Tom Waits Covers

In honor of Scarlett Johansson's decision to shit on/"pay tribute to" Tom Waits' music, with Anywhere I Lay My Head (an album apparently inspired by the sounds of underwater sea creatures getting high on coral dust) I thought we could maybe look at the nature of covering Tom Waits.

I have to give some grudging credit to Scarlett for opting for his later and in some cases, not as well-known, material. If pressed, I'd have to say that "Green Grass" almost works. That said, I also feel that "Green Grass" is a hard song to screw up - sing it slowly, sound sort of depressed and morbid, and it won't be agonizing.

I suppose a key problem is that Tom Waits is to pop what Ornette Coleman is to jazz - not merely a genius, but someone whose performance style is so incredibly unique and overwhelming, that covering his music is a difficult exercise in detaching the composition from the composer and attempting to approach the piece on its own grounds. Some really great artist have tried and failed - notably Tori Amos when she covered "Time" on Strange Little Girls. It almost sounds good, except you can hear that she's not sure if she wants to sound like Tom Waits or like Tori Amos (apologies to anyone who likes the Tori version).

Scarlett's album sort of tries to recast the songs as her own, which is admirable, but it really just plain doesn't work. Because, obviously, you need to have something interesting to say...obviously, Rod Stewart's "Downtown Train" is definitely in Rod Stewart's voice and not a Tom Waits clone voice...but that makes it even more painful.

But some people did succeed in covering Tom Waits in their own style without dropping the quality, and they should get some props for that. Here they are (in no particular order):

Petra Haden/Bill Frisell covering "I Don't Want to Grow Up" on Petra Haden/Bill Frisell:
Tom Waits' version is overdriven, and sounds like a petulant five-year-old boy. And it's AWESOME. Petra Haden (along with the ever-awesome Bill Frisell) recasts it into an innocently silly romp on childhood. And it works perfectly - granted, you wouldn't necessarily know Tom Waits wrote this song if you heard the cover, but I think that's sort of the point. She really figures out how to own the song, and pulls it off beautifully (unrelated note - the whole album is great...in fact Petra Haden is great.)

Everything But the Girl covering "Downtown Train" on Acoustic:
First off, I think bonus points are awarded if you cover one of Tom Waits' famous songs and still pull it off. What Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt manage here is to tap in that gorgeous longing in the song, but then slow it down and switch it to a bare bones acoustic arrangement. It might get boring if someone other than Tracey Thorn was singing. However, this just serves to highlight that she is an incredible artist and intelligent singer, and that she knows how to wring every ounce of meaning out of the lyrics. This might not be for everyone, but I think it works stunningly.

John Hammond Jr. covering "Clap Hands" on Wicked Grin:
Okay, I know some people hate this album, which is entirely Tom Waits covers, but I think on the whole it works really well. I particularly like "Clap Hands," but I can be persuaded that other tracks are better. Sometimes the wry humor of Tom Waits gets overlooked in favor of the bleak Expressionistic world he creates, which is unfortunate, as he's funny as hell. John Hammond Jr.'s major accomplishment is bringing that out...not to mention really highlighting the bluesy side of Waits' music. It also helps that Tom Waits helped create this album.

Holly Cole covering "Heart of Saturday Night" on Temptation:
Overall, I hate this album. Absolutely hate it - she leans towards trying to turn every Tom Waits song (another Tom Waits cover album) into an excuse to act like Ute Lemper at an S&M club. But she cuts that out with "Heart of Saturday Night," and it works quite well.

Cibelle covering "Green Grass" on The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves:
This cover is stunning. She takes the dark pulse of "Green Grass," builds on that, and turns it into a morbidly haunting track reminiscent of Astrud Gilberto. This cover (the whole album, actually) is brilliant.

Norah Jones covering "Long Way Home" on Feels Like Home:
I'm really sorry, but I've got to put this version up on the list. It's really good - Norah Jones knows her strengths as a singer and a musician, and she makes this track work for her. Granted, the original version is pretty mellow and and easy-going to begin with. I could do without the flutes in her version, but it's still pretty damn impressive.

Solomon Burke covering "Diamond in Your Mind" on Don't Give Up on Me:
If you don't own this album, if you've never heard him cover this song, I'm not fully convinced you've lived. It's just that good.

Chuck E Weiss covering "It Rains on Me" on Extremely Cool:
Again, having Tom Waits come and sing with you on a track helps. But this version is so damn cool. Chuck E Weiss should be much, much more famous than he is (equally fun is the track later in the album "Do You Know What I Idi Amin"...another Weiss/Waits duet)

Did I miss anything? I'd be curious to know...