Reviews (page 6 of 8)
A failed experiment – an ode to the in-studio live album Mingus made – that's way too flabby, but there's moments of brilliance if you look. The ensemble is fucking great.
Funny ig
It's just fine. But the atmosphere is kinda sick so 3 stars.
this makes me feel sleepy in a good way. I enjoy listening to jazz and I don't often do it. the music is good, the band is killing it. I read that this was intended to feel as if you were in a jazz club, which I think they nailed the vibe. The spoken word in the intros can be tiring but i guess it adds to the jazz club atmosphere. I don't think I'll finish this album but I get the gist.
It's jazz, I guess? Many of the tracks are film noir sketches between lush piano, bass, and drum numbers that highlight Waits' voice which sounds great on this live recording. The lyrics are poetic and very clever. "Purina checkerboard slacks" from Nighthawk Postcards (From Easy Street) recalls the funny parts of Alice's Restaurant but in a much hipper presentation. Evocative stories taking place in the gritty parts of LA. Cars, tough personalities, drugs and booze. This should have been a hip-hop album.
Jazz mientras Waits habla. No me ha hecho mucho. Ni fu ni fa.
Love old Tom Waits stuff.
I will say I liked this Tom Waits album more than the previous one we had. The whole jazz club atmosphere, the feeling you're in there with them. Waits really captured it. His singing was really heartfelt, and I guess not as... "Beefheart-felt." The tracks, well... I have this problem with how albums divide up tracks. This one particularly frustrated me, with the intros to the tracks being separate from the tracks was really... baffling. A lot of live albums also frustrate me in that the song starts on with the first note and not them saying "here's a song about blah blah blah, it's called xyz." That usually is on the end of the previous song. So if you have it on a shuffle of some sort, it's very jarring. And now this one has it so the intros are separate songs?! Ugh. Maybe it sounds like I'm nitpicking, but I just didn't get why so many intros were separate from the songs themselves, unless he was trying to make more tracks. And oh yeah, the "Big Joe and Phantom 309" track... it just annoyed me. Don't know why. It felt a little too beatnik. So yeah, I liked the album much more. Would I buy it? Probably not. The music was a vast improvement to the last one, though. I may pull it up again and listen to it. Maybe. The tracks thing, it just... annoys me.
De stem pakt me altijd weer. Tom Waits is een van de weinige artiesten die ik zeker nog ooit live wil gaan zien, maar ik denk dat hij niet veel meer op zal treden.
Ik ben niet zo'n Waits adept, maar ik vond dit wel heel sfeervol. Alsof je aan de bar zit mee te luisteren.
I've always been fairly neutral on Tom Waits, don't really get him per se. Some white dude doing a Louis Armstrong schtick. I never listen to this one before and similar feelings as other works, I didn't hate and I didn't love it. This album in particular had the feel of a actor performance rather than a musician.
I didn't dislike it, and some parts of it I really liked. I like his voice. And Waits is quite funny! Will possibly listen to it again in the future. But not anytime soon.
Such a distinctive voice. Good mood to this album, bass playing is top notch
I'm really surprised to see this one made the list. Tom Waits has long been one of my favorites, and I do appreciate his early material even though I don't love it as much as his albums from the 1980's and early 1990's. But Nighthawks at the Diner falls in a bit of a no-man's-land among his catalog. Clearly exploring new directions, but the material is emotionally detached in tone - none of the warmth of "Martha" or "Rosie". He hasn't become the chameleon that emerged on Small Change. The intro sections are amusing but feel they come from a different artist, and on the whole the songs feel kind of one-note (almost like someone heard "Step Right Up" and wanted it to be the basis for a whole album). It lacks the depth of heart and the variety of tone that make subsequent albums (event those as uneven as Heartattack and Vine) so compelling and worthy of repeated listens.
I think if I was at a bar having some kind of drink and this was live right in front of me this whole piece would be 6/5. But I'm not at a bar, I'm at my desk doing homework on a Friday night. That being said this album is probably not a very "streamable" type content which was what I'm looking out for so I'm gonna give it a 3.
