- Audio CD (6 Nov 1995)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Virgin
- ASIN: B000024JI3
- Other Editions: Audio CD
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 365,393 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I'd never knowingly heard anything by Tom Waits before I bought this - but anyone who Tindersticks, the Wedding Present and the Violent Femmes like enough to contribute to a tribute album must be pretty good. And this is a rather good album - the songs bear all the hallmarks of an intelligent songwriter, and they are delivered by bands who sound as if they actually care about what they are doing (by no means a given on tribute albums). My favourite is 'step right up', by the Violent Femmes, a long, jaunty and slightly agressive spiel from a salesman making increasingly absurd claims about his product. This is definitely an album worth owning. It loses a star because it's maybe not the most essential album in any collection, as would be the case with any collection of covers - but good fun nevertheless, and one of the best examples of its type.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
16 reviews
21 of 27 people found the following review helpful
a very terrible disc
6 Oct 2000
Format:Audio CD
If you think Mr. Rod Stewart messed up "Downtown Train" and "Hang On, St. Christopher", the terrible covers in this collection should make Old Rod look like a talented prince. In this terrible anti-tribute, classic songs from Waits' early career are mocked and destroyed. The songs are covered without sincerity and in many cases, without any talents. If you're looking for covers of Tom Waits songs, may I suggest Temptations by Holly Cole or the 2000 tribute called New Coat of Paint. In these tributes, musicians such as Neko Case(an exceptionally good cover of "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis"), Carla Bozulich, Floyd Dixon, Eleni Mandell and Holly Cole not only gave a new spin to Waits' songs, in many cases, they gave a whole new dimension to the familiar tunes. As for "Step Right Up", plainly put, it sucks.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
gets better with a little time
22 Aug 2002
Format:Audio CD
Tom himself is weird, so it's actually appropriate that some of these covers sound a little strange at first. After listening to this album a few times, though, it starts to make sense. In fact, if you keep listening, it begins to make a lot of sense. I actually listened to it so much that my roommate banned it when he was in the room, which illustrates both aspects of this album: it is a little weird, but quite addictive if you take the time to listen carefully.
Tom is always playing around with new or different versions of his own music, so it seems appropriate for other musicians and bands to play around with his music, too. This album covers the whole range of Tom's styles: some of the songs are simply and sentimentally beautiful, i.e., Dave Alvin's rendition of old 55 or Tim Buckley singing Martha (this song alone is worth the price of the entire album), while others are just plain creepy, like the Archers of Loaf's Big Joe and Phantom 309; and the best are somewhere in between: I'm thinking most specifically of Jersey Girl as played by Pale Saints, one of my all-time favorites, cover or otherwise.
A few songs don't quite measure up, such as Downtown by Alex Chilton, but as a whole, the range of artists and approaches illuminates Tom's strengths as a songwriter: even if not every song is a gem, the songcraft of his music still shows through. And when someone gets it right, it's an almost transcendent experience, as in the case of Tim Buckley's Martha, or Frente!'s cover of Ruby's Arms, or Pale Saints' Jersey Girl.
In short, it is a slightly uneven album, but the best is so good it just doesn't matter. If you buy this album, let it air out, so to speak, before you make any hasty judgments. It's well worth the wait.
Tom is always playing around with new or different versions of his own music, so it seems appropriate for other musicians and bands to play around with his music, too. This album covers the whole range of Tom's styles: some of the songs are simply and sentimentally beautiful, i.e., Dave Alvin's rendition of old 55 or Tim Buckley singing Martha (this song alone is worth the price of the entire album), while others are just plain creepy, like the Archers of Loaf's Big Joe and Phantom 309; and the best are somewhere in between: I'm thinking most specifically of Jersey Girl as played by Pale Saints, one of my all-time favorites, cover or otherwise.
A few songs don't quite measure up, such as Downtown by Alex Chilton, but as a whole, the range of artists and approaches illuminates Tom's strengths as a songwriter: even if not every song is a gem, the songcraft of his music still shows through. And when someone gets it right, it's an almost transcendent experience, as in the case of Tim Buckley's Martha, or Frente!'s cover of Ruby's Arms, or Pale Saints' Jersey Girl.
In short, it is a slightly uneven album, but the best is so good it just doesn't matter. If you buy this album, let it air out, so to speak, before you make any hasty judgments. It's well worth the wait.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Give it a break :)
3 Mar 2000
Format:Audio CD
Ok Tom waits has his own unique style with dealing with his work. It's not quite the same hearing other people sing his songs. Yet I can't stop listening to this album. It has some duds but the gems are quite beautifull. The opening track really does the song old shoes justice. Ol 55 sounds really nice with a country singer belting out the tune. And mocking bird is really catchy. The rest of the songs are so so but if you appreciate Wait's song writing these song's are a neat way to explore his work in different form. Of course it's like trying to hold a candle up to the sun, but it is a beautifull candle regardless.
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