Tom Waits Tribute Album Double Shot!: Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits (1995) & New Coat of Paint: Songs of Tom Waits (2000)

Scarlett Johansson recently released her first solo album, a collection of Tom Waits covers entitled Anywhere I Lay My Head. Like any self-respecting Tom Waits fan, I was eager to check it out. I can't say I love the album, but I won't say any more as my mother always taught me that if I didn't have anything nice to say, then I shouldn't say anything at all.

One good thing that did come out of it was that I remembered the two Tom Waits tribute albums featured here! In 1995, Manifesto Records released Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits. The concept was to have a bunch of alt-rockers show their appreciation for Tom Waits by applying their touch to his crumpled brand of American music. What results is an enjoyable collection of inspired covers. Most of the tracks are exclusive to this compilation, except for two licensed tracks: Tim Buckley's 1973 take on "Martha" and 10,000 Maniacs' version of "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" from 1992.

When something works once, why not do it again? The folks at Manifesto Records must have felt this way, because they released another Tom Waits tribute in 2000 called New Coat of Paint: Songs of Tom Waits. New Coat of Paint has even more indie cred than the last tribute and it's somewhat darker sound leads to a similarly inspired, but different, experience.

Fans of this blog that appreciate The Geraldine Fibbers as much as I do will love singer Carla Bozulich's "On the Nickel" and guitarist Nels Cline's "Heartattack and Vine" with Lydia Lunch. Members of another PLM favorite, Congo Norvell, make appearances here as well: Wonderfully throaty vocalist Sally Norvell contributes "Please Call Me, Baby" and Kid Congo Powers is in Knoxville Girls for "Virginia Ave." Former Stray Cat Lee Rocker provides "New Coat of Paint." Once again, nearly all of the tracks here are exclusives, save Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard" from 1994.

Check out a couple of fan made clips for Pale Saints' "Jersey Girl" and 10,000 Maniacs' "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You":





It made the most sense to me to present these two similar tribute albums together. For those of you out there who have one but not the other, I apologize in advance for the wasted bandwidth.

Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits (1995)
1. Drugstore - Old Shoes (6:28)
2. Tindersticks - Mockin' Bird (4:24)
3. Pete Shelley - Better Off Without a Wife (3:32)
4. The Wedding Present - Red Shoes by the Drugstore (2:30)
5. Violent Femmes - Step Right Up (6:29)
6. Alex Chilton - Downtown (4:52)
7. Archers of Loaf - Big Joe and Phantom 309 (4:11)
8. These Immortal Souls - You Can't Unring a Bell (5:50)
9. Jeffrey Lee Pierce - Pasties and a G-String (4:36)
10. Magnapop - Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis (4:25)
11. Dave Alvin - Ol' 55 (3:35)
12. Pale Saints - Jersey Girl (7:23)
13. Tim Buckley - Martha (3:15)
14. Frente! - Ruby's Arms (4:19)
15. 10,000 Maniacs - I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You (3:34)

New Coat of Paint: Songs of Tom Waits (2000)
1. Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Whistlin' Past the Graveyard (3:32)
2. Andre Williams - Pasties and a G-String (2:19)
3. Lydia Lunch / Nels Cline - Heartattack and Vine (5:03)
4. Knoxville Girls - Virginia Avenue (3:20)
5. Dexter Romweber's Infernal Racket - Romeo Is Bleeding (3:30)
6. Lee Rocker - New Coat of Paint (3:40)
7. Botanica - Broken Bicycles (3:45)
8. Preacher Boy - Old Boyfriends (4:42)
9. Sally Norvell - Please Call Me, Baby (5:06)
10. Carla Bozulich - On the Nickel (5:42)
11. Eleni Mandell - Muriel (3:55)
12. The Blacks - Poncho's Lament (4:27)
13. Neko Case - Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis (3:38)
14. Floyd Dixon - Blue Skies (3:06)

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