Nighthawks At The Diner

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.

Acceptable quality lyrics but performed over the vamping of the most middling of blues and jazz scales you've ever heard that ultimately sounds like one long uninterrupted track. In my opinion the work of the bass player should have earned them the bulk of the royalties. Not much, if any real music elsewhere. Rather it seems an excuse for a spoken word album that also doubles as a half-assed stand up act. Wait's voice is still really annoying.

Ugh I really do not like this guy

I don't get it. Some of his music is good but I dk how to describe this. Jazz-Poetic-Comedy?

Like being in a pretentious jazz/blues bar in 1975. all songs indistinguishable.

Tom waits perus vittuilua..

Absolute wank.

Witty at times, but that's just it. It's main sin is beign just spoken word with a jazz band as background. Is closer to a Dollomite record than a jazz album, not what I was looking for when entered this site

Day 32 - July 3rd, 2024 Too much talking, not enough jazz. If I was half into a pack of reds, I think it would be so much better. 1/5

talk smoke diner 70's

What the hell was this ?! 🥴 seriously awful!

it's kind of like folsom prison where johnny cash noodles with the prisoners except instead of prisoners it's people who like jazz music and instead of johnny cash it's tom waits

So incredibly boring.

I flat out don't get it

This trying to do something and its not workin

Unlistenable. Hated it. I dont get the appeal at all. Did nothing for me. Couldn't make it to the end of the second track. Comes off.as inauthetic and performative.

I couldn’t get past the first two songs.

Loads of artists I love are clearly very influenced by Tom Waits (Eels chiefly) but I just can’t get on with him

Awful

I guess I have no sense of humor.

A stand-up comedy with a contrabass. Plot twist : the contrabass was funnier.

2024-03-16...

Ik heb me nooit erg verdiept (of geïnteresseerd) in Tom Waits. Dit album is voor mij dan ook compleet nieuw. De introsong zet een gemoedelijke, huiselijke, jazzy sfeer neer. Wordt dit hele album een spoken word monoloog…? Het lijkt ook live. Maar na onderzoek is het toch in de studio opgenomen. Het is een album die onbetwist in de categorie ‘miscellaneous’ past. Het trekt mijn aandacht niet echt. Ik ken Waits niet genoeg om te beseffen hoe interessant/grappig dit album moet zijn. Jammer, want ik denk dat ik Waits een stuk beter zou kunnen waarderen als we eerst een ander album van hem mochten recenseren. Die tijd komt nog wel. Voor nu: 6/10 Highlight: Eggs and Sausage

No thanks… not for me.

Nope

I need to scrub my ears after this album,.

No thank you. 1/5

Gefällt mir überhaupt nicht.

I don’t think I can take anymore of Tom Waits

Tom might be a great fella in private but his public hepcat affectation is intolerable. This is an entire album of affectation from the fake jazz club canned audience to the contrived, "Hey look, that rebel nighthawk doesn't care about your 'no shirt, no shoes, no service policy,'" album cover.

Love Tom Waits but NOT this album. haha

i caant his voicee just gross. i need a shower. misogynist scum i want to turn myself inside out this album would be saved simply if it was just instrumentals doesnt feel authentic either. laughtrack why???

Not my kind of humor... great vibe, but the lyrics/jokes.... I dont' find funny

There are 5 goddam Tom Waits albums on this list? And 5 Nick Cave’s too? Whoever contributed to the 1001 albums book needs to explore some different types of music.

Didn’t really get it.

Was this album really by the ghost of duke wellington?

Another album that if you don't like you are not cool.....I am not cool!

no thanks, not my style at all. Would be better as instrumental

01) Opening Intro - 5,0 02) Emotional Weather Report - 5,0 03) Intro - 1,0 04) On A Foggy Night - 4,0 05) Intro - 1,0 06) Eggs and Sausage (In a Cadillac with Susan Michelson) - 4,0 07) Intro - 1,0 08) Better Off Without a Wife - 4,5 09) Nighthawk Postcards (From Easy Street) - 2,0 10) Intro - 1,0 11) Warm Beer and Cold Women - 5,0 12) Intro - 1,0 13) Putnam County - 5,0 14) Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emission) - 3,5 15) Nobody - 4,5 16) Intro - 1,0 17) Big Joe and Phantom 309 - 3,0 18) Spare Parts II and Closing - 2,0 TOTAL: 2,97 (30/100) What the hell... Is this stand up comedy? Jazz? The hell is this? If stand up, I don't understand him, he's mumbling. If jazz, I don't like jazz. There are probably 1001 album that didn't get to this list but would rather listen to before I die.

