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reviewed for FasterLouder

Mr Tom Waits is a curious and pretty unique character. Over the years he has had many accusations leveled at him with regard to his appropriation of the blues and his hobo/gin joint piano man image. Some see it as a completely constructed act that attempts to convince the listener of an authenticity that isn’t genuine. Others are more than happy to disregard the theatrics and take the music at face value. The truth really lies somewhere in the middle. Yes he has carved out his own myth but so have countless others like White Stripes and Bob Dylan.

Every Waits release sees him shifting his focus either with his subject matter or the musical construction of his songs. He has dabbled in pretty much any genre you can name and yet it still remains quintessentially Waits. Glitter And Doom Live is his third live album and is comprised of performances from his 2008 tour of the same name.

The one overarching reaction to the album is how essential live performance is to his music. His albums all deliver something specific and rewarding but when songs from across 25 years are heard together you really get a sense of the continuity of his work. The gruff bounce of Singapore from Rain Dogs sits comfortably alongside Get Behind The Mule from 1999’s Mule Variations. The voice is still percussive and rhythmic, the instrumentation is still rusty and broken like a crippled horse and cart.

By the look of the photos in the booklet the shows carried that theme of the decaying junkyard through to the stage set which looks crammed and disheveled, exactly as you imagine Waits at home, surrounded by all manner of found objects.

When Waits drops the mad racket and gruff bark on Fannin Street he really shows his songwriting hand. The poetry rises to the surface and Waits’ voice takes on a much more mournful and soulful tone. He achieves the same mood on Falling Down and Lucky Day.

The two songs that really standout and demand your attention are Goin’ Out West from Bone Machine and Make It Rain. The former is a tough, dark groove like a haunted house version of T-Rex’s Get It On and Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus. It lurches and swaggers along with a murderous intent. When Waits sings ‘I’ve got hair on my chest, I look good without a shirt’ you can see why Terry Gilliam chose him to play the devil recently. The crowd responds and you can imagine Waits with a suitably grotesque smile.

Make It Rain is taken from his last album of originals (Real Gone) and highlights how cruelly he has made his fans wait at least 6 years for a new record. The song channels a dark funk, almost Bowie-esque in parts and possesses a pretty straight arrangement and structure. The guitar licks that adorn it are bluesy and sexy, showing what a stellar band Waits assembled for the tour.

With 2006’s Orphans compilation and now this live album out of his system we can only hope that has cleared the way for the new musical urchins to emerge from his songbook. Waits is a true original – part sideshow, part macabre clown but always musically unique and a master at investing his music with emotion and mystery. The lasting impression of Glitter And Doom is of the showman and his songs, proving that lights and props can enhance a performance but it is the quality of the musicians and the songs that are the key ingredients in a live show.