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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Waits Live Again! Finally!!!, November 24, 2009
This is easily Tom's best album in years. Doing what he does best, but too rarely - play live -his latest effort sparkles and pulses with a ferocity of life that leaps out of your sound system - and pulls you - screaming or willingly - into the live freak show that is "Glitter and Doom." Recorded over the course of his 2008 tour, the two discs are separated and mixed into a sort of hybrid (one singing/one talking) that somehow feels perfectly natural and in all reality plays exactly how most listeners will want it, rather than breaking up the songs with too-long narratives that play well in a club, but tend to drag down a purely aural experience.
The 17 songs of Disc One play out at over 70 minutes of electrifying music with Waits and his band running the gamut from his own unique version of "high energy" carnival music to full on, break your heart ballads all delivered in that inimitable voice that season-after-season increases its rasp and its grasp on his audience.
It would be impossible to single out a "best" number, but there are several that - on first hearing - stood out a bit above the rest. "The Part You Throw Away" (recorded in Edinburgh) from the album "Blood Money" with its pizzicato strings and the endless pathetic waltz undulating, beneath and a old world Spanish-style guitar solo is one of those timeless numbers that could have come from the Jacques Brel Songbook - or written a century ago.
In similar fashion, Disc One's closer, "Lucky Day" (recorded in Atlanta) is a gooseflesh and teary-eyed finale that has that Waits ballad operatic feel
Along the way there is that Waits prose that paints pictures in the mind more than almost any songwriter in the last 50 years. For instance, who but Mr. Waits could come up with lyrics like those in Circus Lyrics ((here, "Live Circus"):
"Topping the bill was Horse Face Ethel
And her 'Marvellous Pigs In Satin'"
The ambient audience noise feels natural and non-intrusive - and Waits feeds off their respective energies like a vampire at a blood orgy. Everybody wins with "Glitter and Doom."
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Make it a double, December 5, 2009
if I knew when the world was gonna end, I'd wanna be in a diner with Tom Waits (he likely'd have other thoughts) with Allie K after a proper booze up in time to get the first rasher of bacon off the grill before heading to the sheets for the big climax. Until then, there is his music and this is as pure a Waitsian joy as you'll ever hear. At times a burr mixer, at times the last Nighthawk out before dawn, Waits surveys the landscape of his catalogue and comes up strong with each selection. I hope like he#@ there is a DVD on the way. And the Tom's Tales is sheer genius.
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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This one's for the fans, November 24, 2009
If you are new to Tom Waits, then you need to start with his earlier recordings. My recommendation is either 'Closing Time' (if your preferences run to country or jazz-blues) or 'Swordfishtrombones' (if you are into alternative rock). From those two albums, you can begin to branch out. When you start to get into Tom's more contemporary albums (1999 to present), there is a lot of raw blues, more than his earlier records, and his voice is even rougher than before. But his songwriting is, as always, brilliant. With 'Glitter & Doom' there is alot to like, and some that is not so good, as is typical with a Waits album. Actually, in this case, there isn't much that isn't good. This is really a great album. The first six tracks are fantastic. Some are reinterpreted, like 'Such a Scream,' which took me by surprise, because I didn't really like the original version (on 'Bone Machine'). Here it is very tight and sounds awesome, largely because of the band, which really has done their share of the work for these shows. 'Going Out West' and 'Make It Rain' are always highlights of a great Tom Waits show, and its good to see them included here. There are some so-so songs here, like 'The Part You Throw Away,' and'Trampled Rose,' but thats only my opinion. Some will like those songs, as they are pretty good in their own right. Then there's 'Circus,' which I've heard before, but I believe this is the first time it's been released officially. This is one of Wait's stranger numbers, reminescent of a Kerouac/Ginsberg style ramble. It's amusing, but it is kinda weird. Basically, if you enjoyed Orphans, this set is a great companion to that piece. If youre a Waits fan, don't hesitate. Its worth it.
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