Tom Waits :: San Diego Folk Festival / April 19, 1974

tomwaits_live

Early Tom Waits chestnut, sans band, accompanying himself on piano and guitar in his native San Diego, April 1974. I originally happened upon this recording several years ago via Captain’s Dead, who is presently re-hosting the show during their pledge campaign.

Zipped download/tracklisting after the jump…

Tom Waits :: San Diego Folk Festival / April 19, 1974 (zipped folder, 92 mb)

01 Better Off Without A Wife
02 The Heart Of Saturday Night
03 On A Foggy Night
04 Shiver Me Timbers
05 Fumblin’ With The Blues
06 Semi Suite
07 San Diego Serenade
08 Glad That You’re Gone
09 Ice Cream Man
10 Depot Depot
11 The Ghosts Of Saturday Night

Related: Tom Waits :: Never Talk to Strangers (LP Bootleg, 1979)

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8 thoughts on “Tom Waits :: San Diego Folk Festival / April 19, 1974

  1. This recording blew my mind: A version of Better off Without a Wife that sounds like a school house rock jingle; the story about how his dad’s second wife inspired Glad That You’re Gone; learning that he worked at Napoleone Pizza House in National City http://www.yelp.com/biz/napoleone-pizza-house-national-city

    (After listening to the show I used Google Street View to look at the Pizza House today, the Funeral Home still down the road, and the Boilermakers’ Union AFL-CIO across the street. It felt like looking into the Ghosts of Saturday Night).
    Thanks for the recording.

  2. Beautiful–thank you. Hearing this era of Waits’ music coincides with my objection to a prominent music site’s recent criticism of Willis Earl Beal’s new album. In fact, the critic connected some dots between Waits and Beal while being surprisingly uninformed that his criticism of Beal matches the early criticism of Waits–too much schtick and schmaltz, ersatz traditionalism (see Nighthawks). The criticism of Beal’s persona and, more so, the observation that Beal “sounds like a traditionalist more interested in moving ideas around than expanding on them” might bode well. Waits seemed to try too hard early and, and perhaps Beal is in that trap, but moving around the parts can be a great starting point.

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