A final episode for this first volume of demos sees Martin and Sam mulling the stylistic choices and tone Waits is aiming for, his choice of instrument going forward, and how the material on Early Years vol 1 strikes us nearly 5 decades years after its recording.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
So Long I'll See Ya, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
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Simplicity abounds, and seems to succeed - perhaps despite the title - as Jess, Martin and Sam dig into a sweet song with a crude punchline. The origins of the title's phrase, the sentiment of leaving as embodied in the country music tradition, and the shift that time and irony creates in music from 20-50 years ago all feature in this week’s discussion.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Looks Like I'm Up Shit Creek Again, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
Are You Leaving For The Country, In My Own Time, Karen Dalton (1971)
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Jess Abbott returns for some slightly contentious debate with Sam & Martin around the “bros before hags” sentiment of this song. With some strong language in our interval track and the associated sentiments between children and parents, we talk about family and the ways they interact once children have grown up.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Frank's Song, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole, Martha Wainwright, Martha Wainwright (2005)
I'd Rather Be Lonely, History, Loudon Wainwright III (1992)
Loudon Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Screaming Issue @ Noel Nights NYC, via YouTube (2018)
You Never Phone You Never Write - Loudon and Martha Duet (with relevant preamble) @ Jazz Club Camden London, via YouTube (2010)
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Martin & Sam welcome our guest host Jess Abbott to not only discuss this little trip, but also to provide our interval track, as we discuss another Waits demo-to-studio song in relation to Jess's own (re)writing process.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Little Trip To Heaven, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
Clipping, Nightstand, Tancred (2018)
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Our third episode with Michael, Sam & Martin brings us to a slightly less-excited point in the evolution of Waits's writing. We have a chat about what works for a live audience, what survives well on a recording, and the process of working through bad ideas to get to the gems.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
When You Ain't Got Nobody, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
Just a Gigolo, Kicks, Elisa JO (2020)
Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody, single, Louis Prima/Keely Smith/Sam Butera & The Witnesses (1956)
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A sleepy week sees Michael, Sam & Martin brushing their teeth, getting in their pyjamas and heading off to bed. All three of us are struck by the strength of this Early Years version/demo, particularly the arrangement, and how it compares to other brilliant nap-time classics.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Midnight Lullaby, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
Mr Sandman, single, The Chordettes (1954)
Midnight Lullaby, Closing Time, Tom Waits (1973)
Mr Sandman, single, Vaughan Monroe (1954)
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Guest host Michael Caines joins Martin & Sam for another early version of a Closing Time track, as Waits wanders through Hollywood (or San Diego?) (or Reno?!?) slightly the worse for wear, as Song by Song has a think about how artists reinterpret their own songs.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Virginia Ave., The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us, Plagiarism, Sparks featuring Faith No More (1997)
Virginia Avenue, Closing Time, Tom Waits (1973)
This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us, Kimono My House, Sparks (1974)
This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us, music video (via YouTube), Justin Hawkins (2004)
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This week's sees Sam & Martin at odds and Alice forced to mediate over this country-style song about boredom and ageing. Returning to Waits's 70s writing brings us back to a discussion of appropriation, as well as unique voices and their contribution to songs' meaning and tone.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Rockin' Chair, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
September Song, The Collection, Eartha Kitt (2002/195?)
September Song, The Collegiate Chorale Presents: Knickerbocker Holiday, Victor Garber/Kurt Weill/Maxwell Anderson (1938/2011)
September Song, Live from the Café Carlyle, Eartha Kitt (2006)
What makes Ringo a Great Drummer, sina-drums, via Youtube (2019)
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Alice returns for our first demo-to-studio jump, as Waits either trades frozen treats for hot lovin', or just embarks on a peripatetic dairy-based romance. Song endings, the interpretation between demos and final versions, as well as the nature of demos and producers/production in general all get consideration.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Ice Cream Man, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
Hit The Road Jack, demo, Percy Mayfield (1960)
Ice Cream Man, Closing Time, Tom Waits (1973)
Hit The Road Jack, single, Ray Charles (1961)
The Doppler Effect: what does motion do to waves?, Alt Shift X, via YouTube (2013)
O Death, Ralph Stanley, O Brother Whereart Thou? Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2000)
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Alice Fraser of The Bugle and The Last Post joins Martin and Sam to take a look at Waits's geocached conquest spreadsheet and the blue consequences thereof. The sexual politics of "having" and "virginity" gets serious consideration, as well as more discussion of the survivability of material outside the live venue.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Had Me a Girl, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
Like A Virgin, Like A Virgin, Madonna (1984)
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Is this a tender song, a wry observation about the music industry, or a badly-placed bit of bawdy humour? Helen & Amy rejoin Martin & Sam to listen to a Tom Waits track that may have killed at the Troubadour, but does not seem to land on the album. And then it all kicks off over poor, poor Billy Joel. He never asked for any of this…
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
I'm Your Late Night Evening Prostitute, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
Piano Man, Piano Man, Billy Joel (1973)
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A second week with Amy and Helen sees everyone feeling that the work is slighter and possibly understanding why this track didn't make the jump onto a studio recording. Our guests discuss with Martin and Sam ideas of cliche and originality, the process of developing as a songwriter as well as some of the relationship politics that Gladys Knight navigates in her 1973 hit.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Poncho's Lament, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
Midnight Train To Georgia, Imagination, Gladys Knight & The Pips (1973)
Lonely This Christmas, live Top of the Pops performance (via YouTube), Mud (1974)
Are You Lonesome Tonight - Elvis corpses, via YouTube, Elvis Presley (1969?)
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Helen Zaltzman returns, along with new guest host Amy Smith, to join Sam & Martin for season 16 of Song by Song. We take a trip back to Waits's earliest writing from 1971 in this album of demos and unreleased tracks, discussing the temporal and osteopathic implications of a slow night with Tom, the tone he's aiming for at this early stage in his career, and bouncy ball music.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Goin' Down Slow, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
Hearbeats, Deep Cuts, The Knife (2003)
Sony Bravia "Bouncy Balls" advert, via YouTube (2005)
On A Night Like This, Planet Waves, Bob Dylan (1974)
Black Coffee, Black Coffee, Peggy Lee (1956)
Four of Two, No!, They Might Be Giants (2002)
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A quick preamble to season sixteen, as Martin and Sam prepare to go back to Waits's earliest demos, as well as a bunch of new songs from the early 70s.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Ice Cream Man, The Early Years vol 1, Tom Waits (1991)
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