Reviews (page 7 of 8)
very shitty
I could sit in a blues bar and listen and enjoy…but not to this guy specifically
Bar the couple of times when an actual song broke out I didn't like this at all. The whole conceit of rambling intros to every track wore very thin with me.
😴
2.75
not my vibe
What a strange album with the attempted comedy routine between songs and would have done much better by just playing the music. I will say, I enjoyed this Tom Waits album way more than any of the other ones we have been subjected to so far on list. The actual jazz/lounge music was pretty good and enjoyable. His gravelly voice fits in this scenario but Im not sure where else it would.
I think I understood the vibe and the jazz band was nice but it’s not for me
I usually love Tom Waits but I was not in the right headspace for this today.
I'm of two minds about this one. On the one hand, this schtick wears thin pretty quickly, and his verbal mugging for the handpicked crowd is cringey. On the other hand, though, he's damn funny and his lyrics are evocative. Also, the musicians are on point. But overall, it's not my jam. I prefer the Swordfishtrombones-and-beyond version of Tom Waits. 2.5 rounding down just 'cause.
Moments of this actually work but as a complete package it really frags, and I'm left wondering which bits are supposed to be tongue and cheek and which might be serious.
Not a fan of Waits, not really heard a lot, but this album has a lot going for it. At times you feel you're in the bar with him. Some great jazz feel tunes, and top musicians, but i can't really go for it. Toms vocals make Dylan sound like Pavarotti, he talks his way through the tunes and sounds like he's being interrogated.. Hes hard to listen to. Even so, this had a lot going for it.
Occasionaly amusing.
This is weird. Imagining Tom as Oscar the Grouch with a beret and a cigarette helped me get through this easier.
The soundtrack to some movie I don’t intend to watch
...I guess I can give some points for trying something different and unique. But it's still Tom Waits. Is any middle ground possible with this guy? I'm not sure how anyone could voluntarily put this album on and listen to it. It's not as much a slam as that sounds (... although....) just that it's so distracting. A really good jazz band playing behind what is essentially a one man soliloquy on drunkenness, loneliness, and ...ehh god knows what else he rambled on about. Step aside and let the music play although that's not really possible. I'll save it from a 1 even though I'll never listen to this again just for the creative aspect of the recording. And because it's SO damn niche I suppose I can see some people liking it. Not here, tho. 3/10 2 stars. Also please no more Tom Waits. 3 is about 2.9 too many.
i dont really like his voice. sounds like he smocked too many cigs. but it was in some way refreshing and different. tom waits has a entertaining delivery but i dont really gonna revisit this album unless from 1,2 songs tbh
Fine I guess. Didn’t like the vocals
Tom Waits has made many strong 4*-5* albums, but this one is just plainly boring even after 5 minutes let alone 75. score: 3/10
альбомам стоит исключить Тома Уэйтса как несовпадающий со мной жанр)) хотя теперь понимаю, откуда растут ноги у Shady Rachel
jesus, all these little comedic interludes are annoying as fuck. This album is somewhat interesting but his "Intros" make it really hard for me to listen. He seems way too convinced he's really clever and funny. But by the end, even with skipping the intros, his mumbly grumbly voice and delivery had me ready to skip to the end.
Rambling, though not without charm
This album is the audio equivalent of ranch dressing. It's a unique flavor and I completely understand why some people would dig it, but I can't imagine a single food where some other topping wouldn't fit way better.
I thought I liked Tom Waits. Fake night club, fake audience, fake drunk singing. Tiresome. Bass player kicks though.
Rambling meh
The live setting recording is an interesting gimmick which seems to work out. It gives the album character, yet, production still sounds great, as compared to regular live albums. That said, I don't enjoy the music. It just sounds like a Disney movie gruffian rambling on and on and on with some light jazz accompaniment. Definitely not the worst on here, but also definitely not something I would listen to on my own.
It's a raw, great sound but it's a bit of a dull offer. OK for the once through but I don't think I'd ever listen again. Bit of a novelty record.
3/10 - I cannot finish this I hate this dude's voice
Nah. My 3rd Tom Waits album so far on this list. I just don't like his voice. I found this samey and pretentious. I honestly didn't think I would get through it. Only giving it 2 stars because of the quality of the band.
Again, it was a mistake to try to review 4 of the 5 Tom Waits albums in one day. But a fascinating one to save for last. I don’t like “Nighthawks at the Diner,” but I am intrigued by it. Waits’ vocals early in his career are not as over-the-top gravelly as on other albums we listened to, but that doesn’t mean I like it. It’s a concept album of a sort? It was recorded live, so it’s kind of a live album? I’ve lamented concept albums, flip-flopped on live albums, but “Nighthawks at the Diner” is unique and challenges my views about both of those things. Half stand-up, half lounge performance, it delivered on a concept. Recording a faux live performance live scrambles any notions of how a record should be made.
I can see how his voice works better for fronting a more pure jazz album like this than it does for Bone Machine. I just can't handle that this album is more like a live reading of a collection of short stories.
Third Tom Waits album on this project, and he's still not my jam. I really liked the concept behind the album, though. The "jazz club" motif recreated in the studio was convincing and well done by everyone involved on this album. Tom Waits uses the opportunity to parody the jazz club scene, at least to a certain degree; the topics and lyrics of the songs are often funny and have intentionally ridiculous delivery. I also like the "Nighthawks" painting that this album seems to be inspired by, so it was cool to discover that! All that said, this just wasn't my thing. I really do appreciate how Tom Waits pushes the envelope, though!
