Tom Waits Covers #1: Solomon Burke

I've promised to share some of my favourite Tom Waits covers for ages. One of the reasons it's taken so long is that I realised I had quite a lot to say about them, so instead of writing about a selection of songs in one post I've decided it will be more productive to take it one at a time. So, for starters, here's Solomon Burke, the King of Rock & Soul, and his version of Diamond in Your Mind from his brilliant comeback album Don't Give Up On Me.

MP3: Solomon Burke – Diamond In Your Mind

As far as I know there's no studio recording by Waits of this song although I'm sure I once heard a demo on KCRW. The song was originally written for the Waits/Robert Wilson production of Woyzeck but there are more lyrics in Burke's version than there are in the play. Solomon Burke – the "Wonder Boy Preacher" - also objected to the original line, "Zerelda Samuels said she ain't never prayed". He outlines why in this extract from a 2002 interview:

That song was written by Tom Waits. Have you met him? Solomon Burke: "No. We had one discussion on the phone, and that was the lyric change where he wrote that "she never prayed," and I said, "No, no, no - you have to call him, you have to get him on the phone." I don't care how big of a sinner you are: If someone cuts off your arm, you are going to pray to God. They said, "With all due respect, Dr Burke, you do not change the words to a Tom Waits song." I told them, "With all due respect, as a man of God, I am telling you this song is religiously incorrect." We stopped the whole session until we got a call back from him, and he said, "Okay."

(Source: "Solomon Burke Brings It Home" by Jonathan Valania. Philadelpia Weekly. July 17, 2002 Volume XXXI, No. 29, © 2003 Review Publishing – found at the superb Tom Waits Library)

I’ve just finished David Smay’s 33 1/3 book on Swordfishtrombones – probably the most illuminating book I've read about Tom Waits' work. In it he explains that "diamond mind" is a Buddhist state of enlightenment. It's no surprise then that the only version of the song performed by Waits that is available commercially is on the concert album Healing the Divide, a fundraiser for Tibetan monks.

MP3: Tom Waits & The Kronos Quartet – Diamond In Your Mind (live)

If you'd like play compare and contrast on the two versions, leave a comment below.

Incidentally, Solomon Burke is performing at the Barbican in London on 3 July and also at Glastonbury. If you’ve never seen him, it's a spectacle to behold.

Buy at Amazon

Solomon Burke – Don’t Give Up On Me

Various Artists (inc Tom Waits) - Healing The Divide
David Smay – 331/3 Swordfishtrombones (book)

Related Links

Tom Waits Announces Tour Guided By Stars

Tom Waits Announces Tour Guided By Stars

When I first started this blog it seemed like every other post was related to Bob Dylan. Now it seems I can't get enough of Tom Waits entries.

Yesterday Tom announced an American summer tour that takes in such hot spots as Columbus, Ohio and Jacksonville, Florida. As you'll see in the entertaining press conference below a European jaunt looks likely.

Tom Waits - Tour Press Conference

Related Links

Tom Waits - official site with full tour dates

The Eyeball Kid - invaluable Tom Waits news blog

Michael Stipe Rocks Out To Born to Run

REM singer's reaction to Boss classic identical to mine

I saw this video on Stereogum the other day. It's worth watching if you still have a soft spot for REM, like Bruce Springsteen or have ever seen me dance at Uptight. The clip's from DA Pennebaker's doc about the 2004 Vote For Change tour. Michael Stipe gets quite giddy at the prospect of meeting Springsteen and does some wonderful air-punching as he sings along to Peter Buck practicing Born To Run.

Stipe and Springsteen from Walker Lamond on Vimeo.

Scarlett Sing Waits: First Listen

I posted about Anywhere I Lay My Head, Scarlett Johansson's forthcoming album of Tom Waits covers a while back. Now there's an official website with clips from all of the songs, Spinner has posted an 'exclusive' of her version of Falling Down and I've also found an MP3 of the title track (available below).

Having heard her rendition of Summertime I'd expected something predictably jazzy. Instead, with producer David Sitek (TV on the Radio), she's taken the surprising decision to do a sort of electro-pop number on all of the songs. A pretty odd move in my opinion and not one I'm sure works. What do you reckon?

Also, last time I wrote about this I promised to post some of my favourite Tom Waits covers. Well, you can look forward to those some time next week I promise.