uskomaton runoilija. istukaa pikkulapset alas ja kuunnelkaa, voitte jotain ehkäpä oppia. kohta 50 vuotta vanha albumi ja vieläkin erittäin relevantti. tom waits ennusti tulevaisuuden aika hyvin tällä.. yleisö tietää kuuntele. kokoajan tulee aplodeja lähes koko ajan tunnin aikana, tietää milloin taputtaa ja huutaa ''WOO'' näin.. ja hauska äijä. perkeleen hauska. tämmönen komedia nykyaikana oikeen menisi läpi.. ehkä hauskin elävä mies spare parts 1

🥺

I think he did what he wanted to do on this album, but unfortunately it was not what I wanted. Is it stand up comedy or some kind of jazz backed speaking thing?

WOULD YOU STOP YOUR DAMN MUMBLING I CANT UNDERSTAND YOUR LYRICS IF I CANT HEAR THEM. I couldnt even bring myself to finish the album 1/5

Weird one. It's like a live spoken music album that doesn't necessarily carry that much music. I'm glad I didn't have money to buy this album.

Is this a joke? If i could i would have given it -1

Yeah I'm not having this as music, fuck off.

“Ya like jazz?” No

To be completely honest, I didn't know that this kind of performance was recorded and sold as an album. Jazz, spoken word, and scatting; I imagine this would be a small venue, intimate, live performance. Snaps for Ton Waits but I hope I never hear this again.

Bad

Bad jazz Guy made me mad

Not good jazz album, not very entertaining

I don't like simple musicality, I have a major focus on music over lyrics and I tend to get bored with jazz. This album never had a chance

I didn't like his voice so I gave up on it very quickly. Shame because I liked the song titles

Nope. Can't stand just grumbly talking

This album was recorded in front of a small audience set up to recreate the atmosphere of a jazz club. However, to me it comes across as a parody and more akin to a stand-up set in a comedy club. I'm not sure if this was deliberate or if it's an unintentional facet of the comedic lyrics and extreme huskiness of Waits' vocal giving it a caricature-like quality. Either way, it doesn't sit well and makes for an uneasy listen. Rating: 1.5/5 Playlist track: Nighthawk Postcards (From Easy Street) Date listened: 06/11/23

Did not enjoy this at all, could not finish all 73 mins of his gravely voice mumbling the lyrics of his songs. Half the album is skits or as he calls them "Intros", which felt like he was wasting my time. The bass player is working overtime carrying this album while Tom just fucks about on the microphone.

Not my thing

It’s never a good sign when you check how long an album will be during the first song. The jazz was enjoyable, I just couldn’t get into his voice and found it grating.

Dreadful

Remember in father Ted when they stop singing my lovely horse and father jack pulls out his shotgun and blasts the guitar to smithereens. That

stop doing standup and sing us a song

sorry but not a fan

No way

I don't give many ones but good Lord....

I'm sorry...a 4th Tom Waits album?! It's not even being a hater at this point--it is objectively true that you can write about the history of music production without including FOUR GODDAMN TOM WAITS ALBUMS. When you realize you really don't give a shit about what Waits is talking about in any of his songs, the whole thing comes apart. Because it sure as hell isn't anything musically that draws you in. It's the jazz equivalent of somebody sitting on a single stool behind a microphone strumming the most basic chords possible while singing. And I'm saying this as a massive jazz fan! Please, for the love of God, no more Tom Waits albums.

good god this man. cool idea, god awful execution into the ground. horrible terrible.

I just do not like his voice at all. It grates me. This is the first album I’ve come across so far that I couldn’t finish.

This is an album that I really didn't connect with. Possibly one of the worst I listened to. 1/5

Hated it

Fuck me, that was grim!

I did not like this experience hahah. This was not my vibe for the work day. I’m sure his wit and banter would be fantastic and so great in person at a small bar when you’re a lil tipsy….buuuuttt yea not for me rn. I really don’t like the intro and song format. I’m also ngl i didn’t finish this and have no intention to sorry

Wasn’t for me :/

What the fuck is this shit lmao. This is ass. Might be ok live tho

Absolutely not.

Not for me

What the hell is this

This was bad. Maybe if you were there you’d be charmed by his presence. Just a total slog all the way through for me.

