Customer Reviews

Used Songs 1973-1980

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Tom Waits has had many compilations in the past (Beautiful Maladies, Bounced Checks) but this one should not be excluded from any music fan's collection. Used Songs, from Rhino Records, highlights the Asylum Years - those years where Tom was a hobo (now he's a grave-digger, ring leader, and train riding poet) and singing in bars with a cigarette (now he's got a bigger audience and a mega-phone). I love Tom's most recent works, and I also love this stuff. It's a little bit more jazzy - but it is still beautiful and great late-night music.

Some highlights (for me):

"Heartattack & Vine". This is a trademark Waits tune. Scratchy guitars and growler vocals. "Don't cha know there ain't no Devil, that's just God when he's drunk."

"A Sight for Sore Eyes". Great piano song. Waits at the top of his "story telling" game.

"Whistlin' past the Graveyard". I honestly feel like going out at 2 in the morning and whistling past a graveyard. You will too.

"Jersey Girl". Great Waits song that was made greater by Springsteen. Personally, I think Tom's version is better by far. Great guitar, great lyrics (as always), great vocals. So catchy, so catchy.

"The Heart of Saturday Night". Back when Tom's voice was leaning towards a true singer. The whisky & cigarettes hadn't set it yet.

"Tom Traubert's Blues". Apart from "Take it with Me", this is probably the most beautiful Tom Waits song that has been made (so far).

Also, with the compilation comes a booklet with a few great articles and pictures. A good buy. Better than any of that mainstream pop nonsense out there today. Bravo.

Rhino has done an incredible job, just as usual! Generally they take recordings that have languished in a corner for too long and give them the treatment they deserve: this means brilliant sequencing on a single disc, equally brilliant liner notes and a nice package, just for good measure! This year they did it among others with Elvis Costello (check out "my aim is true") and Tom Waits and both releases are strong to say the very least.

Technically speaking "used songs..." is a "best of" that collects songs already included in proper albums released between 1973 and 1980. So no rarities or non-album versions here, just brilliant music for those who need an introduction to Tom Waits (his later stuff tends to be increasingly "difficult", often bordering on the "experimental", so his early period is the best starting point)

Now, for those of you who are entirely new to Tom Waits I'll say that he WRITES lyrics in a style that is imbued with beat poetry and then sings them in a raspy voice, backed by some jazzy, cabaret-like music. He's one of my favourite singers and he might well become one of yours!

Tom Waits is just one of those guys that's beyond description or comparison. This is a collection of some of his 70's work, apparently before he got weird, which is funny because alot of this is pretty wild stuff itself. Some tracks like "Step Right Up" sound like an auctioneer gone nuts, and others like "Jersey Girl" are really quite moving and pretty. A unique artist and voice indeed. These songs often paint a picture for me, and it's of a guy who has a cigarette in one hand and a whiskey in the other, singing in a smokey jazz/beat club, the one down the alley in the old part of town that mostly just the locals end up in, and if you stumble in the door, you leave having had one of those memorable nights that you only get a few of in your lifetime.

In a way, I felt that the collection should've gone in chronological order (more like the cassette only "Anthology") because his singing style is different throughout it all. It seemed funny that "Ol'55" was smack dab in the middle of it.

I think that a collection like this would've been nice to have included some live and rare tracks like "Blue Skies", alternate takes (some of which made it on to the deleted "Bounced Checks"), and make it a 2 CD set, similar to Sony's "Essential" series. That's not even including all the songs he's done with other artists, compilations, benefit CDs and soundtracks since then.

But you feel like so much is missing, esp. some of the songs from "One From The Heart".

I think for the people who got hooked on his music after "Swordfishtrobomes", the orchestra and singing style might comes as a shock to them, esp. on "Ol'55" from his first album. But songs like "Tom Traubert's Blues" are just flat out masterpieces, and "Eggs and Sausage" is just a small blip off of what is essentially a concept album "Nighthawks at the Diner".