Eggs and Sausage started to grow on me.
I don't think Tom Waits has a bad album. I also do not think he has an easily digested album, that you can appreciate without actually paying attention. Nighthawks is certainly not easy to get into, and i would argue that the effort isn't compensated as highly as it would with later albums of Waits' career. Not bad by any means, but a little too pretentious for it's own good.
I like Tom Waits, but this is just a record of him talking.
I didn’t finish it and I’m not going to. I just can’t. Please no more Tom Waits.
Its an interesting sound, but the whole thing falls a bit flat for me.
Nope
Shit
If you make me listen to another album by the man who sounds like he smokes 12 packs of cigarettes a day and reminds me of the crazies on the Philadelphia bus system I am going to cry.
Interesting album. Tom Waits is a person I’ve heard a lot about but don’t know a thing about his music. This album is supposed to sound like it’s recorded in a jazz club, complete with song intros, stories, jokes and audience laughter. Cool concert, but it didn’t strike a chord with me musically.
Yawn.
In general, I think I want to like Tom Waits more than I do. In this particular case, I get the vibe he’s going for but it falls flat. I was fine with it in the background but know I won’t be able to get through it on a focused listen.
I enjoyed this in that it was very different- I'd not really heard anything like it before. The background jazz was pleasant, but the album got pretty boring and samey after a couple of tracks. There seems great rapport between Waits and the audience - making me feel like I'm missing out on an in joke. Glad I listened, probably won't bother again.
We've had this one before, surely
Not sure if I was in the wrong mood for this but it irritated me from the get go. The 'atmosphere' that others loved so much felt false, overplayed, hammy. I will give it another listen but for now it's a disappointed 2/5.
Een verfijndere bakken tappen van een dronken zwerver? Wel goeie contrabas
Not a fan of this one.
Hipster beat poet meets jazz. His banter was amusing and the jazz was jazz but not my style
Could not get thru
I like the unique style, but the audience is distracting and after half an album it's been enough
<.....>
This is more of a comedy folk album with some songs in between more than a musical album. Sometimes funny sometimes witty and all the time sounding like he needs a cough drop. His voice is rough but the music is okay and the style is unique. If you like folk you may like this. I find it ok. 4.9/10
2/15, 13%
This was a slog. Extra star for the audience patter
Still not really getting this. Some ok bits but not enough
Interesting, but not varied enough to keep my attention
irritante, toda musica é igual. rima country bem brega durante 2 minutos, um yeah no final e palmas.
Well this got old quick. More tuneful than others I've reviewed, even the spoken word bits) but the conceit (studio recording pretending to be a live club show) grates. The hero here is the bassist. A star for him.
I can hear how much Tom Waits loves himself in every single syllable and I really am not here for it.
I like Tom Waits, but this album is so different. Not for me. Too much talking and bad jokes for me. 2/5
Laatste jaar met wisselend succes verwoede pogingen gedaan om in de mythe rondom deze man te geraken, maar dit helpt niet: Je had erbij moeten zijn waarschijnlijk.
Pfoe, het was werken om dit album in z'n geheel geluisterd te krijgen. Misschien moest ik dit ook niet luisteren terwijl ik me probeerde te concentreren.
This isn't really music. Felt more like a skit stretched out to the length of a play. Not entertaining at all.
2/5 this is more a stand up comedy album than a song one
Tom Waits? Aren't you the same guy who made the oonga boonga music in "Bone Machine"? Wow. While he vividly simulates 10000 B.C. or whatever in "Bone Machine", he also succeed in doing the same with pubs and jazz clubs in this album. It's tempting to say "Hey! Why don't you just make real music? Look at your voice in the chorus of 'Better Off Without a Wife', it's pretty good." But I guess it will be a generic and an equally boring effort. Both "Bone Machine" and "Nighthawks at the Diner" are interesting yet boring. Not to mention looooooooong. But I enjoyed "Bone Machine" more, mainly because it has fun singles, while "Nighthawks" is basically 70 minutes of spoken poetry/story over a jazz track.
OK. Not great.
It is great to hear Tom Waits interact with the room, tell stories and sings his songs. But I am just not a big fan of the live recording albums. Rather have a real studio recording or be there at the live show. Music is good, just not an album I enjoy.
Not my thing
Kinda interesting but not something I'd want to listen to again in a hurry. One particularly irritating feature of the record is the almost canned laughter during the song intros; a bunch of people laughing to things that are barely funny, in a kind of "we get this but you don't because you're not cool enough" way.
Again, the only way I would enjoy this is live. Otherwise, it's just not entertaining to me. It was kinda funny, but mostly annoying.
I'm down w/ Tom Waits, a fan actually, however this album just isn't really my thing. There's some humorous shit up in here but overall I simply prefer a little more music a little less chit chat ya know?
Jollekin fanille saattaa olla suuri mestariteos, mutta herran tuotantoon suuremmin perehtymätön ei oikein pääse tunnelmaan.
One of my least favorite Tom Waits' albums. I don't get it. 2/5
Album begint al snel te vervelen. Spoken-word is niet echt voor mij weggelegd...
