Customer Reviews

New Coat of Paint: Songs of Tom Waits

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

 

 

Nobody can be Tom but Tom. (Just listen to John Hammond's attempts to sound dangerous, and you'll know what I mean.) That said, these are some damn creative interpretations of Tom's work. Not just creative, because it can be creative and still [bad]. This stuff is creative and sounds good.

In my collection, I have four different covers of Heartattack and Vine, and Lydia Lunch's is still my favorite. Muriel is great done in prayerful whispers, and the guy that sings Broken Bicycles lays down a dirge for a vocal track. Screamin' Jay opens the throttle up wide on Whistlin', and the call-and-answer format of Virginia Avenue is really neat.

I like music that doesn't sound like everything else. That's why I like Tom. If that's why you listen, you owe it to yourself to pick up both this and "Step Right Up," which, in its own way, is even weirder and more wonderful than this one.

I like Tom Waits' newer (Island years) stuff better than his old, so I was nervous about picking this album up. I'm glad I overcame those fears. The tracks here are closer to the Island material, even though they are sung by a hodgepodge of musicians. Screamin' Jay Hawkins' grooving 'Whistlin' Past the Graveyard' is almost worth the price of the CD in itself. Its motion flows directly into Andre Williams' 'Pasties and a G-String,' a track that makes up the change for the album if Hawkins' effort didn't do it for you. The motion halts and lurches at Lydia Lunch's 'Heartattack and Vine,' but in a good way. Lunch yowls like a wounded cat, always a good tactic for a Tom Waits song. If Tom was born a Tomitta, s/he'd sound a lot like Lunch, I reckon. Dexter's Romweber's Infernal Racket produces, besides a long band name, a great version of 'Romeo is Bleeding.' You can feel the scuz. Other highlights include Lee Rocker's 'New Coat of Paint,' smooth and cool like it should be, Preacher Boy's 'Old Boyfriends,' folky and soulfull, and Carla Bozulich mournful 'On the Nickel.' In short, if you're like me and tired of trying to find rare Waits bootlegs and strapping for something similar, this tribute is a great place to start. I'd never heard of Andre Williams before picking 'New Coat of Paint' up, but now, I'm ready to go out and buy some of his albums.

This collection of songs and the artists that perform them are great! I purchased this for my dad who was praising a song he heard on XM Radio in the cafe music channel. He loves it!! Some rockabilly,some blues, punk interpretation! Some of the best of both worlds are involved with this cd!

For the first time ever with my many purchases on Amazon, I'm going to look into a return. I'm a huge Waits fan but this disc doesn't honor Tom at all. Very, very average covers but various artists that my be good on their own but not great when singing Tom's tunes. Don't bother...

Ok, I picked this album up while buying another bad tribute album (Badlands: Tribute to Springsteen's Nebraska). I don't know why I buy these but when I run out of the artist's own material I'll buy anything close. First, like Dylan, Tom Waits has a unique voice which makes it hard to others cover his songs. However, there are a couple of gems on this album that I enjoyed. The last 3 songs are all enjoyable. The Black's version of Poncho's Lament is pretty good and the microphone effects just add to the song. The last song, Floyd Dixon's cover of Blue Skies is amusing and longer than the version I've heard Tom sing. The best song on this album is Neko Case's version of X-Mas Card From A Hooker in Minneapolis. The organ in the background is perfect for the atomosphere and it's great to hear a bluesque woman sing this song from a woman's point of view, considering the song is a woman telling a guy about her life. It's just interesting to hear this song sung by a female and so well. It's the one song that I can listen to over and over on the album. Other than that, like someone else said, go buy all of Tom's stuff and enjoy.

This album - which I don't own, and never will - underlines the simple fact that Tom Waits covers never improve on the original. So why bother? I spent an evening at a friend's house listening to it, and found it pleasant enough but really not worth having. Spend the money on Frank's Wild Years, Swordfishtrombones or Bone Machine.

I like Tom Waits most of the time. It was hard for me to listen to all of this album. This is one I will probably give away or resell if I need some cash. I hope I can find a buyer for it soon.

Only Tom can sing his songs, period. Keep moving -- nothing to listen to here.