Perhaps due to the past couple of weeks of near constant puddles in L.A., I’ve found myself listening to Orphans and Rain Dogs ...a lot. Orphans, in particular, with its three thematic discs: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards, has me once again pondering the myriad of styles Tom Waits has experimented with over the years. For an artist who is now, for all intents and purposes, basically his own genre, it’s always interesting to listen to the older Waits catalog, back when he was still trying on various hats: folkster, jazzbo, beatnik, vaudevillian and bluesman. This KPFK radio session from 1974, recorded for the Folkscene program, finds Waits between his Closing Time LP and its follow up The Heart of Saturday Night. Amazing stuff – a snapshot in time of a young Waits just off touring the southeast with Frank Zappa. PS – Don’t skip the interviews.
Download:
MP3: Tom Waits :: Better Off Without A Wife
MP3: Tom Waits :: It’s Not Good To See You (Interview)
MP3: Tom Waits :: Foggy Night
MP3: Tom Waits :: You’re Working On Your Second Album (Interview)
MP3: Tom Waits :: The Ghost of Saturday Night
MP3: Tom Waits :: (Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night
MP3: Tom Waits :: That’s Such A Fine Song (Interview)
MP3: Tom Waits :: Semi Suite
MP3: Tom Waits :: Let Me Ask You Something (Interview)
MP3: Tom Waits :: Drunk On The Moon
MP3: Tom Waits :: I Wonder (Interview)
MP3: Tom Waits :: Depot Depot
MP3: Tom Waits :: For Those Who May Have Just Joined Us (Interview)
MP3: Tom Waits :: Diamonds On My Windshield
MP3: Tom Waits :: That’s Great (Interview)
MP3: Tom Waits :: San Diego Serenade
MP3: Tom Waits :: What Are Your Plans Now (Interview)
MP3: Tom Waits :: Rosie
MP3: Tom Waits :: For Those of You (Interview)
MP3: Tom Waits :: Fumblin’ With The Blues
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What a great recording! Thanks for sharing.
1 | Jacob February 26th, 2009 at 10:26 amthanks for this! i’ve been living in buenos aires since mid-december, and it’s finally getting to be fall season here. these songs/interviews will make my remaining time here all the better until i get back to los angeles at the end of march. cheers!
2 | Ted February 26th, 2009 at 10:27 amThanks for posting this. I’m sure it will become a favorite.
3 | DougoBlue February 26th, 2009 at 11:34 amAmazing. His voice sounds so clear here!
4 | Lee February 26th, 2009 at 11:35 amDo you know who took that pic?
5 | TR February 26th, 2009 at 11:48 am@ tr, i do not (found it on google images). if you know, holler at me so I can credit.
6 | Satisfied '75 February 26th, 2009 at 3:39 pmThanks for that one. thunder storms were increasing over the
7 | nickilee February 26th, 2009 at 3:43 pmSoutheast and South Central portions of my cubical. AH, the sun is shining
That was such a great listen. Hearing the various versions of the songs from the early years is such a great look inside his creative process – watching the songs develop.
8 | j. neas February 26th, 2009 at 9:10 pmtom is such a charmer, isn’t he? & san diego seranade is my all-time favorite. period. thanks so so much ad!
9 | jen c February 26th, 2009 at 10:03 pmThis is phenomenal. Thank you very much. One of the best AD posts ever.
10 | S.M.J.D.C. February 27th, 2009 at 12:09 am^^^^^
11 | ismateo February 27th, 2009 at 3:57 amagreed, phenomenal. thanks for this.
Not liking Tom Waits should be considered a sin – Waits personifies awesomeness. I must download these tracks (wish I had time now).
12 | Funky Rutabaga February 27th, 2009 at 8:45 amI want to say that’s Annie L. for Rolling Stone magazine. Its in the first edition rolling stone images book.
Need to figure that one out.
13 | TR February 27th, 2009 at 12:57 pmThanks so much for this AD. The interviews (and performance, obviously) are so fantastic. This would make a great companion piece to go with the two ‘Early Years’ recordings.
14 | Kaley February 27th, 2009 at 8:06 pmTruly one of the greats at this point. One of a kind and a living legend.
“Never saw the morning till I stayed up all night.”
15 | Trevor By Sea February 27th, 2009 at 8:50 pmwow!!
16 | SteveR February 28th, 2009 at 10:39 pmI love the titles of the interview portions.
17 | Chris March 1st, 2009 at 12:30 pm[...] Drunkard posted an excellent Tom Waits radio session [...]
18 | Weekly Round Up - March 1st, 2009 | Colour Me Impressed March 1st, 2009 at 2:55 pmFantastic post, man! A lot of fun.
19 | Jason P. Woodbury March 2nd, 2009 at 3:02 pmAwesome, thank you!!
20 | Paige March 4th, 2009 at 2:19 amthanks so much for this wonderful recording. always so interesting to hear his early stuff.
21 | tara March 10th, 2009 at 3:39 pmi agree w/ comment #4. i’m astounded by the youth and clarity of the voice here. as much as i love bob dylan, bruce springsteen and steve earle, i’m not sure any of them ever did anything better than the clean, simple rendition here of ‘looking for the heart of a saturday night.’ just plain perfect.
22 | kit March 18th, 2009 at 2:00 pmexelente! muchas gracias!
23 | javier May 13th, 2009 at 7:44 pmI’m a massive Tom fan, especially his early stuff. I can’t seem to download this, is there any chance you could do a yousendit file? Or tell me what I’m doing wrong?
24 | Joe May 27th, 2009 at 10:25 amvery cool, I am going to download and definately not skip interviews!
25 | Peter Joseph Head September 30th, 2009 at 2:45 am[...] Previous Waits: Tom Waits :: Los Angeles, 7.23.74 KPFK Folkscene [...]
26 | Aquarium Drunkard » Tom Waits :: Nighthawks On The Radio / 1976, WNEW-FM NYC January 4th, 2010 at 3:47 pmHello all! I’m very new to Aquarium Drunkard and am so excited about the Tom Waits material. I’ve seen on the contact page that mp3’s are hosted for only a limited time. Does anyone know where I could get this Tom Waits interview? I’d really appreciate it.
Many Thanks!
27 | Jason January 16th, 2010 at 12:13 amhey man, i was wondering if we could get a new link for “looking for the heart of saturday night”, track 6. i know your links expire but i have every other track from the session, i just need to complete my collection.
this is truly amazing stuff.
28 | toady January 28th, 2010 at 8:13 pm