Hmmm really don't know. could have given a 4 or a 2. Great gravelly voice, but the whole set up with audience laughing at his jokes doesn't work for me.
Funny, good low key jazz and THAT voice! Feels more like a comedy record, but good all the same. I like the poetry and entertaining. wouldn’t choose to listen to much again, but I get the quality.
No está nada mal. La sensación de estar en directo o en el mismo club es perfecta. No sé si se grabó también vídeo por que así sería aún mejor. Recomendable y entretenido pero sin deslumbrar.
needs more gravel
Interesting album. It's not the kind of thing I'd listen to if I'm trying to relax, but it's definitely creative! It's like a musical comedy, which is fun. Entertaining
You see those low-life drunkards having their habits in your favorite bar downtown? Once in a while, you may happen to stumble upon one who is actually interesting, funny, and even surprisingly witty--all in all, a nice guy, if not a *totally* articulate one. With such good company, you can talk about anything without ever feeling any judgemental posture from the other side. Besides, the man is lucid enough to know he's anything but a role model, and he's not one to shy away from his own life mistakes. Which is refreshing. So if you're available, and in the right mood for this, you may elect to have a wild night out with the alcoholic daredevil, having all sorts of mishaps and adventures together as you crawl from one dive to the next. It's quite fun. The thing is, in the morning you probably won't remember much of what transpired the night before--and you might even regret having painted the whole town red, if only for that goddamn hangover you're having to put up with now. Oddly enough, this might not be the case with your new friend. Bump into him a few days later, and he'll remember everything that went down that night with a knowing smile. But the thing is, can you believe the guy? Can you? If *this* was the effect intended by Tom Waits for *Nighthawks At The Diner*, it is an unmitigated success. Recorded in a studio, but with a live audience of friends and acquaintances Waits had invited for the occasion, the album's fundamental conceit nicely sums up its author's main paradox: loose and unhinged and uncensored on the surface, but--if you dig just a little deeper--far more in control than what he first lets on. This release has the *feel* of a genuine live album recorded in a smoky jazz club--with a real audience hooting, clapping and laughing at Waits' wisecracks between the numbers. But to a certain extent, the whole thing is only a simulacrum, the auditory equivalent of a WWF tournament. It's hard to *believe* in it, just as it's hard to believe Waits was *genuinely* drunk during the performance, all actor-studio-level rants and inebriated stammerings aside. And even if Waits *was* under the influence, it's quite easy to tell how every slip of the tongue, every slur, ever mumble, were actually nothing but calculated moves, parts of an overall script Waits had in his head from the get-go. It's a great script, with chunks of it maybe improvised on the spot. But it's a script nonetheless. All of this ties in with general assessments many have made about Waits. According to his unofficial biographer Barney Hoskyns, \"Tom Waits is as much of a character created for his fans as it is a real man\", his \"persona of the skid-row boho/hobo\" being an \"ongoing experiment in performance art\". Admittedly, the line between performance and authenticity might be a little thinner than this somewhat simplistic explanation. Mick Brown, a music journalist from Sounds who interviewed Waits in the mid-1970s, noted that Waits \"had immersed himself in this character to the point where it wasn't an act and had become an identity\". But whatever the case may be, such a fundamental amibiguity is discernible in *Nighthawks At The Diner*. On the double album's first two sides, this trick, this illusion--if indeed there is one--holds up with some great effects overall. It's easy to suspend your disbelief while listening to Waits making an \"Emotional Weather Report\" about his sad mental state (and his appartment's state of disarray, too!). As it's easy enjoying his performance when he narrates a drunken road trip \"On A Foggy Night\". Those early cuts are more spoken than sung, yet the words are so good, the Bukowskian writing so rich and detailed, that it's easy to feel as exhilarated as the audience heard on tape. Funny lines abound, in and between the songs (the rant about masturbation is priceless, and so is the one about the suspicious food found in the nightly LA joints making up the scenery of most of the songs). After those singspeak cuts, \"Eggs And Sausage\" and \"Better Off Without A Wife\" show a slightly different side of Waits, one where he actually *sings*, and his vocals are just perfect, both raucous and melodic. The parts where he skats even prove he could have been just as impressive as a singer performing with a clear voice, even though it's an avenue he never really explored during his career. \"Eggs And Sausages\" is also very endearing as a composition, with its chorus made of the different food orders overheard by the narrator as he sits alone in the titular diner, having passing thoughts