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If this is as close as you get to hearing Waits live, it’s an illuminating snapshot of an artist whose concerts are increasingly rare and compelling.
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Waits is still an impassioned and awe-inspiring performer; here we can still hear, as invigorated as he was before I was born--or so I can guess.
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There’s only one test a live album has to pass, and this one stands up to it: if you were there you’ll be prompted to bask in the memory, and if you weren’t you’ll be wishing like hell that you had been.
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Entertainment WeeklyWaits tends to inspire love-it-or-hate-it reactions; those who don't dig him will probably be mystefied by the over-the-top cheers captured here. [27 Nov 2009, p.71]
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The best live music doesn’t attempt to just mirror the recordings, but expands upon them, highlighting a performer’s chemistry with the band and audience. When Waits does that, the illusion works; when he doesn’t it’s like seeing the cards tucked up a magician’s sleeve.
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A sophisticated gentleman does a poo.
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MojoThe good news, however, is that admirers of the later albums such as Bone Mahcine, the Black Rider and Real Gone are very well served. [Jan 2010, p. 91]
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Glitter and Doom doesn’t include a pocket-sized Waits who sings and dances atop your candelabra with a pawn shop marimba, but it provides you with the tools to imagine such a sight.
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The 17 tracks emphasize the latter half of his career, but he’s toned down his more avant-garde tendencies somewhat and injected a bit of R&B swing and jazz vibes.
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For those who self-identify as Tom Waits Fans, Glitter and Doom Live succeeds on pretty much every level.
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Glitter and Doom Live is not simply a souvenir of a tour most fans didn't attend but a de facto greatest hits of Waits' fourth decade of music, during which his gnarly adventurousness didn't wane but only intensified.
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It would have been nice if Glitter and Doom included a few more buried treasures from Orphans, but ultimately that’s nitpicking, since what’s here does a more-than-ample job soaking up the raunchy, scrappy heart this album sets out to spotlight.
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Q MagazineA live document of his wildly acclaimed 2008 tour, Glitter And Doom further amplifies that uniqueness, backed up by an entire second disc of surreal storytelling. [Jan 2010, p. 126]
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Waits' second live retrospective plumbs his later LPs, especially 1992's Bone Machine and 2004's Real Gone; it misses classics like "Time" but shows off a deep oeuvre and a brassy, mischievous sextet.
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The usual thrill of a live album comes from slightly tweaked familiarity, but Waits treats his songs like old cars in need of new engines. It's a decision that's ultimately more rewarding, turning Glitter and Doom into an album that basically amounts to 80 minutes of new material.
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As usual, it’s worth any amount of trouble to hear Waits live.
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the Waits of Glitter and Doom Live values theatricality as much as storytelling. As on his previous live album, 1988’s "Big Time," Waits often borders on playfulness.
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Glitter And Doom Live is an admirable document of yet another stage in his continually engrossing career.
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Under The RadarAt times surreal, at times laugh-out loud funny, but always captivating, "Tom's Tales" alone are worth the price of the album. [Holiday 2009, p.79]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 21 out of 24
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Mixed: 2 out of 24
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Negative: 1 out of 24
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robertfDec 4, 2009
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MikeMDec 2, 2009
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JoshS.Nov 29, 2009The reworkings on this album show Waits isn't content resting on his laurels. One for the fans.