The Strange But Deserving

There's no way I can not do a blog on the introduction of Tom Waits into the rock and roll hall of fame. Then I found out he was inducted by Neil Young it was absolutely perfect. I cant search through all the artists in the artist yellow pages or anthology and find anyone that deserves this prestigious award more then Mr. Waits. He is not your typical multi millionaire singer- songwriter that walks with pride and wealth. Waits still has the feel that he just crawled out of the gutter after a hard night of drinking in the dirtiest of dive bars. He is the cookie cuter cutout of a chain smoking, womanizing, coffee guzzling, brandy gulping, jazz crazed lunatic that strives for hard nights and even harder days. Waits said it best when he described music as " something strange you do with air", perfectly described for waits. He really does strange things with air since the late 60s. He still has that presence and voice proving it onstage performing Make It Rain and Rain Dogs. He lets no one down. You can see the joy on Young's face as he knows this is a huge step for the hall of fame taking in such a luminary. Waits asks for a smaller version of the award so he can carry it around just in case he gets in trouble and maybe it could get him out. That's Waits summed up, a troublemaker but also the smartest and most talented storyteller the music world have ever seen. He strives to be the best and the worst, the remembered and the forgotten, the sweet and the sour, the loved and the hated, but most important hes the most famed of the underground. No one might not understand Waits but that's the reason hes so tangible, hes one of us, hes real and raw. Congrats Tom Waits on getting what you probably didn't care if you got or not, into the rock and roll hall of fame. Keep writing the quirky and strange music that keeps running through my head.

When The Rock and Roll Greats Breaks

I've seen some amazing collaborations over the years. From Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks to The Band and Bob Dylan. But just recently I've stumbled across this wonderful combination of legends. What kind of superpower album would have it been if Neil Young and Led Zepplin would have released an album. We may never know the true outcome of this but for 10 mins at least we could just open the door and peek into the heavenly supergroup. At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame some sick music organizer came up with the idea of throwing Jimmy Page and Robert Plant on the same stage as Neil Young. Was it ever a sight to have seen. The joy on Page and Plants face seeing Neil just rip into When The Levee Breaks was amazing. It was also wonderful to see Page just sit back and play the rhythm while Neil completely shreds the solos and riffs. Neil was so into it he even missed to cue that the song was over forcing Page to tap him on the shoulder to signal that its time to stop. The only complaint that I have with this performance is I have to question what possessed Robert Plant to pick up a guitar alongside Neil and Jimmy? He looks ridiculous trying to perform alongside two of the greatest guitarists of all time and it just makes him look awkward. But that put aside the highlight by far is seeing Neil do what he does best and just rip through the song with no regard. Its so much fun watching him get so into the song it just takes him to another place where everything else is relevant. You can see Page and Plant eye Young with respect seeing him do what he does best. Kill the guitar.

See Pink Floyd Play

Today commemorates the birth of one of the strangest people in rock and roll history. Syd Barrett was the founder and mind behind one of the most influential bands in rock history The Pink Floyd. Now considering Syd only worked on one album really, that being Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. Other albums came out later such as A Saucer Full Of Secrets where Floyd already had tracks that Barrett was already on so they added it to the album. Barrett was replaced by David Gilmore after Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, being drawn into the drug world. Acid, mushrooms, marijuana, pills, etc it was all thrown into Barretts everyday diet and it affected Pink Floyd's shows and recording sessions. Roger Waters had to give him the bad news that he was fired. After released two solo albums named Barrett and The Madcap Laughs both getting high critical acclaim. But just like his life oddly enough he dissipated into obscurity. But there is no argument weather Barrett was a talented genius. Waters even wrote many songs about Syd, most notably Shine On You Crazy Diamond off their album Wish You Were Here. They all had a deep respect for Barrett and his brilliant mind but like so many artists drug abuse caught up with him and put him over the edge. Oddly enough today we celebrate Syd's birthday but also on this date in 50 years after the birth of Syd in 1946 Pink Floyd was inducted in the rock and roll hall of fame. Congratulations Syd for starting one of the greatest bands in rock history, you may have not been there to share the success but no one will ever forget the genius that you hatched.

The Storyteller Waits

To me Tom Waits is the greatest storyteller I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. Being from Newfoundland I've heard my share of storytellers. There's nothing else to do but sit around and tell story's of days passed and sip on bottleneck of beer. So for me to say that Tom is the greatest that I have ever heard is a great privilege towards him. Even MTV made a great choice to get Tom to appear on their show Storytellers. At the beginning of this song he tells a great story about how he was interrupted in a hotel room one night when a couple barged in on him fighting. After the story he brakes into one of his great songs Jersey Girl. Recorded by Bruce Springsteen who made it a hit many people go back to Waits version and think its much better. It has more soul and supposedly written for his wife who's from New Jersey. Waits is one of my favorite artists to listen to and watch and here he proves why hes now in the rock and roll hall of fame.