Pick this one up if you want the basics, but I highly recommend all of his albums from the Asylum era even more so.

This is not the first compilation of Waits early years recordings, we have already seen Bounced Checks and The Asylum Years, but this one seem to cover the catalog of Waits better than both both. It concentrates on giving us a broad insight into Waits music throughout the 70's not leaving any albums out.
There can always be argued that the selection is not "right", but as with most everything else it is a matter of personal taste, and I feel that the album covers Waits well, and would serve as a good introduction to the rambling hobo that he was in the 70's. Propably what most people think are missing is "The Piano has Been Drinking" from Small Change, which has become a "hit" in recent years. Maybe it should have been included, but I think that Tom Traubert's Blues, is just a good a representative for the Small Change album (and Step Right Up, off course). In my opinion an album like this must serve the purpose of representing the music of Waits during this decade of his life, which it does splendidly, showing the variation there was to his music during that age. This would serve well as an introduction to the 70's Waits for the uninitiated.

This is an album for: a) folks who don't know who Tom Waits is and need a brief history of his early career; b) those who only know Tom from his more recent work and want to catch up on old times; c) idiots like myself who commited the ultimate sin of selling CDs in order to pay rent and missed the good times we used to have sitting in 3 a.m. bedrooms listening to Tom and feeling an understandable kinship with the loner's saint--
There are no new songs here, and some of my favorites aren't here (foreign affair, the piano has been drinking, etc.)...But, listening to this album should tempt one into buying the albums from which these songs are taken. And from that point, your ears will unfold and bloom like a crysanthemum in the lapel of a secondhand tweed jacket--buy it, raise a glass to it, love it and introduce it to your friends.

There are some who wish that Tom Waits would go back to the kind of music he was doing prior to SWORDFISHTROMBONES, but I can't honestly say I'm one of them. Much as I liked his Seventies-era albums, he really was in great danger of falling into a shtick and becoming a one-note novelty. But the only track on this best-of where the novelty wears thin is "Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis"......otherwise, this is a good collection of the pre-weird Waits who primarily wrote either sodden ballads or jazzy hipster-scats. I don't think the former is as well-represented (Where's "Shiver Me Timbers?" Or "On The Nickel," "Ruby's Arms" and "Martha?"), but if this whets your appetite to find out more about Tom Waits the songster and get the albums this package is culled from, so much the better.

i'm a huge tom waits fan. i have all the records, but still i purchased this comp. why? i don't know, probably because of the cool cover photo. its not like i really had fifteen dollars to spare.

this is a great introduction for people not familiar with mr. waits, or, as many of my friends inexpicably are, only familiar with his more recent stuff, or even stranger, only familiar with "mule variations" (why is that)? these songs come from that prolific period of time when he really, really had that edward-hopper-set-to-music thing going. this may take some getting used to, i'll admit. its quite a challenge to accept the fact that something this great includes not only a duet with (ugh) bette midler, but also a song (ol' 55) made famous by the eagles (now i'm vomiting). its worth the effort, this is (to paraphrase something i read) an aquired taste worth the trouble of aquiring. if you think about it, the bette midler and eagles connection sorta make this all the more impressive, y'know. i mean, talk about overcoming insurmountable obstacles and still being cool.

okay, i love tom waits. if you don't know much about his early stuff this is the best place to start. listen to this a few times and you might find yourself with a new favorite musician.

I'm not planning on buying this album since I have all of Tom Waits albums that have these songs on it. However,I do recommend this CD to people either new to Tom Waits and want to hear how he got his start or those who only know his later albums. The themes are similar to his later albums such as Rain Dogs, Bone Machine, Frank's Wild Years, and Mule Variations. The difference is these songs are structured more like songs you would hear on the radio or in a bar. The stories in these songs are wonderful looks at the down and out. The beatnik point-of-view is great and some of these songs are wonderful to drink to, especially after a bad day! Some favorites include Chrismas Card From A Hooker, Ol' 55, Tom Traubert's Blues, Mr. Siegal, Heartattack and Vine, and Sight for Sore Eyes but all the songs are great. After listening to this album if want another album to listen to more go get Heart of Saturday Night and Small Change. You won't be dissapointed! So if you don't have a Tom Waits album go get this one! Soon you'll be quoting great lines like "there aint no devil that's just God when he's drunk!"