about the lover who left him. Of course, all of this--album title included--is a wink to Edward Hopper's painting *Nighthawks*, a wink also obvious in the album's centerpiece \"Nighthawks Postcards (From Easy Street)\", a long hard-bop dirge filled with memorable snippets and wasted bravura moments. The only difference is that the legendary mystery displayed by the painting is here replaced with a sense of ironic burlesque. The whole project is a parody in that sense, too, even without the fake concert affair. Unfortunately, by the second record in the lot, the whole thing blurs into a formless ensemble of less striking cuts, just like those memories of yesterday's wild night that don't make a shred of sense on the next day. The turns of phrase that you thought were so witty on the first songs start to wear a little thin. Waits' puns about the \"cracks of dawn\" shedding some unflattery light on the titular nighthawks are hilarious at first, but when you hear two or three variations of them on side 3 or 4, they becomes a little too familiar--as is the man's weird drunken obsession for \"swizzle sticks\" and \"naugahyde\" covering stools and armchairs. Make no mistake, the writing is still stellar on many moments. But it's hard to decide whether its obfuscating obliqueness on a whole is the result of it having drunkard narrators, or it just being penned by a lazy author who didn't even bother to organize the admittedly beautiful mess in his mind. Likewise, the jazz band behind is a more-than-competent crew. But nothing that they're playing is really standing out. Everything is flattened; piano, saxophone and upright bass solos come and go without leaving much of an impression; and if the groove sounds good, it still remains performative, unoriginal and safe throughout. There's one notable exception when the sax player expertly imitates the sound of a car whizzing by the narrator on a highway at some point. But such moments are too short, too far, and too few. The real last track stands out, though. It's a cover of country singer Tommy Faile's ghost story \"Big Joe And Phantom 309\", the sort of spooky tale drunks will tell to each other at the very end of the night, just as their inebriation has turned them all to easily-swayed children. As such, it's a nice capper for the album, right before Waits gives credits to his musicians over an utimate instrumental piece. Yet as focused as this last effort is, musically and thematically speaking, this track comes too late to make up for all the meandering moments right before it. *Nighthawks At the Diner* remains an interesting listen overall. But as an *essential one*, or as an entry point into Tom Waits' oeuvre, it is probably far from being the most obvious choice. That being said, very few things are *obvious* when it comes to Waits. There are layers over layers in his body of work, and some might look a little too opaque or quizzical for certain listeners. Sometimes, you don't really have a choice deciding who you are going to have fun with at the bar. You take the first tipsy guy or gal standing in front of the counter, and roll with it. [Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 986 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 5 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 6 (including this one, even though chances are that a *different* Tom Waits release will make the final cut) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (as I think many others are more important): 4]
Tykkäsin levyideasta, täytyy vielä pari kertaa ainakin kuunnella
Jazz is not my go to genre, but I always enjoy it when I listen to it. This record really gives me the feeling that I'm actually sitting in a bar with a cold beer and listening to Tom Waits play his tunes. Good stuff.
7/10
Not bad for what it was, too long though
Interesting raspy spoken word mixed with jazz. It wasn’t particularly my thing but worth a listen.
A warm late evening listen with a glass of scotch. It's primarily spoken word, focusing on Waits's vocals and storytelling to build a cozy jazz club atmosphere. Most of the time his vocals feel a bit uncomfortable to listen to, and other times the jazz feels dull. There tends to be some instruments I like on certain tracks, like the piano in "Putnam Country," but for the most part nothing sticks out as memorable. It's still performed well and I'd be impressed to see it live. I like Waits' jokes, but you kinda have to dedicate your whole hour and a half to listening to all the lyrics to actually get the jokes and full enjoyment, which specializes its function to an album you have to emulate as being a member of the audience, rather than playing it in the background. The jokes land, and everyone plays their part well. Favorite tracks: Eggs and Sausage, Better Off Without a Wife
Feigning to capture the live Tom Waits experience - the rambling tales, the gags, the wordplay, the audience interaction - Nighthawks has beautiful and memorable musical moments - the band are terrific - but the replay value is limited. The jokes may have once been funny the first time but diminish with repeat listening which ultimately renders this album one to skip in favour either of The Heart of Saturday Night which precedes it or Small Change which follows.
