Customer Reviews

Early Years

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I must praise this album for all that it is worth. Perhaps some hard-core Waits fans may disagree with me, but I'll go out on a limb and say it: this could be the most important piece of your collection. What it promises to do on the CD cover, and delivers upon, is to bring the authentic, rich, small room tightly-packed with close friends and diverse faces atmosphere of a stop along the smoke-filled-bar room tour of a very promising young bluesman. Waits challenges his captivated audience to recall an era in early American music when each sentence was written with integrity and personality controlled beautifully by a gritty, aged voice. Although the album has a few "soft-spots" in its playlist, the first several songs are filled with bountiful memorable tunes and melodies which shall certainly swim around in your mind for hours, and days, even. If you've ever been transported into comfortable company in some imaginary wooden rocking chair overlooking a dusty road of puddles and pebbles while listening to the likes of John Hurt, Leadbelly, or Dylan's rare work ("Rock Me Mama", "I Love You But You're Strange (title?)", the Cash recordings, etc.), you're sure in for a treat. It's worth the trip to another time and place, one of borderline blues/folk feel, and where authenticity creeps out from the floorboards' cracks. I can hear the whispers now, the crackling transistor radio, the tall grasses blowing against the backside of the house, and a wail and a yelp and a moan from Tom Waits as his tapping foot sends vibrations across the kitchen's wooden dance floor. Come on now, pull up a chair and relax. Melt in the atmosphere.

From the skimpy "liner notes" it seems these tracks were recorded in Los Angeles in December, 1971, and not intended for release. All thirteen titles are Waits' compositions as well. Other than that, and not possessing a complete Waits catalog, I can't tell which of these are unavailable in any other form, and which, if any, were later rerecorded.

All tracks produced by Robert Duffey. My guess is that these are early demo tapes... not from the sound quality (which is excellent throughout), but from the performances. Unlike Waits middle-period recordings, in which he played a highly stylized bum/loungelizard/minstrel, and unlike his more recent work that's stretched much farther out, these recording sound much more raw.

A few of the tracks have Waits' late-night jazz sound, but it's less contained, less scripted for a particular image than it became later. The guitar-bass-drum trio of "Goin' Down Slow" gives way to a slide guitar that seems to alternate between C/W and Blues licks. There's an uncharacteristic electric piano mixed in as well. "I'm Your Late Night Evening Prostitute" is one of Waits' characteristic first-person broken-down cabaret lounge-lizard pieces, sung to a piano accompaniment. (You can almost hear people dropping dollars into the tip jar).

Even more of the tracks have a very spare folk sound. "Poncho's Lament" features Waits' plaintive vocal accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. At moments reminiscent of Woody Guthrie (or perhaps the Dylan or Springsteen variations thereof). "Had Me a Girl" has a country-blues sound to it, with Waits' riffing on the line "...my doctor says I'll be alright, but I'm feeling blue..."; the rest of the lyrics are fairly insipid rhymes, but the melody and singing are irresistible.

Overall I really like this disc a lot. There's a closeness between singer and listener that often seemed, for me, to be missing from some of Waits' later recordings. The variety of musical approaches is similar to his more recent recordings, but the styles are less extreme: some roots-folk, some quiet electric blues, some loungy jazz. This disc seems more the work of a struggling singer-songwriter than an artist crafting a record.

Tom Waits's The Early Years, though it should by no means be considered a regular album, and certainly not a compilation, is a nice disc to have for hard-core fans of the artist. Consisting of demos (mostly Tom solo on acoustic guitar, occasionally using the piano that would become his trademark) recorded before the release of his debut album, Closing Time, this disc gives fans the wonderful opportunity to hear early versions of songs that would appear on his first three albums, as well as quite a few that never made the cut. Several of these previously unreleased songs are quite good (Goin' Down Slow, Poncho's Lament), and some of the demos are notable for their differences from the eventual released versions. Fans will appreciate these. A great many of the songs are just Tom accompanying himself on acoustic guitar - something that we almost never see on any of his released albums, and a nice treat. Perhaps surprisingly, several of these songs have an almost country-ish vibe to them. There are several gems for hard-core fans to uncover. Granted, these are demos - early ones, at that - and they do pale in comparison to the songs that Tom chose to release; and some of them (Had Me A Girl) are quite immature: you'll be able to see why they were kept in the vaults. Still, if you approach this collection the way it's supposed to be approached - as a fan's only collection of early, unformed Tom Waits songs - then you will get the most out of it. I don't recommend that you get this album until you have every one of Tom Waits's normal released albums (all of which are at least 4 star efforts); but, if you have all of that stuff already, then this is a nice way to further your collection.

The famed "gravel voice" is not on these recordings, if you're a fan of the "Closing Time" and "Heart of Saturday Night" era, you'll love it. I don't think the "Rain Dogs" or "Mule Variation" fans (or even the ones who like the "Small Change" era material) will like it as much, but they'll be curious to at least hear it once. Most of the songs on vol. 1 and 2 are demos from that period. A lot of Dylan, country and folk influences are here more than they would be on later recordings, all the songs stripped down to the basics, probably the way he was performing the songs around that time.

They do sound like polished demos although it also gives it an "honest" sound to it as well.

This is essential for completists who already have everything by him including "Tales From the Underground" (kept within the fan circles) although keep in mind that he fought not to have this released. It is good though....

It's a treat to hear his least gravely voice recordings. There's a whole world out there of tape/cdr traders (no money exchanged) who have, for decades, traded for live, demo and outtakes of their favorite bands. Typically, this is done by pretty fanatic fans. In my case, I can only bear to hear the same exact studio recordings for so many years for most bands.