The Asylum label period of Tom Waits' extraordinary career began in 1973 with his debut album "Closing Time" and ended 8 albums later in 1980 with "Heartattack & Vine". He then signed to Island Records and in 1982 released "Swordfishtrombones" to howls of joy, amazement, praise and derision - all in equal measure. And most of his albums on Island ('82 - '93) and Anti ('99 to the present day) have been the same ever since - mad, bad, beautiful, discordant and utterly unique in a world of increasingly plastic pop forced down our throats by gutless radio programmers every single day of our lives. Personally I love each period, Asylum, Island and the Anti label. And although the word is often overused, Waits is a genius - and utterly unique - beloved by both his fans and the industry for being so.

His Asylum albums were - if you like - his romantic troubadour period, a drunken Street bum with the heart of a poet and the itchy feet of Bukowski. He looked and sang the part too - greasy hair, freshly lit cigarette hanging out of his gob, wrecked clothes, a chronicler of the downtrodden and lost. But this was an artist whose songs were written with charm and real feeling for those on the outskirts - often touching and beautiful to a point where he could make you laugh with one song and cry with the next. But by "Heartattack & Vine", he had taken this persona it as far as it could go - hence the complete about face with his Island debut.

A little history for potential purchasers to explain why "Used Songs" is the best of scrappy bunch; the 1st compilation covering the Asylum Label period of his career appeared in 1981 and was called "Bounced Checks" - a single vinyl album containing a spattering of tracks and an unreleased live version of "The Piano Has Been Drinking" recorded in Dublin - a gig a friend of mine was privileged to be at. It's never been made available on CD to my knowledge. The second outing is "Asylum Years", a far better and more comprehensive 2LP set released on vinyl in 1984. Unfortunately, it's CD equivalent which came out two years later is a bit of a mish-mash - a single disc that lost 9 of the original 24 tracks and added 3 new ones not on the original double! This 14-track truncated CD carried the then relatively new words "digitally remastered" on the front cover and was sought after for that reason. The sound on that CD is good - if not spectacular - and is available to this day. It's also worth noting that there are 8 tracks on the "Asylum Years" 1986 remastered CD that aren't on "Used Songs" - they are "Diamonds On My Windshield", "Martha", "The Ghosts Of Saturday Night (After Hours At Napoleone's Pizza House)", "Grapefruit Moon", "Small Change (Got Rained On With His Own .38)", "Potter's Field", "Somewhere" (a superb cover of the famous Leonard Bernstein classic from "West Side Story") and "Ruby's Arms". Which brings us up to "Used Songs 1973-1980", his 3rd and best compilation covering that period.

Elektra/Rhino's set features 16 tracks Digitally Remastered in 2001 by tape experts BILL INGLOT and DAN HERSCH at DigiPrep - and the sound quality is full, clear and beautifully rendered. A real treat. "Used..." takes in songs from all 7 of his studio albums and one from the live double. Here's the layout and what track is from what album (UK release dates):