Hall Full Of Smoke Is Stained With Coffee

2011 is the year that Tom Waits becomes an inductee into the Rock and Roll hall of fame. Congrats Tom, its been a long time coming. Old 55 is one of my favorite Waits songs, written so beautifully and the gravel in his voice sounds so perfectly mixed with the beauty of the song. Any song where Tom is playing piano is a killer, hes the perfect barroom/coffee shop piano player, singing of lost souls and hard times. Drinking your sorrows away chasing it with a cigarette. Its the way that Tom lived and the way he wrote about.

Closing Time opens up

Finally I’m going to review my first Tom Waits album. That gruff voice can never get old to listen to. There were a few albums that I was considering (Nighthawks at the Diner, Rain Dogs, Mule Vibrations, The Heart of a Saturday Night) but I thought it would be appropriate to review his debut. Tom did not let anyone down with this album, usually debut albums are a little less than desired but Tom hit this one out of the park. Waits has got to be one of my top five artists, if I really had to choose, up there with Neil  Young, Son House, Beatles and Leadbelly.  I just couldn’t wait to review one of his albums.


Ol’ 55 starts off the record. Now this song has been covered numerous artists, most famously by The Eagles on their One Of These Nights album.  The Eagles made it famous but Tom sang it the best ( too much harmony for such a down song).  From the first line “well my time went so quickly, I went lickety splitley out to my ol’ 55”, the line just rolls off the tongue.  It’s one of the great driving songs of all time, a story about just getting away and throwing caution to the wind. The song actually has a funny story behind it.  Tom had a friend that needed some gas money go drive the date he was out with back home. He was in an old 55 Buick. The car could only drive in reverse so his friend drove all the way home in reverse, hence the line “Now there's trucks all a passin’ me, And the lights all a flashing”. Amazing song, one of my favorite Waits songs.

Next we have a sweet melancholy song called I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You.  It’s a song about Tom finding a girl in a bar (of course) and wanting to pick her up and sleep with her, but he’s afraid that he will fall in love and have his heart broken.  He keeps mowing over in his mind about how to pick her up but just can’t figure out the right way. He finally grabs a seat next to her and orders a stout. Of course he falls in love in the end.

Virginia Avenue comes in next. Bringing in a jazzy feel to the album. The song just oozes cool. After a hard night drinking at a club there’s nowhere to go so he just walks down random streets contemplating on skipping town and hitting up another club with a later closing time.  The last line “The blues I leave behind, keeps catching up on me” just says it all.

In comes a country feel to the album, Old Shoes (& Postcards). This song is about a breaking up and getting back together. The vicious circle of a bad relationship.  It’s all there in the song, written out so clear. Cheating, lies, love, lust, this song has it all.


Toms jazzy lullaby flows on in with Midnight Lullaby. His attempt at a cute sweet song is failed, with quotes in them as “you can burn the midnight oil with me” and “Sing a song of six pence, pocket full of rye”. It just means that Tom’s not meant to write a cute sweet adorable song. Nor does he need to.

To round out side two it’s the first of two solo songs done on piano.  Martha, Martha was a long lost love of Tom’s in the song. Who knows if she was real or not but in this song it’s as real as it gets.  He gets a little teary eyed while calling her up on the phone.  Even though its been over 40 years since they last had contact he has never forgotten her.  She was his perfect mate, between laughing and sharing poetry.  At the end of the song it turns out it was never meant to be so they go their separate ways.   He still loves her and can’t seem to forget the nights of trembling close to her.  Let’s leave it at that.


Side two starts with Rosie, yet another song about a woman.  A late night thinking about Rosie and how could he win her heart. Beautiful piano and pedal steel guitar flows well together through this song.


The second solo song on this album is Lonely. It’s the only disappointment to me on this album, a little too strange and dragged out without making much sense. Not my favorite, its why I always skip pass this song and listening to it again I remember why.


Ice Cream Man drives on in next.  It has a 50’s be bop beat to it that makes you want to get up and dance around the room wishing you had a root beer float in one hand and your sweetie pie in your other.  The happiest song on this album since the others are kind of gloomy and about heartache.  I love the celeste bells at the end of the song, well done Tom.


Little Trip To Heaven sounds like Sinatra; Tom was the new age Rat Pack.  Booze, drugs and women all wraped in one skinny little kid.  I’m sure if sure if the original Rat Pack heard this song they would be proud. Maybe even cover it, everyone else covered Toms songs. He even throws in the Shoobedopapada in at the end. Sweet!!


Another song that I’m kind of on the fence about is Grapefruit Moon. The string arrangement in the background goes very well with Toms piano. A tune can breaks his heart and the only thing that can fix it is a grapefruit moon and one star shining.  I’m still a little confused about the whole lyrics in a whole. It’s hard to comprehend but that’s what makes Tom Waits, obscure.

The last tune is a instrumental that consists of piano, cello, bass and trumpet. Beautiful sounding. Tom pounds at the piano while the trumpet comes in and out . Tom on his debut shows everyone he can cover any genre of music, be it country, jazz, rock, 50s be bop, his diversity shines through on every album. Some artist are diverse from album to album covering different genres. Tom can do it on one. Well done.


p.s. Classic Rock named Tom Waits’ Closing Time as one of the greatest debuts off all time. I know why. Listen to the whole album and you’ll know why as well. Congrats on getting nominated to the rock and roll hall of fame.