Yeah this is spoken word alright. I’ll pay my respects to the great jazz in the background, but to be honest, it’s the worst mix between a podcast and a song. It’s not music and shouldn’t be classified as such. The “singer” sings at some points in the album, so why can’t he just sing the whole damn thing? If I wanted to listen to a smoker with lung damage spouting nonsense to a bunch of other smokers with lung damage, I would go to a homeless camp.

This is an audiobook, and not a particularly good one. I was expecting more from Tom Waits, since everyone talks so highly of him, but I could not stand this one.

Tom Waits? More like Tom Pass. Not only is it him (not a fan), but a live album. My problem is seeing him as an actor first and I couldn't even get past the first song, talking about weather in a jazz club. Album cover matches him perfectly, just a guy wearing a chubbs hat in a diner with a lot going on.

I just know Alex is STEAMING over this one. If I ever find myself in the same room as Tom Waits, I think I'll give him a piece of advice that it seems no one previously did during his life: having a raspy voice is not a personality trait. What his albums seem to be are explorations of the boundaries of potential aesthetics that he can pull off. Technically yeah, it's music, and I can totally understand someone enjoying what he does, on this or any other album. But it's more gimmick and spectacle than it is music. "Guys, look: I did a whole album pretending to be some sleazy blues story teller guy in a smoke-filled diner, and guess what it's called?? Nighthawks at the Diner! You know, like the guy I'm being? And like the painting?" Brother, we get it. Admittedly, there was a track or two where the pretense was pierced by a decent bassline or melody that made me like the song. Honestly, I kinda do like this aesthetic, and I couldn't help but smile when it started. But the whole album is the same damn schtick for more than an hour......me personally, guy like this starts doing this bit while I'm trying to eat eggs at 2 in the morning, I'd leave the diner. Favorite tracks: Opening Intro, Intro to Foggy Night, Spare Parts I. Album art: What else do you expect? I mean I guess I'm a little surprised he didn't just literally use the Hopper painting for the cover. But it's certainly not false advertising. 1.5/5

Is he singing or talking

i hate this and im not listening to the rest of it. i dont care enough about this guy or his music to listen to him monologue then hear a mid song afterwards. I think i would really enjoy this in a live setting (Like a diner lol) but im not willingly listening to this

Nothing legendary here, I’m surprised it’s included in this list. Drunk guy singing over a piano in a bar.

Not my thing - I like a song, or a melody, rather than piano twiddling whilst a tramp menaces me

Still don't get it. Rambling nonsense. Couldn't listen to all of it

Not for me

The "sounds like a live recording but isn't" thing is interesting, but as a piece of music it really isn't for me.

It is some jazz music with a guy speaking for about 75 minutes. It needed to end sooner. I skipped through some songs

Really didn't like this. Came across as spoken word poetry with jazz in the back ground and it all felt like a bit of a mess. The intros and the live audience didn't add anything for me. Apart from "Nobody" no track really stood out, or was enjoyable.

Ik kan hier werkelijk helemaal niks mee.

Unlistenable. Fuck Tom Waits!

Calling this music would be wrong. What we have here is the embodiment of white trash. For the listener this album caters emotions like embarrassment and shame for the artist, who seems oblivious to how cringe his shit is. I was thinking, maybe this "art" just aged badly? But no, I'm certain this has never been anything else than shit. 0*

1975. Eggs And Sausage

Not for me

Oh man, this is even worse than that other Tom Waits album you made me listen to. This is longer, less funny, the jazz is more generic and the singing/vocals/presentation is even more overacted and forced. 2/10

This barely qualifies as music.

The ramblings of a crusty voiced mad man.

Dog shit

No me atrapo en lo más mínimo. El señor está hablando

Tom Waits has a shitty voice. The whole album is monotonous from beginning to end and not any memorable song. Not my deal, sorry.

Not my cup of tea.

Just one listen through was enough

What the hell was that didn’t get it didn’t like it 1/5

Kind of like marmite. Only for hard core fans of Tom Waits I think.

Hahaha no

Terrible, bobbins

- nope

At first, I didn't know what to think about this album. Then I got to the third song and I definitely knew what I thought.

Didn’t care for it. Too much talking

Very bad. The guy just told shitty stories

Couldn't get onboard with it.

I didn’t like it. I felt dirty and smoky after listening to it. Not my style of music.

hate the opening intro oh no. All the songs are maybe this weird talky thing? I do not like. no thank you

Konstig jazz. Gillade inte alls.

Awful. Absolutely awful. Could not even finish the whole thing. Does not deserve to be here.

1.4

bad