Are you still stumbling into the new year and trying to find your footing? Record of the Week is here to help you sit and spend a little time with yourself and take a break from negotiating the horrors of the world outside. This week, the Randomizer is suggesting you take some comfort in a stone cold classic, Tom Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner (1975). I'm spinning this lovely red copy that I was able to pick up when ANTI Records posted when an intern apparently "found" a box of them hidden away somewhere.
This album has been in my life since I discovered Waits with Blue Valentine and starting exploring his catalog back then. It's set up as a live dive bar lounge act (meant to showcase Waits' strengths as a performer), although it was recorded over a couple of nights at the Record Plant Studios. The invite-only audience you hear on the recording were friends and colleagues of Waits' then-manager, Herb Cohen.
If you're lamenting that you never got to see Waits live (especially the early days), this is probably the next best thing if you don't have a time machine handy. It's crazy how Waits had only two album out at the time and someone decided to do the third album this way. Fucking perfect. Apparently the band were all top players in the scene back then. They bring out Waits' jazzy tendencies and let his unique voice really shine. Waits has got jokes as well, intertwining his lyrics with wry observations on topics and cultural ideology of that era. At times, it sorta feels like a stream of consciousness vibe while the band jams. It's just really fucking cool.
If you haven't heard Tom Waits and are interested, I'd say this is as good a place to start as any (as mentioned above, I started at Blue Valentine and went backwards). If you're a fan but haven't made it to this album yet, you're on your own journey, I have no idea what you're waiting for. If you've heard him before and aren't convinced, that's cool too. You be you. In any case, Nighthawks at the Diner is best listened to all in one sitting. Pour yourself a scotch or whatever your drink of choice is (no judgment!), this album is a great night out.