The Tom Waits social media accounts have shared a 'voice note - extract' from The fly, the b-side on the upcoming single in collaboration with Massive Attack Boots on the ground. The track features Waits’s “trademark droll and sardonic spoken word”.
Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan are donating proceeds from the vinyl sales to local organizations funding essential mental health resources for veterans and vital legal advocacy for immigrant communities; NAMI and VIDAS.
Massive Attack have put out a statement the track 'Boots on the ground' is their first music distributed under a “Spotify exemption policy“. The band also says further releases are “scheduled prior and subsequent to the band’s run of live performances, including their forthcoming European tour and summer festival headlines“.
Alongside the Boots on the ground video, Massive Attack will publish an exclusive spoken word reflection on the themes of the work from novelist Omar El Akkad, author of the novels American War and What Strange Paradise.
This ‘EcoSonic’ edition will be 180g vinyl in colors, red, white and blue and are packed at random.Side A:Boots On The Ground (Tom Waits x Massive Attack collaboration song)Side B:The Fly (Tom Waits spoken word track. Exclusive to vinyl.)Today Massive Attack is sharing their collaboration with Tom Waits, "Boots on the Ground." And sadly for all, their song is never more urgent and timely. The song chronicles the madness and rabid abandonment of mankind to the commands of " The Masters of War”, as Dylan put it. It marks Massive Attack's first new music since 2020 and Waits’s first new recording since the 2011 album, Bad As Me.The song is available today on streaming platforms, and will be followed by a 12" vinyl release. The 12” edition features "Boots on the Ground" on Side A, with an exclusively Waits B-side titled "The Fly” - a track featuring Waits’s trademark droll and sardonic spoken word.When asked about the collaboration, Waits said:"One day many years ago, I accepted an invitation from Massive Attack to collaborate. Their long release delay never worried me. Today, as in all of mankind's yesterdays, guarantees this type of song will never go out of style. Man's folly of fiascos is a feast for the flies. Hence, the B-side of Massive Attack’s upcoming 12 inch "The Fly" features my appreciation for the winged nuisance."Massive Attack have partnered with Good Neighbor to produce an ‘EcoSonic’ pressing. Manufactured using 100% recycled PET (rPET) rather than traditional PVC, the record is fully recyclable and produced via an energy-efficient injection molding process - a significant shift in record manufacturing. Packaging follows the same approach, with sleeves made from 100% recycled, FSC®-certified paper stock and outer slipcases produced from recycled polyethylene.
And here it is.
The extended version (with a video in collaboration with US photo artist thefinaleye):
Anti is releasing a 7" vinyl version of the 'spritiual' version of Get behind the mule to celebrate Record Store Day on April 12.
To mark the 50th anniversary of The Heart of Saturday Night, ANTI- is reissuing the album on two limited edition colors: 'slightly gold' (limited to 800 copies) and 'raspberry beret (limited to 3,700 copies).
These releases will be out on December 6th, but are available for pre-order now.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of Mule Variations, the album is re-issued on 180g 'slightly silver'-coloured vinyl. You can get it here.
In this alternate take of the album's iconic track, Waits' gospel moans resonate with raw emotion, accompanied only by a gritty Wurlitzer. This stripped-down rendition amplifies the dark narrative of murder and perseverance (....).
Listen to the new version on your favourite platform.
Tom Waits' Island Records studio catalog is being reissued: you can now get remastered digital, cd and vinyl versions of Swordfishtrombones, Frank's Wild Years, Rain Dogs, The Black Rider and Bone Machine.
The remastering, from the original tapes, was overseen by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan. The five albums are available to stream as of today, vinyl and cd issues should be released in September (Swordfishtrombones, Frank's Wild Years, Rain Dogs) and October (The Black Rider, Bone Machine). Vinyl versions come in regular black and coloured opaque vinyl.
You can find them at the official Tom Waits store or Norman Records or listen to the streams.
Tom Waits' entire metaphoric & groundbreaking mid-period Island Records studio catalog newly remastered from original tapes and prepped for release on vinyl, CD and digital for the first time. Pre-order & listen now!https://t.co/BmxrHYTG14 pic.twitter.com/1kgL2UPqWq
— Tom Waits (ANTI-) (@tomwaits) July 12, 2023
To mark the 50th anniversary of Closing Time, Anti is releasing a limited edition double LP on clear or black 180g, cut at 45rpm with half-speed mastering by Abbey Road Studios and packaged in a gatefold jacket with lyrics.
Release date is June 2nd, but you can pre-order it at Kings Road Merch.
Radio station KCRW will be releasing various live recordings - ‘recently unearthed and unheard for nearly 40 years’ and ‘newly-remastered’ - from its archives. One of those is Tom Waits' interview and performance of August 24, 1987 (which has been circulating as a bootleg). Other names include Nick Cave, Cowboy Junkies, Daniel Lanois and R.E.M.
The Bent By Nature archive will be released to the general public on November 14 on KCRW, members get early access starting Friday November 4.
In tandem, KCRW will launch BENT24, a 24-hour, on-demand streaming service featuring a shuffling playlist of Deirdre O’Donoghue’s SNAP episodes (1981-1991).
From the press release:
When approached by KCRW for permission to release his live performance, Tom Waits and his wife Kathleen Brennan wrote, “In a town filled with sounds borne of the marriage of music and commerce, Deirdre [O’Donoghue] was a voice and venue for the undiscovered or marginalized and a refuge for artists who felt estranged from the prevailing currents. She opened so many ears and hearts, including ours, with her earthy and irreverent voice and wide ranging enthusiasm for all music. So great someone thought to do this.”
The Soul Of A Man performed by Tom Waits
Tom Waits: Vocals • Casey Waits: Drums • Kathleen Brennan: Background Vocals
Produced by Tom Waits/Kathleen Brennan • Engineered by Karl Derfler • Production Coordinator: Jodie Wilson
Traditional: Blind Willie Johnson/Arranged by Tom Waits. © 2014 Jalma Music, ASCAP Tom Waits, Under License to Burning Rose Productions, Ltd.
Samples: Smith Casey “Country Rag (East Texas Rag)” from the John and Ruby Lomax Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Used courtesy of Odyssey Productions, Inc.
John The Revelator performed by Tom WaitsUPDATE (Feb. 12): Looks like the video has been removed from Youtube. You can still listen to the song at the Alligator Records website (although regional restrictions might apply, so I'm told).
Tom Waits: Vocals, Cigar Box Banjo • Casey Waits: Drums
Produced by Waits/Brennan • Engineered by Karl Derfler • Production Coordinator: Jodie Wilson
Traditional/Arranged by Tom Waits, Adapted by Son House. © 2015, Jalma Music, ASCAP, Sondick Music, BMI P Tom Waits, Under License to Burning Rose Productions, Ltd.
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