Download

MP3: Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head

MP3: Tom Waits -Falling Down

Amazon

Buy Scarlett Johansson's Tom Waits album

Related Posts

Scarlett Sings Waits

Related Links

Scarlett Johansson Album

Greetings From The 'Volunteer' State

Nashville, Wednesday 26 March 2008

I'm on my honeymoon in Nashville. During the flight on Monday I listened to the Tennessee edition of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour to inspire me musically about the trip and also learn some trivia about the state. Bob explained that Tennessee is known as the Volunteer state, was the 16th state to join the Union, has not one, but five 'state songs', has boasted three presidents and that the architect who designed the State Capitol, William Strickland, died during its construction and is buried within the building's walls. I thought the most spurious bit of Bob trivia was his claim that Nashville "is the only town where a banjo player can make a six-figure income". However, after our visit yesterday to the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, I'm certain Bob's right.

The New Mr and Mrs Smith, Yesterday

The museum celebrates the people who played on famous records, so there are exhibits on the likes of the Funk Brothers, who were on all the well-known Motown hits, as well as session musicians from Memphis, Los Angeles, Muscle Shoals and, of course, Nashville. The sheer number of instruments on display that were used on legendary recordings appealed enormously to my inner-geek. Having enjoyed an informal symposium at work the other week on Pete Drake and his 'talking steel guitar' I was beside myself to see the instrument that was used on Bob Dylan's Lay, Lady, Lay (as well as one of Pete's 'talk-boxes').

Pete Drake's pedal steel, as heard on Lay, Lady, Lay

My favourite exhibit though was Luther Perkins' knitting. It seems that the only way Johnny Cash's guitarist could keep calm in the presence of his speeded-up boss was to make knitwear for his family and friends.

Luther Perkins' knitting needles and a sweater he made for his wife Margie

It was an action-packed day. As well as visiting the Hall of Fame, we paid a brief tribute to the state's three presidents at the Capitol, had a tasty lunch at the South Street Smokehouse, saw the city's ridiculous full-scale replica of the Athens Parthenon, stopped for a milkshake at the longest-running restaurant in the city, watched a so-so local performer at the legendary Tootsies Orchid Lounge and finished off the day with a great gig by Stephen Malkmus. I guess it's hardly surprising then that I'm writing this at nearly 11am while Joanne is still asleep.

Related Links

Flickr: All photos from the trip so far

No Depression 1995-2008

Earlier in the week I read the sad news that alt.country bible No Depression is joining Porter Wagoner on the front porch in the sky. The May-June edition will be their last - meaning I'll read my final copy exactly nine years after I bought my first.

Although the magazine's readership is pretty strong for a niche mag, the downturn in the record industry means that No Depression isn't getting the advertising revenue it needs to survive. Publishers Grant Alden, Peter Blackstock and Kyla Fairchild explain further in this letter on the No Depression website.

For fans of steel guitars and men who own entire wardrobes of plaid shirts No Depression was gold - an old-school magazine that always felt like a labour of love for its creators to which its readers responded with equal passion.

I've discovered dozens of bands through its pages and the magazine's always been a welcome signpost, not just to the USA's more interesting musical corners, but other odd bits of Americana too. That first issue I read contained an article on an intriguing documentary called Hands On A Hard Body about a 'touch the truck' contest in Texas. I found a VHS copy of the film a while later and it's become one of my favourite docs of all time. The trailer doesn't do the film justice, but it certainly gives a flavour:

I'd been planning for a while to make a regular blog feature of bands I'd never heard of but that I'd read about in each new issue of No Depression. Maybe I'll start ploughing through my back issues.

Download

MP3: Uncle Tupelo - No Depression

Amazon

The Best of No Depression (book)

Uncle Tupelo 1989-1993: An Anthology

Related Links

No Depression

NPR: Interview with ND founders Grant Alden and Peter Blackstock

Billy Bragg & KT Tunstall

HMV Oxford Street, Monday 18 February

Monday's lunch hour was one of the strangest I've experienced in recent memory. I went to HMV expecting to see Billy Bragg perform a few tracks from his hearteningly well-reviewed new album Mr Love & Justice. Instead I saw Bragg and KT Tunstall tear through eight under-rehearsed cover versions that took in Cliff Ricahrd and The Human League.

The reason behind this enjoyable shambles was HMV and Q Magazine's daft poll to find
the top 50 Best Ever British Albums. Billy and KT were asked to play songs from each decade since 1958. This was the set list:

• Cliff Richard – Move It
  
• The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset
  
• David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust [KT Tunstall solo]
  
• Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve) [Billy Bragg solo]
  
• Morrissey – Every Day Is Like Sunday
  
• The Verve – The Drugs Don’t Work
  
• Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict A Riot
  
• The Human League – Don’t You Want Me?
  

The Drugs Don't Work was about the only song that sounded vaguely in tune but all were fun to watch. The piece de resistance was the Human League finale. The clips below, diligently filmed on the phones of lunchtime shoppers, give some impression of the event.

The Drugs Don't Work

I Predict A Riot

Don't You Want Me?