Not what I expected but had an interesting format of storytelling being emphasised over the music itself
tfw trying to listen to jazz and some old nob is going on about some shit
Not for me
It’s not without its merits
Live spoken word jazz?
This used to be great. Now, not so much.
the late night performance concept is cool, but the album itself was a total slog. Waits’s persona on this record feels very put-on, and the storytelling and comedy fell pretty flat for me. the album dragged on much too long and i don't really feel compelled to listen to any of these songs ever again, but at least there was some good bass playing. 3/10
I thought it was just ok. First listen.
Not really my style, but a fun listen.
Feels like a speak easy jazz club. No stand out performances but successful in creating the feel of a smokey 20s jazz club.
Spoken word. Not my favorite but has its moments.
Puh, Tom Waits Fan war ich noch nie und das Album hier aus meinem Geburtsjahr bestätigt das! Die rauchige Alkoholstimme bröselt so vor sich hin: das mag für einige Kult sein, ich kann damit nichts anfangen. Ich denke, Big Kev als Meister von Tom waits Songs bekommt das besser hin!
I liked it at first, but the gimmick got old quick. The jazz instrumentals were great. The vocals were hit or miss.
Noman Hosni aura vraiment tout essayé, 2/5
I've never been a Tom Waits fan. This is an interesting album, but can't say I enjoyed it much.
I can't stand this voice but man the songs are great
Couldn’t finish it. It was wack
I liked the storytelling. Relatable and relevant even today. I hate that I’m attracted to men like this.
great voice but i dont want to hear it
Lucky I had a lot of unpacking and tidying to do last night cos that felt never ending
Tricky one. On the one hand of it wasn’t Tom Waits I might have turned off earlier, but I listened to the end. It was fun in parts, and I like the way they recreated a jazz lounge style atmosphere in the recording studio...but nothing really grabbed me and I don’t think I’d ever listen again as well as jazz not really being my sort of thing.
Didn't know standup comedy and jazz could be fused together. 5/10
Bit whiney, but intriguing. Turned off after 30 mins tho
Me sentí en un bar y lo sentí muy repetitivo en las canciones.
3
Mi vieja me dijo turun tun tun
This isn't music, it's a series of comedy anecdotes. I love the guy's voice though, who doesn't? I'd be happy with him reading me anything. 'I mean, she's been married so many times... she's got rice-marks all over her face.' was a particular highlight.
Bluesy. Might be nice, but not my cup of tea in the mood I was in.
vet inte riktigt ja. han är säkert duktig
Who listens to this. Why did I listen to this.
Disco en directo infumable. Si fuera únicamente instrumental me gustaría BASTANTE más.
El bajón al darme cuenta de que no solo iba a estar dando la chapa en la primera canción..... Me lo pongo de fondo y okey, pero en serio esto es un disco que había que escuchar antes de morirme?? No lo creo. Los músicos le dan mil vueltas, siento que en general me sobra Mr. Tom. P.D. Me he puesto a escuchar otras canciones de este tío y ni tan mal, es este disco simplemente, que es un peñazo.
Al principio no me estaba gustando hasta sin saber por qué hasta que (en Putnam Country) me he dado cuenta a que me sonaba todo a un discurso de Trump con jazz de salón de fondo. Al final siguió sin gustarme. Igual puedo salvar Eggs and sausage pero ya.
More strangling of a drunk clown from Tom masquerading as vocals. Why does he justify having multiple albums on this list when all of them sound just as bad.
I think you could make a reasonable argument that this is categorically not an album. I really dislike both the singing style and the spoken word. Something about the weird invited fake live audience is sooooo offputting and weirdly self congratulatory to me
oh god, i've heard the name but never listened to the music. oh god, its just not worth it. he talks rather than sings. actually its a mumble. and its a live album, i just hate a live album.
God I hate Los Angeles. So proud of their own artifice, but so desperate for validation, desperate to convince you they're not ghouls. A grown-ass man, smeared in his own shit, confidently complaining that he's become the first person to ever have taken a shit. Fitting that a cowardly fucking spectacle of an album would use a cowardly fucking spectacle of a city as its setting. Yeah I get that Art requires intentionality and a stylized language, but this is just so alienating and up its own ass that it makes his other work, before and after, seem less sincere.
I love Tom Waits the actor.
3/10
I don't understand why there is even one album of Waits on this list, never mind two... don't tell me there's more to come... Absolute jazz dross. The incoherent ramblings of a weirdo.
In the past I have given Tom Waits bonus points for his fringe level weirdness and uniqueness. But I can't bring myself to do it on this "album". It's just Tom talking/half singing stand up bits over the same simple jazz style musical structure for over an hour. But the stand up bits aren't actually formed jokes. They're more just nonsensical word vomit.
Reminded me of being stuck next to somebody who will just not stop talking.
Somehow simultaneously exactly and nothing like what I thought Tom Waits would sound like.
To be in that room in 1975 must have been so cool. Hearing those stories, smelling the smoky alcohol filled room and listening to jazz. But, man, it sure was hard to listen to 51 years later. Too many stories, not enough music and the music we got I didn't fancy.
1.25 - Musically, this is way too low of a rating, but I really don't like this vocal style.
I’m not a fan, the atmosphere and music is good but something about Waits vocals really turns me off and I just can’t enjoy it. This could’ve been a much shorter album too but we got 70 minutes of long winded spoken word intro to songs.
