Tom Waits for No Man

In a related story to the recently broadcast Martin Scorsese directed Bob Dylan extravaganza, the Sunday Herald re-published a short review of Mr. Waits’ favorite Dylan album written by the man himself:

The Basement Tapes (live session recordings, 1975)

By Tom Waits

It’s difficult to say anything about Bob Dylan that hasn’t already been said . Suffice it to say Dylan is a planet to be explored. For a songwriter, Dylan is as essential as a hammer and nails and a saw are to a carpenter. I like my music with the rinds and the seeds and pulp left in – so the bootlegs I obtained in the 1960s and 1970s, where the noise and grit of the tapes became inseparable from the music, are essential to me. His journey as a songwriter is the stuff of myth, because he lives within the ether of the songs. Hail, hail The Basement Tapes. I heard most of these songs on bootlegs first. There is a joy and an abandon to this record. It’s also a history lesson.

[Via: What’s Dylan’s Best Song? - [Sunday Herald]]

This was originally published in their list of Mr. Waits’ 20 favorite albums.

Thanks to Jarlath on the Rain Dogs mailing list for pointing this one out.