Very differrent and I liked the journey of the entire album. No song stuck out to me.
I felt very cool listening to this, like I'm nostalgic for a time and place I've never experienced
At first I wasn't into this very much, but then I started to like it a lot more. The singing bits are so lovely
Not really my cup of tea (too "talkative") but nice overall
It was nice, and definitely created the jazz lounge atmosphere it was going far. Most of the songs weren't too exciting. I did like the speed pickup in "Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emission)."
Disco en plan intimista, sin mucha instrumentalización, de un compositor americano, con un estilo tranquilo y reposado, aunque con una voz rota. Canciones un tanto parecidas entre sí. No me ha emocionado especialmente.
A live album. A live comedy album? There is definitely music here, but Waits does not hesitate to play the crowd instead of his guitar (or piano, or whatever). There are several Intro tracks, if that gives any indication of the length of this album. This is due to Waits mostly fucking around. Worth noting that I do not know Waits' music prior to this album, so it's a bit muddled on what's supposed to be a part of the song and what's Waits just fucking around. He does this a lot. His voice and personality lends itself to this though, making it a smooth album for the ears. The instrumentation is pretty good too, with nice blues/jazzy bits with the band. The songs I could leave, but Waits is a naturally-gifted performed. He just take to the stage so naturally. I can see why this live album makes the list, as it exists as a document of pure and simple entertainment at it's finest, but as music it's alright.
És el disc que millor capta el primer Tom Waits. Antiheroi passat d'alcohol però irredentment optimista, envoltat de sons de jazz-blues amb una audiència còmplice que li arropa de forma fantàstica les seves actuacions i les tonades amb la seva inconfundible veu cazallosa. No hi ha temes que sobresurtin, aquí tot és ambientació i reviure el clima d'una nit de copes i bona música a una taverna qualsevol, però impossible d'oblidar
Ни одной песни, который бы я проникся
surprisingly nice for tom waits
Quite unlike any album I've heard before. Loved it. // Favs: — Score: Decent to Strong 3
Long but cool
Kind of like a live jazz lounge comedy act. Very specific. Not bad.
Tom Waits n'a jamais dépassé les trois étoiles, même après ses nombreuses tentatives de retour sous différentes perruques et lunettes de soleil.
What a first selection - a double 'live' album. Not really been drawn to TW and previous listening has been cursory, despite my old school mate Rob talking him up big time. Paying a little more attention here there is some neat word play and comedy. You get used to the voice but it was a stretch here.
I've heard Tom Waits' first couple of 1970s albums, and his highly celebrated 1980s ones - but never checked out Nighthawks. To be honest, I'm not a massive fan of him. This one is interesting, because it was recorded by recreating a live jazz club atmosphere in the studio. As someone who dislikes live albums, I was surprisingly impressed by the results. Maybe it's the way the band plays and Waits acts up, knowing they've got a live audience there - but certainly there's an effortless atmosphere to the whole thing. The music is laid-back, blues-tinged, small-group jazz - good but unremarkable. Waits's vocals are the point of difference. He's a gruff, growling, inebriated, slurring showman. His blues-jazz singing is pretty good. His rambling introductions have a slight charm. He's very indebted to Beat poetry, with his setting to jazz of a bohemian, down-and-out persona, evoking the gritty details of American urban underbelly nightlife. Another 3.5 for me, but I can see why others might love this one.
Ja conhecia esse album. Eh um genero bem diferente do que eu gosto mas tem os seus meritos.
Meh
Good ole Tom. Interesting album better than yesterday’s. Felt like I was listening to an audiobook or comedy skit. Weird guy.
