New Coat of Paint: Songs of Tom Waits

• Artist : Tom Waits
• Binding : Audio CD
• EAN : 0767004210124
• Label : Manifesto
• Manufacturer : Manifesto
• Number Of Discs : 1
• Package Dimensions : 0.54 inches (Height) x 5.55 inches (Length) x 0.18 pounds (Weight) x 4.97 inches (Width)
• Product Group : Music
• Publisher : Manifesto
• Release Date : 2001-04-23
• SKU : 516-2-0767004210124-MFO 42101-2
• Studio : Manifesto
• UPC : 767004210124

Forget that bit about imitation being the most sincere form of flattery: in music at least, an artist truly pays tribute to another by fully appropriating his work and making it his own. Such is the case on New Coat of Paint: Songs of Tom Waits, easily one of the best releases in the frequently tiresome genre of tribute albums. Indeed, the late Screamin' Jay Hawkins' delirious take on Waits's voodoo classic "Whistlin' past the Graveyard" is so dead-on that it's almost inconceivable he didn't write it. The same could be said for soul-man Andre Williams' sleazy version of "Pasties and a G-string", Flat Duo Jets' Dexter Romweber's manic "Romeo Is Bleeding" and Knoxville Girls' supremely tacky "Virginia Avenue". Lydia Lunch has been rewriting and singing "Heartattack And Vine" for at least 20 years, whether she wrote the original or not. Perhaps the single most impressive act of re-appropriation comes from one-man band Christopher Watkins, aka Preacher Boy, with a mournful, near-orchestral version of "Old Boyfriends". And a trio of torchy ballads from Congo Norvell's Sally Norvell, Geraldine Fibbers' Carla Bozulich and Eleni Mandell further illustrate the breadth of Waits' huge body of work. New Coat of Paint is given an inner cohesion by the incestuous connections of several of the acts, all veterans (appropriately) of LA's outlaw underground music scene. Perhaps the greatest compliment is that most of these tracks don't compare to the originals at all, but simply stand alone as classic compositions from the songbook of an iconoclastic American master of gutter-poetry. --Carl Hanni

- Amazon.co.uk Review

Tracks:

• Disc 1

  • 1: Whistlin' Past The Graveyard - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
  • 2: Pasties And A G-String - Andre Williams
  • 3: Heartattack And Vine - Lydia Lunch
  • 4: Virginia Avenue - Knoxville Girls
  • 5: Romeo Is Bleeding - Dexter Romweber's Infernal Racket
  • 6: New Coat Of Paint - Lee Rocker
  • 7: Broken Bicycles - Botanica
  • 8: Old Boyfriends - Preacher Boy
  • 9: Please Call Me, Baby - Sally Norvell
  • 10: On The NIckel - Carla Bozulich
  • 11: Muriel - Eleni Mandell
  • 12: Poncho's Lament - The Blacks
  • 13: Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis - Neko Case
  • 14: Blue Skies - Floyd Dixon

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