Unheralded in Mojo or Uncut this is a brilliant new album of Tom Waits covers with luminaries taking part like Patty Griffin, Corinne Bailey Rae, Rosanne Cash and Phoebe Bridgers. Incidentally Patty sounds much stronger than earlier this year. My pick of them all though is Ol ‘55 by Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer, featured below. Glorious.
Tom Waits new female cover album Come on up to my House
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That sounds very exciting indeed,
I found this playlist on Spotify which may be worth a listen.
Tom has such a strong, idiosyncratic musical personality that I am certain that the Waits songbook will blossom in the hands of some other voices.
The Angie McMahon is terrific, Patty too and I also loved Jersey Girl by Corrine. Courtney Marie’s vocals were as strong as ever, though I did think the song sounded a bit sparse.
Not completely unheralded……..
http://www.covermesongs.com/2019/11/review-come-on-up-to-the-house-women-sing-tom-waits.html
It was also covered in No Depression and on Folk Radio website but you would have thought that Mojo or Uncut would have heard of it with artists of such stature coming together. Aimee Mann and Iris Dement also took part, and Joseph and couple of other artists that were new to me.
I agree, especially as they, or one them, do review the Mose Allison tribute out n/w. (My promotion of the Covermesongs site was sheer big headed self promotion, the writer and I being ‘close’)
I have the Mose Allison tribute on order, but I can’t see me shelling out for this new Waits one. I don’t like the Scarlett Johansson one at all.
Do you remember when Tom Waits was asked what he thought about Eagles covering ‘Ol 55’, and he said something like “the only thing an Eagles album is good for is keeping the dust off the turntable”.
Funnily enough, I have also just had the Mose one to review. Much more a curate’s egg of a piece, I thought. A few compelling performances, some distinctly average and a couple of clunkers. Whereas I thought the Waits was only carrying one dead weight, the Kat Edmonson track.
I think Mose Allison is a genius, but I hate his voice. Am I alone?
Have you heard his daughter’s voice?
Arf! It’s, um, unusual….
Yikes.
I do hope she’s happy.
I love his voice!
I can’t get on with it. He sounds like Georgie Fame just after he’s woken up.
Georgie based his style very much upon Mose Allison, who was one of his heroes. I’d turn that around and say Georgie is like Mose after a few espressos and a decent breakfast.
I love Georgie. He’s like…. essence of 60s mod cool. Then you get from GF to Van on Moondance. I only recently realised how much of a Georgie impression Van is doing on that track, the studio version at any rate. At least Van later had the decency to give GF a steady gig in his band for a few years.
They sound like each other, for sure. What’s not to like?
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
Saw Georgie Fame last year at Herts Jazz Festival in Letchworth. He hobbled onstage with a walking stick but once he was sat at his old Hammond organ (the same one he’s used since the ’60s) he was amazing. Voice utterly unchanged and playing superbly.
“Close” eh, @retropath2?. This sounds distressing.
Do you and the writer drink in the same pub? Are you in the habit of buying them drinks ? Worse still, have you and said scribbler slept in the same bed?
The British public has a right to know!
The Cover Me site is rather good by the way.
Yup I buy him drinks, which I consume, sleep with him and pee in the same loo at the same time. My wife says she fancies him and all….
Excellent review Dr. Og.
I can’t imagine you being very familiar with the originals, since you’re no Waits fan. I am a Waits fan, and I’m very familiar with (most of) them. I suppose I just like the originals better(much better).
I confess to having listened to it a few times on youtube now and it’s growing on me. I like more of it than I dislike. I probably will buy it, but certainly not whilst the dodgers want almost £20 for it.
…and I heard about it first last Friday as it was one of Paste’s ‘Top Albums to Stream This Week’.
I have both the Holly Cole and Scarlet Johanssen albums and will definitely be buying this – thanks for the heads up, Carolina.
Anyone heard the new Allison Moorer album, Blood? It is fantastic.
Listening to it right now. Superb.
Tonight’s listening has been this, Not Dark Yet with her sister, & Molly Tuttle (both her album & her EP). Have you heard Molly Tuttle?
Other exciting news… I got tickets for Brandy Clark in Feb.
Coincidentally, I recently dusted down Wicked Grin by John Hammond which is also a Tom Waits covers album.
You are right @Tiggerlion it is fantastic and will be in my top 20 year end. Good year for female vocalists – love the Angel Olsen too.
And yes I will be buying this.
It’s a good thing but if you had told me Blood was by Shelby Lynne I wouldn’t have argued
Allison is too often compared unfavourably to her sister. However, I think only Allison could visit those events in 1986. She strikes me as the one who makes best sense of crazy, chaotic emotions.
Listening now: it is a corker, and up there with the best of her sisters work. The song ‘I am to Blame’ is astonishing, a song of the year as much as ‘Is it too Much’, her sisters song, was for 2017.
An interesting “Recording Of Independent Origin”, if you can find it, is “$29 And An Alligator Purse: The Music Of Tom Waits” recorded at the New York Guitar Festival in January 2004. With Eleni Mandell, Tin Hat Trio and John Hammond interpreting various TW material and Rita Houston compereing and interviewing the participants.
From an eel market in your vicinity, perhaps. A little over 2 hours altogether.
Here Eleni doing a lovely job with Muriel.
From this fine compilation album
Patty in concert earlier this year was one of my biggest gig going disappointments. Terrible sound and too much bluesy shrieking. I complained about the sound to the venue who told me they insisted on their travelling sound guy not the in house one who knows the room. Doh.
Ideally, both should be working together. Their own guy presumably knows the material and anything different that needs to be done once the basic setup is complete. The house guy, as you say, knows the room and it’s foibles.
I got unduly excited when I saw this thread title – I thought it was a new Tom Waits album! Of him covering female material!
Just imagine it… Tom Waits sings….
– Material Girl
– Wuthering Heights
– Strange Fruit
– My Baby Just Cares For Me
– The Locomotion
– You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman
– Man I Feel Like a Woman
etc etc
It would be glorious!
Don’t wait for Waits!
Send Tom a mail with this magnificent suggestion, Arthur. I think there could be a hit single there somewhere.
But when it comes to covering women’s songs, even he cannot compete with the late, great Jackie Leven.
Now that would have made a review in Mojo and Uncut, Arthur.
Thanks Carolina, belter of an album that no doubt would have passed me by
Didn’t Scarlet Johansson do an entire album of Waits’ covers?