Glitter and Doom is the latest Tom Waits CD, a double live-disc featuring tracks from his US/Euro 2008 tour, along with a disc of him basically telling jokes and shooting the shit with the audience. It's a real winner.
Waits is one of my favorite recording artists and an even better performer. This album amply demonstrates why a Tom Waits concert ticket is worth anything they want to charge for it, as old favorites like "Singapore" are brought to new life with a sprightly, sinister rendition that reminded me of how I was transported the first time I heard it. The torchy numbers like "I'll Shoot the Moon" are heartbreaking loser's ballads, shot through with hope and sorrow. And the angry, uptempo songs like "Falling Down" and "Goin' Out West" make you want to do something self-destructive and brave and dumb.
Honestly, there isn't a single sub-par track on this disc, nor should there be. After all, this is Tom Waits, the reeling hurdy-gurdy poet of the rasping voice and the ominous circus lyrics. And it's Waits live, palpably feeding off the energy of the audience. It's magnificent.