Interesting. Not an album I’ll listen to again on my own, but it wasn’t horrible. Just more like musical standup at a local show, with some nice jazz accompanying it
Brings back memories
Entertaining.
Interesting. Heard of Tom Waits but never gave a listen. Some stuff was funny and good and other stuff I got lost in (in a bad way) overall decent.
Good jazz vibes. Some funny lines in the spoken word stuff.
Interesting
A lot of talking in the introductions of songs. I think you have to be familiar with his sense of humor to appreciate the lyrics
fun performance
I didn’t like it but may have been mild related
It's that first-phase Tom Waits jazz I thing, right? Clever and funny writing but maybe not much depth yet.
Eh. Raspy.
fun live comedy sort of singing
Good old Tom Waits... this is the third album of his in the last couple weeks I think. This one in particular is funny because it's a studio album with a small crowd to simulate the sound of a jazz club. Kinda like Tom Waits faking his signature stylistic voice until it became real. Fascinating figure
If I was at a show like this I would over the moon, but just hearing it on an album doesn't quite get me loving the thing. That said I liked this more as it went on, and I walk away happy that I checked it out.
This album is undeniably strange and undeniably charming. It's split pretty evenly between standup comedy and Wait's crooning, and he excels in both of these tasks. The album is an anachronism, set in an analog world that no longer exists and could never exist in the computer age. The jazz band backing Waits stitches the entire work together. Waits slides evenly between smutty, sweet, and insightful. It's not the type of album that I would normally listen to, but it has a lot of charm and helped me understand much better why people are so fond of Waits. The album is a bit long, though. I don't know that it needed to be a double album. I suppose that it gives more of a nightclub performance feel, but I felt like the album would have finished strong after the end of the first disc. There is some excellent stuff on the second half, though, so I'm not sure what I would cut. The album is an experience that I want to come back to at some point, despite the fact that this style of album is not my particular cup of tea. Great artists know how to make things work.
Classic Jazz, as much music as it is talk show. All driven with a raspy voice that's hard to understand at time, but oh, so, much old school. Not my jam, tho.
Great but dont like Tom Waits
Väldigt jazzigt. Någon typ av fejkad live-spelning inspelad i en studio. Mysigt men långt ifrån hans bästa.
Na een dronken piraten album en een album waarop Tom gewoon je dronken oom speelt, is ie nu de dronken host van een nachtclub. Specifiek een Jazz nachtclub. Tsja, dan heb je in elk geval mijn aandacht. Ook hier weer druipt alleen de intro al van sfeer. En voor je het weet zit je al in het tweede nummer, terwijl Tom nog steeds half zijn woorden uitspuugt. Lekker jazz deuntje op de achtergrond, tsja dit is wel een vibe hoor. Vorige albums vond ik de sfeer al top, maar miste ik toch vaak een beetje de muziek. Maar dit? Ik weet niet, ik vind zn stem heel goed bij jazz passen. Misschien ook omdat zn stem me een klein beetje aan Louis Armstrong doet denken. Maar ok Tom, was het nodig om 3 minutenlang een intro te doen en te vertellen hoe een avond sjorren er voor je uit ziet? Hoe je jezelf even goed verwend? Sowieso heeft elk nummer minstens 3 minuten intro, ontzettend onnodig... De beste man is al geen zanger, maar zo vervaagt de grens tussen muziek en gewoon spoken word wel heel erg. Nope. Begint oprecht interessant en ik ging er goed voor zitten. Maar dit is gewoon veel te lang en alles wat ook maar een beetje op muziek en tempo lijkt word vakkundig de nek omgedraaid door Tommert. Het begint als die oom die gezellig is na een aantal drankjes. Het eindigt met dat ie toch behoorlijk racistisch blijkt te zijn en dat het toch niet zo grappig is, hij is bloedserieus als hij weer begint over de platte aarde en waarom Thierry Baudet minister president zou moeten worden. De grap is over, het duurt te lang. FAVO: On a foggy night, Eggs and sausage
Musicality- 0.4 Vocals - 0.3 Vibes - 0.3 Listen to again - 0.1 Execution - 0.4 Total - 1.5
A very slight step up from Nick Cave but still shitty talk music.