I'm not a fan
You can keep this x
I like the other Tom Waits albums in this list. I don’t like jazz. I thought about giving this one two stars for hitting the brief with the ambiance and the bass playing. But the album simply wouldn’t end. My patience did, though. The last 30 minutes were hard to endure
La verdad no me gustó el álbum, no se si era que ese día no andaba en el mood para escuchar ese tipo de música, pero le puedo dar otra oportunidad para escucharlo con más calma.
Omg just shut up and sing. Your talking is annoying. I don't like live albums. All the songs suck, I just picked Eggs And Sausage as the best because it's about food. Better Off Without A Wife was funny, but still hate his delivery. This is my third Tom Waits album (after Heartattack And Vind and Swordfishtrombones). I still have two more to go. Shit. Best song: Eggs And Sausage
what the fuck is this horseshit
terrible, just not for me although I do see the vision
Cringe
who the hell gave this guy a mic. i cannot stand him. bassist slapped tho
Hated this. Tom Waits just isn’t for me. I might’ve been a bit more forgiving if it was shorter but the 73 minute runtime brings it down among my bottom albums so far.
Please no more Tom Waits
1/5 This guy is annoying
Tom Waits, 3eme album =>1/5 Voix insupportable, comme sur les 2 précédents albums. Plus que 2 albums de TW à subir ! Point positif : ils seront vite notés.
Maybe I'll give it another try.
I was going to write a long diatribe about how having world class musicians perform mediocre songs........ You know what, fuck that. I don't need to ever hear this again. Someone put this on the list because they thought it would make them cool. It doesnt.
Even a third martini into the evening, I'd like to think I would have left this self-indulgent performance early.
I wish I had a physical copy of this album so I could have the pleasure of throwing it in the trash where it belongs.
Asylum records. Right >boasting about being able to get more ass than a toilet seat Ain't no way... They had tiktok back in 1975, that's crazy Saur, while listening I didn't find the jokes particularly funny, because let's be real, comedy is the fastest genre to age, but I found it funny that the audience was laughing at those jokes. Imagine my diappointment when I learned it was all staged. I didn't even mind that they added a stand-up performance under disguise of a music album, it's kinda refreshing even, but when you realise that one guy that was laughing at every joke wasn't genuine it all falls down
en otro momento lo intentaré escuchar entero y mejor pero me estaba poniendo tensa y todo.... creo que no es mi estilo musical. me lo escuché porque salía en Somos lo Miller y me hizo gracia
I thought this was a list about music and I got a (really bad) audiobook with some standard jazz as background music. Absolute sh*t 1/5.
If I could, I would give the bass player three or four stars. But I need to judge the whole thing together. The fake nightclub setting in a studio shtick doesn’t work for me. It feels disingenuous. And the bad jokes only get responses because of the falseness of the setting and that makes it feel all the more false. Which just undermines the whole persona of Mr Waits to me. And his voice is dogshit. The whole thing is dogshit. Except the bass player because he lays down a sweet grove the whole time.
I'm so done with Tom waits
Dit is zo een pretentieuze bullshit. Hij mompelt een beetje op een bas en wat getjingeltjangel maar komt eigenlijk nergens.
It's Tom Waits. My opinions on him remain unchanged no matter how many of his mumbling, grumbling, beat poetry tracks I listen to.
Guess you need to be a fan, terrible
I’d never listened to Nighthawks, so a self-punishing part of myself was curious and excited when this prompt showed up. I knew about the jazz club kitsch, and I knew I’d have to listen to this someday. A part of me hoped this would unlock for me the secret element of joy that people find in Tom Wait’s unceasing pain. Having listened to most of Tom Wait’s other albums, and knowing the import of Nighthawks, yes, it was time. But, god, I hated this. Tom Waits for no man to get his jokes, they come at such a rapid clip. If the jokes were good, I could appreciate that talent. Instead, I was brought into the crusty late-night feeling of a greasy diner, sitting beside a grit-throated crass man who can’t stop bitching. This truck driver bullshit is not for me. This world is not one I’d ever wish for anyone, so why celebrate it? Perhaps this is for those who glorify the freedom of the lonesome life that allows you to sleep in until noon and then end the night at such places. For a time in my life, my friends and I collected at The Anchor Grill in Kentucky at three in the morning. There was an irony to hanging out there. None of us seriously enjoyed the spot at that hour beyond the kitsch of it. Waits is one who seems not to have understood the joke and latched onto the painful life for nourishment, as that’s all he knows. I’ve noticed the ratings for Nighthawks and for other Tom Waits albums are split between ones and fives. You either love this guy or you hate him. I want to love him, yes I do, but I simply can’t. His schtick irritates the hell out of me. When I meet people like this Nighthawks character in real life, I inevitably create as much space between them and myself as possible, as if their curse is a spreadable contagion that I’d rather avoid. The musical version is no different. Please no more Tom Waits.
