The classic rock band Tom Waits compared to “watching paint dry”
Tom Waits has never been known as someone who minced words about how he felt about music. Throughout his career in front of the microphone, there was no doubt that Waits would deliver something 100% authentic to the story he wanted to tell. Though his intuition may have led him to multiple classic records like Rain Dogs and Bone Machine, he wasn’t afraid to talk about songs that he thought were below average, either.
When first cutting his teeth in the rock scene, Waits was a far more dynamic presence than what he would become known for. Although many may associate Waits’ cadence with its off-kilter demeanour, many knew him as the kind of lonely barfly on his first handful of albums, sitting behind a piano and delivering biting songs about loneliness.
Out of all the tracks he wrote during that period, ‘Ol 55’ remains a particular highlight from his early years. Taking the basic premise of the titular car, Waits paints a dark tale on top of it all, delivering the kind of gruff voice that only he could muster in those days. If there were anyone who knew a thing or two about both lonely songs and cars, though, it would be the Eagles.
As Waits was starting his career, Glenn Frey and Don Henley had already been two of the kings of the California rock scene. Having already made their living with songs like ‘Take it Easy’ and ‘Tequila Sunrise’, the band were looking to go beyond their country roots on the album On the Border.
Alongside tracks that got in touch with their soulful side, like the title track and ‘You Never Cry Like a Lover’, the band had a particular affinity for the Waits song. Recorded during the sessions, it turned out well enough for the band to include it on the final album, turning Waits’s original version into a driving rock and roll song.
Why Tom Waits hated the Eagles’ cover of ‘Ol 55’
While the band may have intended to give Waits exposure, he was never thrilled that the group decided to cover his song. When talking about the tune later on, Waits didn’t hold back his feelings about the group, saying, “I don’t like The Eagles. They’re about as exciting as watching paint dry. Their albums are good for keeping the dust off your turntable, and that’s about all.”
Even though the gesture may have been flattering, Waits thought that the band’s version of his tune robbed it of any charm, explaining, “I frankly was not that particularly crazy about their rendition of it. The song is about five years old; it’s one of the first songs I wrote, so I felt like it was kind of flattering that somebody wanted to do your song, but at the same time, I thought their version was a little antiseptic.”
Let’s be honest, though; Waits wasn’t writing for stadiums, and he sure as hell wasn’t writing to be polished. His world was always the back alley of a stinking jazz club at 2am. When you hear his version of ‘Ol 55’, it creaks with a heavier type of memory. It’s a song built for dusk, not high noon, and when the Eagles gave it their warm, radio-ready gloss, it lost some of the bruises that made it feel real.
Still, the contrast between the two versions says a lot about how rock and roll was diverging in the 1970s. The Eagles represented a clean-cut version of California, all harmonies, while Waits was dragging a cigarette through the gutter just down the street. And even if he wasn’t impressed by their take, the fact that his song slipped into their canon meant something; it proved that even in the land of sunshine and soft rock, there was still room for a little gravel in the gears.
While the band would become one of the biggest concert staples around that time, they would rarely perform ‘Ol 55’ on the live stage, instead leaving Waits to his solo career. Waits would eventually rub elbows with other rock legends like Keith Richards when making Rain Dogs, but seeing one of his songs getting the California glamour treatment wasn’t what he had in mind when putting his career together.