I do enjoy Tom Waits but I didn't love this album.
Man, I love Tom Waits. But 5 albums?!
I thought the last Tom Waits album I had was good, so I hope this one is too. Unfortunately, I don't really care for this one. Here, Tom doesn't sound like he's trying to sing, more just telling stories over somewhat jazzy instrumentals. It's pretty obvious what he's going for here; a shady club jazz-type deal. Adding crowd noise onto your studio record, however, is just asinine even within the context of this album, and this album lacks memorable songs. So, essentially, all this record has is its shtick(whereas Heartattack and Vine had some genuinely good songs). This album is ranked #20 of 22 albums for 1975. Other 1975 albums rated by me: Wish You Were Here(1/22)-5 A Night At The Opera(2/22)-5 Physical Graffiti(3/22)-4 Blood on the Tracks(4/22)-3 Mothership Connection(7/22)-4 That's the Way of the World(8/22)-5 Red Headed Stranger(11/22)-5 Pieces of the Sky(16/22)-4
He’s a good storyteller, but I wouldn’t exactly call it music. It’s just not my thing.
Ugh. I thought maybe jazz club vibe would help make this more tolerable but I can't. His voice irritates me to no end, and apparently, with 65 albums left, I still have another Tom Waits one to try to get through. I'll give a point to the jazz musicians though.
I have never had patience to focus on Tom Waits. Every album that I have tried to listen and tried to to focus on loses my attention quite fast. Some component just pushes me away. I can't place a finger on what it is but that's just a way it goes with me and Tom Waits.
Not really my cup of tea.
I listen to this in the same way you might listen to a podcast or watch some stand up with your mum and dad. I appreciate the storytelling and some of the jokes were pretty out there for 1975. Music is boring though
Don't hate it, but I do dislike it. You had to be there otherwise it has no appeal. 2
3.5
Listening session: august 13th, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: no Thoughts: I really dislike this type of singing, but the bass and piano made up for it sometimes. Would like this album better if it was shorter and instrumental Favourite tracks: Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emission) & Nobody
that was an odd one
This was the least bad of all the Tom Waits albums on here. Would’ve been a decent night live, in a small jazz cafe, perhaps. But still too salty and gravely for my liking.
Thought this was a live album and was blown away by the quality, but found out it's semi-staged. Great work but marked down for authenticity - my 2 rating is for albums that I respect but are flawed in some way. 2 - a good album but not my thing
I gotta say I really struggled with this one, mostly due to its length I would suspect. The last of his albums on this list 'Bone Machine' had some very interesting themes; dark, creepy, and unsettling tones throughout. This one was like listening to a drunk uncle telling you some stories 75 minutes. Some of it was enjoyable and funny but I can't say I got much out of it besides that. Favourites: Spare Parts I
No 2/5
Please.
this was an interesting album. he really nailed the vibe he was going for and he fully commits to the bit. there are some good lines on here but the delivery didnt do it for me.
Like the music, get the feeling Tommo likes the smell of his own farts though. First 15 minutes were ok, then his voice started to remind of the creepy uncle with a slight drink issue and incestual tendencies.
Oef dit kan wel weer eens een hele bittere pil voor mij worden. Jazz is niet bepaald mijn favoriete genre. Echter, zolang er nog iets van een ritme te vinden is, ik noem het maar even semi-jazz, dan is het wel weer te waarderen. Ben benieuwd welke kant Tom op gaat! Ah zie nu dat de rest van mijn notes niet zijn opgeslagen! Dat is jammer.. Anyway, het was iets in de trant van, rokerige stem leuk, maar hij zingt niet echt. Meer een soort dronken verhaal in de bar. Instrumentaal wel leuk, maar uiteindelijk ook veel van hetzelfde, wat naar mijn mening raar is in een jazz album. Ik vind 3 reten teveel, dus dit worden er 2.
The album is overall alright, nothing too exciting, but relatively chill. It is fairly old, but not TOO old, so I guess it must've had a nice following, although I find it just a bit too meh nowadays.
Might relisten. Possibly not.
