Album of the Day

Like Edward Hopper's famous painting “Nighthawks,” Tom Waits' third release, NIGHTHAWKS AT THE DINER, is peopled by offbeat characters who've seen their share of ups and downs. Waits and producer Bones Howe cut the 1975 double album live at Los Angeles' Record Plant studio in front of an invited audience to give these 18 tracks the ideal club-like ambiance. The gravel-voiced troubadour sounds as though he knows all about "Warm Beer And Cold Women," to quote but one of these songs, and the worldly wise lyrics are elevated by a superb jazz backing band (and leavened by Waits' amusing between-songs patter). The performer's first charting album, NIGHTHAWKS AT THE DINER paints an after-hours portrait of L.A. in affectionate detail worthy of the greatest beat poets (or perhaps a more jovial Charles Bukowski).