Punishing. This is a brutally boring record that in one of my co-workers who was listening along as I played it, was emotionally triggered by memories of hearing Tom Waits the first time. The expressed emotion? Absolute and unequivocal loathing. This really is truly just a steaming pile of crap. Why? Because Tom’s introductions to each so called are as fake as the so-called audience. References to Los Angeles nightlife are a dead giveaway. This is LA and everyone who lives here knows that there is no nightlife here and certainly not in fucking Whittier where Tom is from. I get this is supposed to be a vibe but this familiar with Tom’s work know that there is absolutely no connection between the talk-singing and the music accompanying this mess. Plus it’s really fucking long, the lyrics not sharp or witty and definitely not insightful. This is lengthy verbal noodling and this album is a waste of vinyl and frankly time. Find something else to do such as bark at parked cars, count the threads on a fringed carpet, create toilet paper figurines. Any of these activities is far more exciting and enjoyable than this fucking boring record. Oh, it’s a great sounding recording so it gets a 1/10
not one of the better I Think You Should Leave skits.
Well, easily the silliest thing on this list thus far, and that is saying something. This is Dr Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, with Zoot blowing his horn. Tom needs to delete the back catalogue and pretend his career started in the bathtub with a tuba on Swordfishtrombones.
Bordering on “fuck this guy” but for some reason his thanking the crowd for coming out pulled him outta that territory. I just really don’t get it.
If I ever see Tom Waits in person, I'm gonna kick him in the nuts
Guy needs a voice coach. Don’t understand the appeal and never will
Been on the record of I don't enjoy
I definitely do not like tom Waits. I always forget.
next
DNF
⭐️ might be one of the most obnoxious releases i've heard from Tom Waits on this list. the singing, the "joke" deliveries, the crowd hooting and hollering over said "jokes" and it's over an HOUR LONG... i'm somehow both bored and overstimulated in the end realistically this would maybe get 2 stars, but Mr. Waits is unfortunately catching me in a piss-poor mood
Tough listen.
I tip my hat to this gentleman, but I ain't vibing with this stuff.
I was not a fan of this one. i don't want to be rude to those who enjoy this, but if i wanted to listen to an old man ramble on for over an hour and crack himself up the entire time, i wouldn't have moved out of my father's house. it did not grip me and it did not fill me with any joy. sorry to mr tom i'm sure you are great. but you're just absolutely not for me.
Wirklich belastend. Jazz an sich kann ja schon sehr anstrengend sein, aber dieser Sporen-Word-Ansatz hier setzt dem Ganzen noch die Krone auf (im negativen Sinn). Textlich hier und da auch schwierig bzw. aus der Zeit gefallen. Ist mir ein Rätsel, wie man so ein Album in diese Liste aufnehmen kann.
Schwierigster Listen bislang, gerade aufgrund der Länge. Musste es in kleinen Dosen hier und da einstreuen, weil ich schnell genervt hiervon war, aber gleichzeitig zumindest die Texte lesen wollte in der Hoffnung, dass sich mir damit diese "Songs" zumindest ein wenig erschließen. Im Endeffekt hab ich hier aber trotzdem zu 90 % der Zeit keine Ahnung, was mir Mr. Waits eigentlich erzählen will und seine Art des Vortrags wird sehr schnell sehr anstrengend. Die zahlreichen Lacher des Publikums lassen vermuten, dass das auch eine Art Stand-Up sein soll. Tja, Humor ist wohl Geschmackssache.
Das waren einfach 75 sehr anstrengende Minuten... UFF!!!
Gefiel mir gar nicht. Spoken word über Jazz (oder was ist das?) scheint gaaaaar nicht mein Fall zu sein. Habe ich auch keinen Ansatz von Zugang zu gefunden. Leider.
Oh wow I hated this
He's just talking, doing standup, and music happens to be playing in the background, but the two are only loosely related.
I can absolutely say with 100% certainty I hated this to the point of irritation. Absolutely could have died without hearing this.
Maybe if you were there and love Tom Waits this would be great. As it turns out, I was not and I don’t.
Nope
I need to start off by saying Jazz isn't my favourite thing and this is no exception. The instrumental parts are fine but I can't get into his voice. It's too gravelly and talky for me. Also, I was wondering why the audience was laughing throughout it. It felt forced to me. The songs all sounded the same too and by the last track, I just wanted it to stop.
This was NOT tuff
I have a real beef with this list and including every album ever from some artists, regardless of how shit they are. Oh yeah, this is the guy that growls as an excuse for singing. The instrumentalists were great, loved the jazz. Can't stand the singer. This felt more like a (not very funny) comedy album. 1*
yea no
You have to really like the smell of your own farts to like this shit. Fuck Tom Waits and his dogshit “music”
Sorry no thank you I did not like this
The perfect album for when you want the vibe of having a sleazy old detective movie on in the background but your TV is broken. Music for guys who confuse a tweed cap with a personality and alcoholics who are nowhere near as charming as they think they are. The whole thing is so desperately phoney and contrived, not necessarily a problem as copy things that don't really exist can be its own form of fun playful creativity, but it's done in a thoroughly humourless way. The jazzy walking bass rips though.
This is the worst Tom Waits album I’ve ever heard by a long way and I own 15. Tom plays backed by an half-arsed lounge band. He intersperses some of his weaker songs with humourous monologues that occasionally include a sharply turned phrase, but mostly revolve around the shops in the Hollywood neighbourhood the record was taped, industry insiders find hilarious. It’s like when you go to a local punk in a strange town and all the bands know each other and the crowd is all someone’s mate. You find yourself listening to a series of local in-jokes and feel excluded. Except here you aren’t excluded by youthful obliviousness or because they didn’t consider there might be outsiders. But because you’re not part of this 70’s Hollywood elite who laugh uproariously whenever that restaurant they went to with Joni Mitchell is mentioned. At this point in his career Tom can’t rise above the cesspit around him or inject life into the moribund band.
