Tom Waits

Tom Waits: Second Hand Stories – Documentary 2006

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen




Tom Waits – Second Hand Stories (2006) is an overview of this maverick performer’s career since 1983 and the release of the magnificent Swordfishtrombones, up to present times. An insightful documentary reviewing the second incarnation of the legendary performer, arguably his more creative and experimental period. Through a blend of studio and performance footage, interviews and photographs, the programme tell us the story of these important Tom Waits years.

Also known as,Tom Waits: Under Review 1983-2006 (2006)

A so-called “talking heads”-style documentary. Not enough music/video clips, of course, but with some interesting views on this part of Mr. Waits’s career. Continue reading “Tom Waits: Second Hand Stories – Documentary 2006” →

Tom Waits: Songs After Closing Time – Denmark TV Concert 1976

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen




This is the pro-shot of a rare concert from Tom Waits at the Danish TV Channel in 1976, Sange efter lukketid/Songs After Closing Time also known as Elephant Beer Blues – Songs After Closing Time.

The whole show (songs and words) is subtitled in Danish. Tom is standing in the bar with a Carlsberg Elephant Beer (a very strong beer), hence the alternative title, while giving a good long rant along a jazzy tune. He then moves over to the piano and the real concert starts.

00:00 – Elephant Beer Blues (Incl. “Ghosts Of Saturday Night”, “Gee Baby Ain’t I Been Good To You” and others)
09:24 – New Coat of Paint
12:05 – Warm Beer Cold Women
18:21 – Emotional Weather Forecast
24:39 – Bad Liver And A Broken Heart
27:10 – Semi Suite
30:44 – Spare Parts I

DR TV Studios (Copenhagen, Denmark).
June 1976:

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Tom Waits: Coffee and Cigarettes – Somewhere in California (short film)

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Coffee and Cigarettes: Somewhere in California (also known as Coffee and Cigarettes III) is a 1993 black-and-white short film directed by writer/director Jim Jarmusch shot in Northern California. The film consists primarily of a conversation between Tom Waits and Iggy Pop in a coffee shop. The film would later be included in the feature-length Coffee and Cigarettes released in 2003.

The film won the Golden Palm at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival as best “Short Film”. We love the deadpan humour and the awkward dialogue. It gets better with age.


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Classic concert: Tom Waits VH1 Storytellers 1999

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Tom Waits storytellers

Baby, you got to get behind the mule!
– Tom Waits

The same year as Mule Variations was released, 1999, VH1 broadcast a Storyteller episode with Tom Waits. It aired in the middle of the night; I didn’t have any plans for the next day so I stayed up and watched.

What a songwriter! What a storyteller! He teases the audience, plays with them, he is the pied piper! All the stories are funny/weird and moving. Is he lying? He’s probably making the stuff up as he goes along, or have all of these things actually happen? I really don’t care, his delivery is amusing and so entertaining that he could probably read the A to G in the phonebook and I would find it funny. This might not work with newcomers to Waits’s concerts, they will probably find it a bit too weird and rambling. They should watch Big Time (the movie) first and then come back to this (or maybe it’s the other way ’round, he he).

VH1 Storytellers allows Tom Waits to showcase some his then new material — among them is House Where Nobody Lives, one of the finest ballads he has ever written, here in a heartbreakingly beautiful version. We also get some Tom Waits history with favorites like Downtown Train (also a hit for Rod Stewart); Old ’55, (a hit for The Eagles ); and Jersey Girl, which Bruce Springsteen turned into a live favorite.

Set list:

Downtown Train
Ol’ 55
House Where Nobody Lives
Jersey Girl
What’s He Building In There?
Strange Weather
Get Behind The Mule

Tom Waits – VH1 Storytellers 1999:

The show was around 44 minutes but there were much more material recorded.

The rest of the concert is available to stream or download (legally) at Internet Archive in great quality:

– Hallgeir

Great song: John The Revelator

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

The Best Songs: John The Revelator

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
– Revelation 1:1-3

John the Revelator is a traditional gospel blues call and response song.  Music critic Thomas Ward describes it as “one of the most powerful songs in all of pre-war acoustic music … [which] has been hugely influential to blues performers”. Blind Willie Johnson recorded John the Revelator in 1929 (or 1930) and is the first known recording (at least to me) and subsequently a variety of artists have recorded their renditions of the song, often with variations in the verses and music.

The song’s title refers to John of Patmos (or traditionally John the Apostle) in his role as the author of the Book of Revelation. A portion of that book focuses on the opening of seven seals and the resulting apocalyptic events. In its various versions, the song quotes several passages from the Bible in the tradition of American spirituals.

This is a dark and brooding masterpiece!

The Blind Willie Johnson version:

Blind Willie Johnson recorded the song on April 20, 1929 (or 1930) in Atlanta (his second (1929) or his fifth and final recording session for Columbia Records (1930)). He is accompanied by his first wife (probably), Willie B. Harris. Johnson was a gospel blues singer and guitarist. While the lyrics of his songs were usually religious, his music drew from both sacred and blues traditions. It is characterized by his slide guitar accompaniment and tenor voice, and his frequent use of a lower-register ‘growl’ or false bass voice.

Blind Willie Johnson – John The Revelator:

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