Very whatever. I can understand if the jazz club experience is something you enjoy, but for me it's just a snoozefest
Sometimes I don't know what to make of Tom Waits. Good writer storyteller but the man cannot sing. Live albums are not a good idea for him.
There's a very compelling quality to the storytelling (and sometimes very flowing poetry) of the words. And the jazzy instrumentals. But man, the spoken-word style of the vocals pulls this down a lot for me. And it is much more one-note than Rain Dogs, though in its defense it is somewhat of a concept album.
I wanted to like it more… but leave the poor singing to Bob Dylan. I would see him live… but only For $10. 2.4
I found this pretty interminable. It was way too long, and even when the jazz was good, he had to tell boring stories over the top of it. The bass player slaps. 3/10 Ho Hum
would I listen again: no I thought this was going to be jazzy and cool but there was lots of laughing of jokes I didn’t get and not a lot of singing. liked the instrumental though
Its just not my genre
I think I preferred Tom Waits when I didn't understand anything he was saying...
Like Charles Bukowski fronting a jazz band in a seedy bar. It's very evocative and lyrically brilliant, but it's never really clicked with me
Some of this is good fun, but not the best TW I have heard so far, 1 or 2 tracks I would go back to
I get pretty fed up with TW pretty quickly TBH, far too pleased with himself, this album just about limps into the bottom of the 2 stars as “Better Off Without A Wife” is a good song, just not one I’ll be listening to again. Tom.
The last 3 times I got a Tom Waits album I rated him low because he is not for me. That being said I at least understood his appeal. Not here. This is a parody (?) concept album where he pretends he's at a fake jazz hall and for the life of me I can't understand the point or why anyone would listen to this. At first I thought this was supposed to be making fun of what was happening which I don't understand why anyone would listen to but from what I can tell, he was serious. So why not just make a real Jazz club album? If that's what I wanted to listen to then I don't want this phony shit. It's just such an odd idea and I don't know why it's like this. 3/10. I don't like it but I thought way more about it then most of the things on this list, and while I still don't like Waits, his voice, or his ramblings the rest of the band understood their job here, so I can't truly hate it.
I usually like Tom Waits but this was not very enjoyable for me.
This is my fourth Tom Waits album, and I have to say it doesn't get better. His vocals are just annoying, and this album especially just feels like he's trying out being a comedian. It felt like I was listening to someone ramble more than music, I think this could have been left out of the book.
Feel that you need to be in a smoky club at 2am to give this a decent review
This might be the dumbest thing I've ever listened to.
Odd. Good listen once but that’s it
Its not you, its me..... 1. Jazz playing in the background, I hate jazz. 2. Jokes about l.a. that just went over my head. 3. Songs about l.a. street life that just don't relate. Tom, it was a blast, but I don't think we should see each other anymore, and Tom, its not you, its me.
Just can't get past his gravelly voice...
I think I wasn't in the right mood for this.
Iconic voice, great background music. But this was more story time than concert
Cringy af.
Y’know, given that prior to this, I’d only ever listened to Waits’ post-Swordfishtrombone experimental stuff, I just assumed he had put on /the voice/ to sound more mysterious and creepy. Evidently, I was wrong. This is a pretty straightforward vocal acoustic-jazz record, and yet he still sounds like that. Ya learn something new everyday, I suppose.
Jazz en vivo, con perfo y todo. Muy agradable al oído, sentía que estaba ahí en el club con el viejardo cantándome. No lo terminé, escuché un rato.
Bro clear your throat. Stars for the jazz instrumentals only.
I believe this is my last Waits album, and it was the most tolerable of them all. That being said, it is still too much of a rambling and nearly incoherent mess for me. Overall I definitely don't see the appeal. 2.5/5 Won't listen again
Shut up and sing, Tom.
There is no way that's his natural voice/accent. Stop pretending to be black. Rambling jazzy nonsense. Depressing that the jazz part was the best bit. Not a good sign when you check 3 times to see how close to the end of the album I was.
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.
I don't know, it seemed pretty bad, didn't really enjoy it. However, I must admit that listening to it did feel like I was sitting in a jazz club, thus a bonus star for that.
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.