hour and bit. More spoken word/stand up routine with a backing track than an actual album, cant remember any specific songs, was mostly a double bass going up and down the jazz scales. I could see the appeal if it was built around some actual songs but as it was, not good.
I'm afraid I didn't really "get" it. It was a bit of a difficult listen. His voice is grating. Love the jazzy live vibe, but can't fully get behind his singing, and the lyrics are mostly daft. I know that he is a decent artist - I really like Way Down in the Hole from another album, but I struggled here. I don't know what to think. Hated the intros. Love the painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper. Saw it in Chicago in 2017, and it lived up to my expectations. +1 art bonus.