Song by Song reaches its fiftieth episode as Waits returns to one of his greatest influences, the beat poets. With mixed feelings, Sam and Martin discuss extreme vocal styling (and its overuse) as a storytelling tool, the value (or lack thereof) of California as a location, as well as touching briefly on one of cinema and recorded music's iconic figures, Al Jolson.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Medley: Jack & Neal/California, Here I Come, Foreign Affairs, Tom Waits (1977)
California, Here I Come, The Best Of Al Jolson, Al Jolson (1921/2002)
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