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| Jack Barksdale and Lindi Ortega (photo courtesy of Reybee, Inc.) |
It ain’t easy covering Tom Waits.
When you strip away the guy’s notorious voice—basically the sound of someone who washes down three packs of Camels with a gallon of gasoline every day—it’s clear that the world’s most beloved sonic drunkle writes from the soul. Waits’ lyrics have always struck a delicate balance between the sordid and the saintly, brilliantly flowing from glorifying the gutter to capturing the quiet sadness of love gone by. With so many treasures throughout Waits’ decades-long discography, it makes sense that plenty of artists have tried their hand at covering a few of them over the years—but not all these acts have succeeded in getting the feel right. Rod Stewart’s radio smash rendition of “Downtown Train” was epic, beautifully produced, vibrant, soaring, and all wrong. (Don’t even get me started on The Eagles’ “Ol’ ’55.”) Apart from Patty Griffin’s flawlessly heart-wrenching interpretation of “Ruby’s Arms,” the 2019 tribute album Come On Up to the House: Women Sing Waits was a listless borefest perfect for drive-time NPR but utterly useless for 3 a.m. self-immolation.
Thankfully, some acts actually got it. The Ramones’ cover of “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” is The Ramones covering “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” (and thus excluded from all possible scrutiny on principle), while the brightest moments on actress Scarlett Johanssen’s 2008 album of Waits remakes, Anywhere I Lay My Head, are left-field beauties that could have easily found a comfortable home on the classic 4AD roster. (Fellow actress Megan Mullally has also taken on Waits with admirable aplomb.)
Canadian singer/songwriter Lindi Ortega and Texas-based singer/guitarist Jack Barksdale are two more artists who do the man justice. While not a household name in the U.S. (yet), Ortega has been steadily releasing stellar noir-tinged Country music for years. (Think a gothy Emmylou Harris doing the soundtrack for a Lynch film—then give this video a watch/listen.) One of the most promising young (and I mean young) talents in music today, Barksdale released his first studio album, 2022’s Death of a Hummingbird, at the ripe old age of 14. Recently, the pair released their collaborative reimagining of Waits’ “How’s It Gonna End” (off 2004’s Real Gone) and “Yesterday Is Here” (off 1987’s Frank’s Wild Years).
The results are extraordinary. Check these out:
