I was a little disappointed with the arrangements. Ribot is such an amazing guitarist that it almost didn't matter. The whole thing felt a little thrown together and it probably was. Casey Waits is so boring on drums and Neil Young predictably added nothing to the soung. I feel weird being so critical, since I'm such a huge Tom Waits fan. Did Waits do that weird voice on Get Behind the Mule during Glitter and Doom? Regardless, it was great to have Tom honored. Ok, sorry for the negativity. Just being honest. Cheers all
I agree. I mean, like you guys, there's no bigger Waits fan than me...but why does he love playing "Get Behind The Mule" so much?
I've seen him 5 times over the years...and it's always been the only song that puts even the most diehard fan to sleep.
If he was being honored for 25 years of music, he could have played along a bit more. Tom Traubert...Innocent When You Dream...hard to say. But that was really one-dimensional for an artist who is anything but.
I agree. He could've chosen better songs to perform. Why does he like Make it Rain so much? Saw him in Akron and Cleveland and I think it's the only song he repeated. Anyway, he'e the greatest living artist in the world. Go Tom!!! And thanks eyeball kid for all you do. Cheers!!
To those who don't rate the musical side of Tom Waits' Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame performance, I'll have to disagree with all of you.
In my view, Tom Waits put on a great show with Larry Taylor, Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Casey Waits and, yes, even Neil Young in tandem. The three songs were completely rearranged, true, and loose, yes, but in the most fabulous way.
As far as the song selections go, my question would be - Why "House Where Nobody Lives"? "Make It Rain" is not a classic song, but Waits has developed a satisfying live workhorse out of it. One only has to remember the grand set finale on "Glitter & Doom" tour to be convinced of that. When Marc Ribot last played with Tom Waits, "Make It Rain" was used as a show starter and it was through out that 2004 tour one of the real musical highpoints.
"Get Behind The Mule" has a similar history to "Make It Rain". It too was not one of the favourites on "Mule Variations" and it was one of the few songs during the "Get Behind The Mule" tour in 1999 that just didn't work at any level. Me, for that I blame Smokey Hormel. On the other hand, Waits' band really ripped the joint with the very same tune during "Glitter & Doom" tour with Vincent Henry blowing some vicious and mean harmonica all over it.
What people seem to regard as lack of preparation on the band's part, I consider to be a great exercise in playing it loose and tight at the same time.
The weird quivering falsetto that Tom Waits pulled out of the hat for "Get Behind The Mule" only enhanced the experience.
Thank you so much for posting these! The FuseTV broadcast was disappointing, to say the least– they cut Tom's entire bit down to what seemed like less than 10 minutes!
& yeah, I kind of agree with the other commenters. While Make it Rain and Get Behind the Mule are, actually, some of my favorites it is kinda getting repetitive for us live show junkies. It would've been amazing to do something like Walking Spanish, 16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought Six, or Trouble's Braids (then again, assembling the drummers would've been a pain, but I can dream!), Romeo is Bleeding (even though it's more of jazz, I am DYING for this to get a live play) or even Who are You (would've made everyone cry), which never get the live show treatment.. Though, I thought the arrangements were good– they seemed well-suited to the occasion. Tom seemed like he was taking a laid-back approach in general to the whole shindig, and this loose style fit that. Also, I think House Where Nobody Lives– for the type of song it is– had a place in the song selection because it shows his range. Like he said, he has no chart "hits", unlike the rest of the inductees, so he plays a bit of everything.
17 comments:
Thank you so very much for posting this. I looked for it earlier but didn't find anything.
Two mules on stage .... wish I was there!
I was a little disappointed with the arrangements. Ribot is such an amazing guitarist that it almost didn't matter. The whole thing felt a little thrown together and it probably was. Casey Waits is so boring on drums and Neil Young predictably added nothing to the soung. I feel weird being so critical, since I'm such a huge Tom Waits fan. Did Waits do that weird voice on Get Behind the Mule during Glitter and Doom? Regardless, it was great to have Tom honored. Ok, sorry for the negativity. Just being honest. Cheers all
Great to see it happen but I'm afraid the backing band wanted shooting. They were all over the place. Should have taken out the glitter and doom band
I agree. I mean, like you guys, there's no bigger Waits fan than me...but why does he love playing "Get Behind The Mule" so much?
I've seen him 5 times over the years...and it's always been the only song that puts even the most diehard fan to sleep.
If he was being honored for 25 years of music, he could have played along a bit more. Tom Traubert...Innocent When You Dream...hard to say. But that was really one-dimensional for an artist who is anything but.
I would like to repeat Greg's comment... Thank you so much for posting this.
Dan Canada
I would like to repeat Greg's comment... Thank you so very much for posting this.
oops, sorry for double entry.
I agree. He could've chosen better songs to perform. Why does he like Make it Rain so much? Saw him in Akron and Cleveland and I think it's the only song he repeated. Anyway, he'e the greatest living artist in the world. Go Tom!!! And thanks eyeball kid for all you do. Cheers!!
To those who don't rate the musical side of Tom Waits' Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame performance, I'll have to disagree with all of you.
In my view, Tom Waits put on a great show with Larry Taylor, Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Casey Waits and, yes, even Neil Young in tandem. The three songs were completely rearranged, true, and loose, yes, but in the most fabulous way.
As far as the song selections go, my question would be - Why "House Where Nobody Lives"? "Make It Rain" is not a classic song, but Waits has developed a satisfying live workhorse out of it. One only has to remember the grand set finale on "Glitter & Doom" tour to be convinced of that. When Marc Ribot last played with Tom Waits, "Make It Rain" was used as a show starter and it was through out that 2004 tour one of the real musical highpoints.
"Get Behind The Mule" has a similar history to "Make It Rain". It too was not one of the favourites on "Mule Variations" and it was one of the few songs during the "Get Behind The Mule" tour in 1999 that just didn't work at any level. Me, for that I blame Smokey Hormel. On the other hand, Waits' band really ripped the joint with the very same tune during "Glitter & Doom" tour with Vincent Henry blowing some vicious and mean harmonica all over it.
What people seem to regard as lack of preparation on the band's part, I consider to be a great exercise in playing it loose and tight at the same time.
The weird quivering falsetto that Tom Waits pulled out of the hat for "Get Behind The Mule" only enhanced the experience.
Thank you so much for posting these! The FuseTV broadcast was disappointing, to say the least– they cut Tom's entire bit down to what seemed like less than 10 minutes!
& yeah, I kind of agree with the other commenters. While Make it Rain and Get Behind the Mule are, actually, some of my favorites it is kinda getting repetitive for us live show junkies. It would've been amazing to do something like Walking Spanish, 16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought Six, or Trouble's Braids (then again, assembling the drummers would've been a pain, but I can dream!), Romeo is Bleeding (even though it's more of jazz, I am DYING for this to get a live play) or even Who are You (would've made everyone cry), which never get the live show treatment.. Though, I thought the arrangements were good– they seemed well-suited to the occasion. Tom seemed like he was taking a laid-back approach in general to the whole shindig, and this loose style fit that. Also, I think House Where Nobody Lives– for the type of song it is– had a place in the song selection because it shows his range. Like he said, he has no chart "hits", unlike the rest of the inductees, so he plays a bit of everything.
Pleased to finally see this--Rain Dogs was like Tom Waits covering himself. Fantastic!!
Hi, all over the world, can somebody translate the comments in german language?!
Best regards mjn
Which ones, all of them?
The only problem I had with the performance was that he fluffed so many lines nad missed so many cues. Kinda startling, to be blunt.
Still, any Waits performance is a good Waits performance when most of us will never be able to see him.
Dream RRHOF Setlist:
1. Jockey Full of Bourbon or
Hoist that Rag
2. Midnight Lullaby or
Drunk on the Moon
3. I Never Talk to Strangers
(Bette was there!)
4. Innocent When You Dream or
I'll Shoot the Mooon
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