From Amazon.co.uk
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
Album Details
Hailed as 'one of the best releases in the frequently tiresome genre of tribute albums' by Amazon.com this album's line-up includes the late Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Lydia Lunch with guitarist Nels Cline, Kid Congo Powers (Knoxville Girls, Cramps, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), Carla Bozulich (The Geraldine Fibbers and Ethyl Meatplow), Lee Rocker (The Stray Cats), Dexter Romwebber (Flat Duo Jets), and Floyd Dixon (West Coast Jump Blues legend, composed Hey Bartender). Features standout recording from Neko Case, who was named No. 1 on John Peel's Festive 50 for 2000 and more recently opened for Nick Cave's 2001 solo US tour. 14 tracks.