USED SONGS 1973 - 1980 (77:33 minutes):
1. Heartattack & Vine (on "Heartattack And Vine", 1980)
2. Eggs & Sausage (In A Cadillac With Susan Michelson)
(on the live 2LP set "Nighthawks At The Diner", 1975)
3. A Sight For Sore Eyes (on "Foreign Affairs", 1977)
4. Whistlin' Past The Graveyard (on "Blue Valentine", 1979)
5. Burma Shave (on "Foreign Affairs", 1977)
6. Step Right Up (on "Small Change", 1977)
7. Ol' 55 (on "Closing Time", 1973)
8. I Never Talk To Strangers
(on "Foreign Affairs", 1977) [duet with BETTE MIDLER]
9. Mr. Siegal (on "Heartattack And Vine", 1980)
10. Jersey Girl (on "Heartattack And Vine", 1980)
11. Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis
(on "Blue Valentine", 1979)
12. Blues Valentines (on "Blue Valentine", 1979)
13. (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night
(on "The Heart Of Saturday Night", 1974)
14. Muriel (on "Foreign Affairs", 1977)
15. Wrong Side Of The Road (on "Blue Valentine", 1979)
16. Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets To The Wind In Copenhagen)
(on "Heartattack And Vine", 1980)

Being a single disc there are some glaring omissions and odd choices, "I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You" from "Closing Time" is left off in favour of "Ol' 55". "Wrong Side Of The Road" is chosen instead of the beautifully evocative "Kentucky Avenue" or the fantastic "Romeo Is Bleeding", both from "Blue Valentine". "On The Nickel" from "Heartattack & Vine" isn't there either. And so on - you could bitch about choices for days. ("Ol' 55" first turned up on the 3rd EAGLES album "On The Border" and was probably most peoples first introduction to Waits - so its easy to see why it was chosen.) What is on here though, sounds fabulous.

Why is sound so important with this issue? Each of his Asylum albums are available on CD, but the earlier albums in particular are hissy and less that impressive sound-wise, because almost all of them came out in the initial vanguard of CD releases in the late Eighties - they weren't mastered well and have never been touched since. That's not the case with "Used Songs". The REMASTERING done by Rhino here makes all the difference. Right from the opening guitar and drum of "Heartattack & Vine", you're aware of the fantastic sound quality upgrade - it just pounds you. "Burma Shave", with just piano and vocals, is loud and beautifully clear. Then there's the delicacy of "Muriel" and "A Sight For Sore Eyes" and the hurting gargled-with-gravel vocals of "Tom Traubert's Blues" (his Waltzing Matilda song) - the sound on all of them is sweet and full, the saxophone and sassy rhythm section floating out of the speakers like some boozed-up turned-on jazz combo. It's thrilling, it really is! And lyrically, Waits has always been the equal of Joni or Bob - and way funnier. The booklet pictures the albums, there's a reproduction of a 1975 Jon Landau article from Rolling Stone, and a new liner note from Hal Willner - all tied off with a tasty card wrap, giving the whole package the class this release deserves.

Although it should have been a double, "Used" has the big advantage of its gorgeous sound and makes you pine for Extended Editions of each of his fantastic albums from that period. And on that point, when you think of the amount of lesser artists who have their entire catalogues released, remastered and pumped up with bonus tracks, and then you see someone of Waits' stature have no album from 1973 to 1993 in REMASTERED form by either WEA or Island on the market after 20 years of CD re-issues - it's just ridiculous and criminal. The same of course applies to Little Feat, Prince, Rickie Lee Jones, James Taylor, Carly Simon and many others. Come on Rhino and Universal - get their individual album catalogues remastered and get them out there - for God's sake!

In the near 20 years I've spent working in record shops and dealing with rare records, I've met some great artists and huge talents in the industry and enjoyed chin waging with them all - fame doesn't really faze me that way. But my love of Tom Waits is different. Tom is God incarnate. If Tom Waits actually turned up in our humble little shop, I'd be knobbled! I'd be too busy kissing the hem of his garment to actually speak to the man! An Irishman lost for words - yikes!

To sum up, "Used Songs" is a fantastic set, a superb introduction to the man & his music and frankly, a beacon of light in a landscape of increasingly dim musical pap. I picked it up in FOPP in London for £5 and it's available from over 60 on-line retailers for about the same price - including P&P!

Sure I'm biased, I adore the guy and his music, I do - but BUY THIS CD. If you love music, you need to hear this man's songs - it will be the best musical fiver you've ever spent...