Blech. Like jazzy Leonard Cohen.
*brews coffee* "Oooh, what a sunny Wednesday morning. I wonder what 1001 albums will throw my way this morning" Oh.
Not very good, lots of complaining. Horrible lack of pots and pans, despite spending the whole album at the diner…!!
Ugh this guy and the 1001.
noope. noop nope nope. first time i've ever heard this fella but i have heard OF this fella so guessing he's a polarizing figure and he is the only album i had to stop early. terrible. if i could go 0 i would. 1/5
Mi rifiuto, basta
It's not even unpleasant to listen to or anything. I just wouldn't ever want to. And Tom Waits is not even remotely funny or interesting despite his best efforts.
sounds like he swallowed a cheese grater. Really not my thing. I dont understand jazz.
Why was blud speaking 😭🙏🏾
Not a fan of speak-singing especially when it’s done by a man
I’m forever on a 1001 album generator asking ‘what the fuck is this garbage’ and the answer is always Tom Waits.
Just the worst.
Don't really like jazz
Not for me.
Ich mag „Closing Time“. Dieses Gekammer hier ist unerträglich!
This is actually atrocious
Too long
About 1 Hour too long, not a fan of the vocals.
The jazz music in the background was quite good but the spoken word mumbling and some of the lyrics make this album an unlistenable one thus it deserves one star.
Terrible
"Oh nice a jazz album" I thought, closely followed by "oh no" as soon as he began singing. It's beat poetry in the style of stand up comedy with an annoying audience cheer, but it's not funny. He sounds terrible, like a drunk rambling over the music. Hate his laugh. Awful. Why are the bad ones always so long too?
I am not very familiar with Tom Waits, wasn’t too impressed. I would like to listen to one of his newer albums to compare, as this was not what I was expecting
Conceptually a fun album. Jazz club vibes - music itself is excellent. Lyrically: abysmal.
Not for me. 1/5
Just pure shit. The band sounds good behind this cartoon character.
The painting, the title of this album is based on is immeasurably better than the music
The drunk smoker in the corner of the bar rambling on about whatever strikes his fancy. Though in real life there's no laughing audience.
Three more Tom Waits albums to go which means three more worst days of my life
Music for people who think alcoholism and lung cancer are cool. How TF is this on a list of albums you need to listen to before you die?
It was recorded over four sessions in July in the Los Angeles Record Plant studio in front of a small invited audience set up to recreate the atmosphere of a jazz club. reviewers thought at the time that its cool but to me that just sounds like a fragile ego and thats how the music sounds too ??? inviting a bunch of yesmen to record an album to make it sound like you're rocking a club
Terrible
Non benissimo, non sono un grande fan del jazz.
Self-indulgent. I've never understood the appeal of Tom Waits. Mumbley, sounds like a drunk uncle.
Brun pub her ja. Ikke min greie vil jeg si, men interresant å høre litt av uansett. Kom meg bare igjennom halv platen før det hold da.
This is really not my kinda music.
Why does it feel like I am listening to beat poetry in a dive bar in San Francisco.
Wow, I really don't get it. Bass player is the only thing I enjoyed.
It’s like what if Rawlf from the Muppets made an album and all of their jokes weren’t dog related or funny.
IT might have been better if he was sober and did not try to be a comedian.
Spoken word jazz... The horror! Some terrible albums are terrible in a way that is ultimately forgettable. I will remember the name Tom Waits for the rest of my life, motivated by a desire to avoid more of this kind of "music"
What the absolute fuck is this mess? I am offended this is on the list in light of the albums NOT on it.
The worst one so far
The talking-in-rhythm-with-a-raspy-voice gimmick is amusing for 45 seconds but I'm not doing a whole album of this
This was the first time I thought “maybe I don’t want to listen to all 1,001 albums”
Not my favorite of his. Maybe if I was there in person and high as a kite
I don’t like this man
Couldn't finish it, crowd work at the beginnings of each song is too much and boring
Echoing the sentiments of those pointing out that a gravely voice and endless diatribes and monologues over a decent rhythm section does not a jazz album or facsimile thereof make. This is on the level of Kid Rock which is no level to speak of in decent company.
Relatively uncommon for me to immediately turn an album off, but Tom Waits did it for me here.. this was a struggle all the way through, not for lack of trying. The backing band was solid, but was his vocals a gimmick? It sounded like a big joke, and a load of pretentious crap at that.
Jazz, no thanks
i literally had to endure my first tom waits album two days ago and somehow the list read my 1 as “let’s give this person more tom waits” to suffer through for 70+ minutes. tom waits is absolutely not for me. the spoken word style in general is something i don’t enjoy. i will say “nobody” was quite nice, but i still really don’t fancy his voice style. the band was great tho. i would love the instrumentals. 1.5/2
Open mindedly tried to give it a shot in case it was okay and see if I was missing out. I wasn't! Not enjoyable.
Can I please be done with tom waits now Honestly this is so bad. If you like it, you are just pretending. Its bad and if you like it you might be bad
I did understand. Maybe I’m uncultured.
