Album review: Glitter And Doom, Tom Waits

Published on Friday 20 November 2009 18:05

RELEASE OF THE WEEK TOM WAITS Glitter And Doom * * * * Epitaph 270532 £12.72

Good live albums are like hen's teeth, so this ravaged listening experience is all the more welcome now. Everyone's favourite feral folk singer toured the world in 2008, and recorded in several locations to produce this 17-song set, including three from his shows at Edinburgh Playhouse.

A bonus disc edits Waits's between-song banter into one continuous monologue, which works better than you may think, as does the raucous applause that runs through the record, from the swagger of Lucinda/Ain't Going Down To The Well to the closing Lucky Day.

This is the album's mark of distinction; it goes from soothing to snarling in the twinkle of an eye, be it over a wheezing accordion or tastily picked jazz guitar. The great lolloping restyle of a salty Singapore, which hauls the listener over the quay, is one of the Edinburgh recordings, but it is foolish to be parochial about such a in a truly international piece of work.

Waits is a barker and, on the beautifully unhinged Going Out West, simply barking, part ringmaster and part conductor of his burlesque ensemble. This is one of the last true originals at the height of his powers.

Download this: Dirt In The Ground, Singapore

• This article was first published in Scotland on Sunday on 22 November 2009.