- Audio CD (26 Nov 2001)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Limited Edition
- Label: Burning Airlines
- ASIN: B00005RJIU
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 282,784 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Review
When Tom Waits released Mule Variations in 1999, it was widely seen as a combination of both old and new Waits. New Waits meant songs about oddball characters like the Eyeball Kid, growled à la Beefheart through a megaphone and played on a weird-sounding selection of homemade instruments. The "old" Waits songs harked back to his sozzled barroom days hunched over a knackered piano, singing witty and sentimental stories of barflies and other late night characters.
Dime Store Novel Vol 1 is as good a snapshot of Old Waits as you'll find. The gig was originally recorded for radio broadcast in a small Denver club called Ebbets Field, in front of what sounds like an audience of two dozen. Accompanying himself on guitar and piano, Waits rasps through a set that includes such favourites as ''Better Off Without A Wife'' and ''Ol '55''. It's all interspersed with drunken banter and, by the end, he's taking requests.
Anyone familiar with Tom Waits' early albums will know what's in store. This is an Edward Hopper painting set to music: drunks, waitresses, sailors and truck drivers all crop up. The only song here that's not from a Waits album is ''Good Night Loving Trail''. Written by Utah Phillips, ''the golden voice of the great Southwest'' - it's a mournful ballad about a cook on a wagon train.
Only 24 at the time of this recording, the singer still sounds like he's on two packs of Winstons a day and downed a couple of whiskies before the show. What's also remarkable, considering his relative youth, is the range of characters he portrays. On the heartbreaking ''Martha'' Waits imagines himself as an old man looking back on a youthful romance while ''SemiSuite'' sympathises with a stuck-at-home truck driver's wife torn whether to leave her man.
Tom stumbles off stage after 13 songs but the MC announces that he'll be playing again the following night, admission one dollar. On the strength of this entertaining set, it's likely that many took up the offer. --Nigel Smith
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A live curio that's worth a shot...,
By
This review is from: The Dime Store Novels Vol.1 (Audio CD)
Dime Store Novels perplexed me (and I'm sure you) as to exactly what it could be. Well, it's a live performance from Ebbets Field, Denver, 8th October, 1974. It's tracks range through the best of Closing Time, Nighthawks,and Heart Of Saturday Night. An overly refreshed Waits rambles his way through a set that is at it's worst competent. At it's best, Waits re-imagines "Better Off Without A Wife", and does an accapella "Diamonds On My Windshield". There are beautiful versions of "SemiSuite" and "San Diego Serenade". If any of these tracks hold any appeal to you, this live album is a must.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great live album by the great man himself!!!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Dime Store Novels Vol.1 (Audio CD)
i have all tom waits albums and had been waiting for a long time to get a hold of this. i finally got it for under £10- a bargain! if you want to hear songs like icecream man, martha, ol' 55 live and sounding great then get a hold of a copy of this now! it's great! at one point tom asks the audience for requests. a few songs are shouted out by members of the audience. "do anything, tom," one says casually, and sums up the feelings of us all. i'm in the camp that believes that anything tom does is great. and he proves so in this wonderful one man show.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
5.0 out of 5 stars
The beginnings of a true showman...,
By "cashman7" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Dime Store Novels Vol.1 (Audio CD)
This was recorded in 1974, when a Tom Waits concert cost one tenth of a dime bag, only a dollar as the man says at the end of the night. Man if only I'd been born earlier or maybe had cooler parents, I would have seen this show. But at least I got to hear it. This is the beginnings of one of the best showmen in the world. A little stand-up, a lot of heart, Tom puts on another great show here. The highlights include all the little stories he tells between songs as well as an acoustic version of Better Off Without a Wife, which has a differnt melody line than the one on Nighthawks, making it seem like a new song. And then there's Martha, heartfelt and beautiful, played near the end of the night, requested by some woman in the audience, which just seems incredibly fitting. This a must for all true Tom fans. This recording costs twenty times or more than cover did that night in 74, but it's worth every dollar. I'd recommend picking it up soon since it is a limited edition.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Performance,
By Greg Kinne - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Dime Store Novels Vol.1 (Audio CD)
Having been a Tom Waits fan for a while now, I have noticed a dearth in finding decent live recordings from him. Critics would argue that why buy this album when you can easily find "nighthawks at the diner" for a cheaper price. The difference is in the setlist with Waits playing more guitar based songs instead of strictly piano. The setlist is good as well.
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