The Lord is testing me with back-to-back 60+ minute album slogs this weekend, and I do not appreciate it! So many strikes against this one: it's live, has a million unfunny intros/skits, features Waits's hideous voice, hardly a melody to be found, and it's jazz... the stereotypical kind I don't like. I had to start skipping the intros to make it through this. Awful.
This has to be a two part joke right? One, this has to be a parody album. I’m convinced because there is no way something can be this bad on purpose. I’m tempted to listen to other Tom Waits songs to confirm this but I just can’t because if I’m wrong and people actually listen to this unironically I just don’t know how to deal with that. The second part to the joke has to be that this album is on this list. If it’s a parody why have it on, and if it’s not god help us.
Albums that make me physically angry get one star. This album gets one star.
What even is this suppose to be
I like Tom, but this is low effort Tom that I'm not sure even Tom completists would vouch for. The back up band is solid, but Tom's ramblings add nothing. Don't let this album turn you off Tom though. This just happens to be in the bottom tier of Tom's discography.
I feel like Tom Waits did singing as a laugh and then someone signed him and the joke became lost. He has been forced to maintain it. Well the jokes not lost on me.
Lo escuché, pero no es lo mío
Oh god, this was terrible. I feel so bad for a 1 rating for the background musicians because they were the only good part of this whole thing. Too long, just talking or sing-talking for over an hour. I'd rather go to an actual jazz club. 1/5
This pretentious motherfucker.
2/10 - can bro just shut up omg. I am listening a music album not a comedy special. While I’m hating the people in the audience seem to like it. I don’t like the music too much and he’s just talking way more than necessary
ABFAHRE! das hed mi also wüki fast scho hässig gmacht – isch es de allgemeini vibe? d'intros zu jedem track? d'live audience? de fact dass er nebebrueflich en chline comedian isch? oder eifach sini dummi stimm? weiss es nöd, aber wasi weiss isch, dass weni d'wahl ha zwüsched em gemälde «nighthawks» vom edward hopper und em album «nighthawks at the diner» vom tom waits, würdi mi i 1000 vo 1000 fäll für's gemälde entscheide
What the hell did I just listen to? I'm really regretting my decision to listen to all of each of these albums. Waits is not funny, and I hate every moment he is talking (and singing, but there is much more talking). +1 for the decent bluesy/jazzy music which I could probably like as an instrumental. +2 for the bassist who is way too good for this. -100 for the talking (and singing).
This is the hundred eleventh album I’m rating. This is the second Tom Waits album I'm listening to. I hear this one is very different. Adding to my Playlist - On a Foggy Night, Better Off Without a Wife Not Adding to my Playlist - Opening Intro, Emotional Weather Report, Intro to on a Foggy Night, Intro to Eggs and Sausage (In a Cadillac with Susan Michelson), Eggs and Sausage (In a Cadillac with Susan Michelson), Intro to Better Off Without a Wife, Nighthawk Postcards (From Easy Street), Intro to Warm Beer and Cold Women, Warm Beer and Cold Women, Intro to Putnam County, Putnam County, Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emission), Nobody, Intro to Big Joe and Phantom 309, Big Joe and Phantom 309, and Spare Parts II and Closing. Opening Intro - Weird but the jazz is nice. All in all I liked 2/18 songs. A concept album but I hate the concept. Also, for some reason I had to edit this because my thing didn't save.
If I wanted to listen to jazz, I'd listen to jazz. If I wanted to listen to spoken word, I'd listen to spoken word. I would NEVER try to create both at the same time.
I don't know, Tommy. I liked some of your other albums and admittedly this is the easiest it's been to hear you in 3 albums, but his is pretty corny. It's so over the top with the acting and skits, it hardly feels organic. Like I'm watching a sitcom with a laugh track. And it sucks becsuze I actually liked most of the music in this album, kind of an old school sleepy jazz, but this album is just really weird in its concept. Doesnt really do it for me. Also an hour and 15 mins was too long for basically all the same song.
единственное, что могло возвести в моих глазах это творение - какая-то ахуевшая история. почитал перевод. понял, что я ебал тома вейтса
This is the third Tom Waits album I’ve gotten here, and I’m so tired of his gravelly voice. This combo of jazz, singing, comedy, and pseudo-intellectual philosophical insights might have been entertaining in person, but it’s not want I want to sit down and listen to. And from reading the comments I’m learning that the whole jazz club vibe is fake, which makes it that much worse.
Like a (very) extended inside joke you're not in on. His heavily affected shtick is so punchable and none of his punchlines land. One star for the phrase "precarious pandemonium."
no
Tom Waits blows!
Das Album ist so spaßig wie Wandern im Nieselregen. Dad braucht man nicht. Club Jazz und Blues zum vergessen. So oft wie in dieser Albumserie dieser Interpret erscheint lässt vermuten er selber oder der Chef seines Fanclubs beherrschen die Jury.
I don't get this. Is it supposed to be a jazz album? Comedy? Okay, so it is a jazz comedy album. I don't like that choice. I also really don't like the half-assed singing/talking. And I also don't like live albums. So, this is just kind of checking all my "don't like this" boxes. I feel bad for the other musicians, because they played great. The piano work is excellent. If this was an instrumental jazz album, I'd probably love it, honestly. Favorite Song(s): Better Off Without a Wife
After the last Tom Waits album I got, he got tossed in the Bob Dylan area of my brain. That is to never be listened to again. So I skipped this, and glad I did. I read other reviews from the challenge site, and I saved myself from agonizing torture.