Often I'll take a 1 to 5 year break from listening to a particular favorite group (BEATLES, BAD BRAINS, MINOR THREAT, ROCHES, CREAM etc.) but will get my hands on alternate versions when I can including tribute albums. There's nuttin' like hearing a well crafted reinterpretation of a favorite song. Least for me.

Some bands release previously unreleased material of demos, live songs and/or outtakes, particularly now adays, rounding out cd versions of old lps they previously released. SUPERCHUNK and X have dug through their musical archives and released cds of such previously unissued, b-sides or other non-album songs. That also includes songs that only appeared on a compilation with other groups. It's amazing how many great songs a band can record that never get officially released. Another source is in studio radio broadcasts.

DAN HICKS and HIS HOT LICKS, actually I think just DAN HICKS, did an album called Early Muses of songs he recorded prior to the release of his first official album. His was, it appears, an offically sanctioned release. Just like this album and vol. 2, it offered songs recorded by the artist quite early in his career. Both guys sound younger because they are. These early recordings are typically more like early demos. ELVIS COSTELLO included a handful of his songs just like these from before his first album, as bonus trax on reissues of his first and second albums. As on this album and DAN HICKS', they were demo songs recorded solo on acoustic guitar (or piano). One gets to hear stripped down versions of some favorite songs and even, particularly on this album, several songs never otherwise released.

A pure treat for the fan. Sure, there's 1 or 2 songs that are a touch less than they could be but most of the songs remind me of whenever JOHNNY CASH did a cover in his last period of just him singing and accompanying himself on guitar. He tears the song down to it's emotional essentials. He actually is able to bring new emotional meaning to some songs he covers simply by changing the pacing or his voice inflection or the feeling he brings in singing the lyrics.

TOM WAITS may not have wanted this and vol. 2 to be released, for whatever perfectly legitimate artist or business reasons he had, but for the fan these two albums are a real treasure trove. It's roots of WAITS, the beginning years of an esteemed national and internationally respected artist. His song writing ability shines through, his ability to sing with emotion is plain here. The songs are simply performed yet are complex in their texture of feeling and story telling.

Yes, I'd purchase each of his 70's albums before buying these two volumes. And I'd certainly recommend both of these records because there is great joy in listening to well recorded early demos of an artist who has remained robust in his musical creations for over 3 decades now. Go Tom. chrisbct@hotmail.com

I had looked up this album to see what others had to say about it, and I was surprised that nobody has given it 5 stars yet...so, let me be the first...

I bought this album way back in '92, when I first spied it in record store in San Francisco - at the time, I had no idea that it wasn't a "true" Tom album. I have to say, that I prefer this album over much of his overproduced 70's work.

As many have stated in other reviews, this album is a collection of demos that Tom did in the early 70's, and a handful of these songs ended up on his later albums. That being said, the fact that this album is a bit underproduced gives it more of an intimate feel...the music, words and Tom's voice pull you in and make you feel sort of warm a cozy - this collection also works well as a whole album - there is a definate continuity between the songs, and it flows together as smoothly as "Heart of a Saturday Night" does.

When it comes to the songs that ended up on studio albums, I prefer to hear the "Early Years" versions rather than the overproduced tracks....'Ice Cream Man' is far superior to the version on "Closing Time"...same can be said for 'Virginia Avenue"...

This is one of those rare early years/demo albums by your favorite artist that don't fall into the "for diehards only" - This is a solid collection of songs - do yourself a favor and pick it up, regardless of what era Waits fan you categorize yourself as..

Ha! this is some singing. I discovered Tom Waits only accidentally. It happened so that I wanted to know the man who created "tom traubert's blues" after listning to Rod Stewart's version. I am no pop/slow rock fan and knew that the creator was no pop/slow rock artist either but more deeply rooted with a close reach to vintage folk and blues as I fell in love with the melody instantly.How can I describe his voice and singing? A cross between Dylan and Cohen.Perhaps early Dylan and early Cohen to put it absolutely right. This guy to me is something so special and his piano & guitar playing just right. He fills my ears and makes me think..... yes, mostly about the years gone by,

This album consists of demo songs, some of which have never previously seen the light of day, taken from Tom Waits's early years (duh), before he become the musical genius that he's considered today. Granted, these songs are all well-written and performed; yet they lack something of the latter work. Nevermind, though; THE EARLY YEARS, VOLUME 1 serves as a good introduction to the pre-SWORDFISHTROMBONES years of Waits career, and is also a fine addition to already-exististing Waits collections. The sparse arrangements offer a sense of intimacy; some of the recordings, such as "Little Trip to Heaven," are even better than the versions that made the record.

If you are Tom Waits fan (as I am) you will not be disappointed in this album, because it lets you know where he came from. But this is not vintage Waits---its early stuff, mostly on acoustic guitar. Definitely Waits though. If you are fan, I'd get it. If you want to get to know Waits, get a vintage album like "The Heart of Saturday night" or the Anthology.

These barebones demos are far superior to other 'official' early albums. They thankfully lack the Eagles-esque polish of "Closing Time" and the formulaic LouisArmstrong-goes-hobo shtick of "Blue Valentine". The songs are simple and charming, I would even call them elegant if they weren't so raunchy. For diehard Waits fans, these two discs are worth it just to hear the man's voice sound so clean and untarnished by the years of abuse that had surely already started. But never mind the diehards, these are just solid records that should be listened to.