Tom Waits — Glitter And Doom Live

This two-disc collection was recorded at various American and European stops on Waits' 2008 Glitter And Doom tour, and his growl is as gruff as ever through 17 songs.

The musical performances come off as cabaret-style, which isn't surprising. The chugging blues rocker "Goin' Out West" is probably the high point, but the foreboding "Such A Scream," the percussive and jazzy "Metropolitan Glide" and the quieter and mellower "Fannin Street" also shine along with several other songs.

The second CD, dubbed Tom Tales, is less than half the length of the first. It features Waits sitting at the piano spinning humorous yarns on such topics as vultures, rats, Oklahoma laws, parrots, graveyard shifts, Spam, spiders and the Nazi version of alphabet soup that he says included tiny noodles dubbed "pastakas."

Waits' distinctive style isn't for everyone, but those who like him should embrace this.

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