A double album, lots of ambient noise, spoken word...this is not getting off to a great start. In my mind, I like Tom Waits...but this is just him talking...it's closer to a Mitch Hedberg album. Finally some singing on Better Without A Wife. There is just so much album. And now an eleven-and-a-half minute song. This is not a relaxing listen. I'm counting down the minutes until this album is over. Warm Beer and Cold Women is the best song to this point, not a hard bar to cross, but it's good. Each "song" is mostly the same. Nobody is an improvement. I like jazz trios but there's something pretentious and phony about this album.
#525. Halfwayish through, and I've come to realize that list is not as good as it wants everyone to believe, and Tom Waits is one of the reasons why. At this point I'm kinda torn about quitting or pushing through when I know full well there's still a lot of trash of this caliber coming, there's no getting around that. 1/5: terrible
I like Tom Waits… I hate this. He sounds exactly like what he’s referencing with his characterization of a drunk crooner, it just comes off more as comedy and performance art instead of engaging tuned.
Tom Waits is an acquired taste. I think I've finally acquired it. But not for this record. I dislike live albums generally, on the theory of "I guess you had to be there." I guess you had to be there.
jfc
Is there an instrumental version? I'd really like to hear this jazz band without their vocalist/comedian...
What in the fuck is this guy talking about
1/5
Just not really my bag at all. He's like a comic. Idk it's weird. Times have changed lol. I just personally didn't find this very thrilling. I don't like his raspy voice. Of all the albums I've listened to so far, this was absolutely the hardest for me to get through, sorry Tom. I just didn't really like anything about it, unfortunately. I honestly couldn't even listen to it all the way through. It was like nails on a chalkboard to me.
sorry, this is too white for me
Either genius or a terrible open mic night.
Darn.... this isn't available on Spotify. I'm devastated /s Normally I would find this on YouTube or something, but considering I've utterly despised the other 5 Tom Waits albums on this list, I'm going to go ahead and save myself the trouble.
yikes
Boy oh boy this man must have some serious hold over the critical consensus. Because this is one tough listen, essentially one jazz track with mumbling over the top. Trout Mask Replica at least had the decency to stay a single album.
God help me, I listened to a fair bit of this album. I just don't like his voice. Some of the instrumental aspects were quite nice though like the piano on better off without a wife
Led to some coffee shop jazz but couldn't get into it.
Well that was awful
I enjoyed it for a couple of tracks but did not need that much of this guy just rambling
It's alright, kind of a live musical comedy show. I'm not sure I enjoyed it since I was relieved when it was over. I'm sure he is legendary for doing this type of work but it isn't my thing.
Do people actually like listening to an album like this? Definitely not me. It’s just a bunch of rambling that you can barely understand. I wanted to turn it off after about 30 seconds and it didn’t get any better over the next 75 minutes. No thanks.
Spoken word is not my thing.
I'd give it negative points if I could. A drunk man rambling. How did this make the list. This album gave me AIDS
70 minutes of a guy telling unfunny jokes over bland jazz music. "I don't have to ask permission if I wanna go out fishing" Fuck off.
I just can't.
Very difficult to listen to
Not my type of music
Bob Dylan sounds like a Classically trained opera singer in comparison to Tom Waits. Like nails on a chalkboard.
i’m sorry. no i am not actually. some of the music really slaps tho could i write poetry to this? n
A double album?!? For me, the schtick wears thin pretty quickly. I know that most people think that Tom Waits is just the coolest cat there is. I don't see (or hear) it. But, he's made the schtick work for over fifty years, so what do I know? One star from me. Plus a half-star because Waits' piano player's daughter is Wendy of Prince & The Revolution.
Look, I probably like Tom Waits more than anyone else in this group. But this is a bit much.
Hideous
Not for me.
Tom Waits is a real hard work (to listen to). You can perfectly discuss the cultural relevance of such a singer. For me , this kind of musik is not an entertainment at all. Sorry for 1 star because 0 is not possible.
My god i hate Tom Waits.
Wow - I came back after a long hiatus and then got dealt this, which has been incredibly tough to get through. I'm not a fan of most of this and while certainly interesting, there are just better Tom Waits albums.
Once was way more than enough for this album, trust me
Although it’s not as bad as swordfish trombones it’s still not for me. I get why a very niche group of people might like this but I just can’t relate to the in my opinion substance lacking storytelling. I just can’t deal with the voice I guess. And it’s not because I don’t get jazz I love jazz. The setting feels unauthentic tho
Had high hope la but unfortunately I was bored rigid. Did find him funny and his voice was too grinding after 3 tracks
THAT WENT ON FOREVER, THAT WAS MUMBLING WITH A BASS GUITAR
Oh, look! Fucking Tom Waits again. How can this be enjoy unironically?
Tom Waits carefully extracting everything I hate in music and putting it all into one devilish concoction. One hour yapping session over generic_jazz.mp3. Might actually be like top 5 worst things I've had to listen to on here.
Gleichförmig, schlüpfrig, Jazz. Naja.
Quickly got very grating, voice felt forced and wtf did he do to Phantom 309?
Rubbish album
Semi-comedic rambling to a good bass and drum back beat in a jazz club atmosphere. No thanks. Didn't even listen to the whole album.