Album of the Day

Painter Edward Hopper's “Nighthawks” helped inspire Tom Waits' third release, NIGHTHAWKS AT THE DINER. Like the famous painting, the 1975 Asylum collection is peopled by offbeat characters who've seen their share of ups and downs, and to get up close and personal with them, Waits and producer Bones Howe cut the double album live at Los Angeles' Record Plant studio in front of an invited audience. 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). NIGHTHAWKS AT THE DINER celebrates its 40th anniversary today, and it remains a great album to spin when solitary rumination keeps you from sleep.