Married couple/songwriting royalty Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan are the subject of a new compilation/tribute album called Where The Willow And The Dogwood Grow. The 19-track LP is set for release on May 29th through Ace Records.
The premise of the release is simple: Ace teamed up with Waits and Brennan to assemble 19 covers (ordered chronogically) featuring a who’s who of talent. In addition to the actual covers, the CD contains extensive album credits alongside track-by-track commentary from Waits and Brennan.
And oh wait a roster has been assembled, with contributions from Bruce Springsteen (“Jersey Girl,” live from a 1981 show in Newark); Willie Nelson (“Picture In A Frame”); Bob Seger (“16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six”); Johnny Cash (“Down There By The Train”); Marianne Faithfull (“Strange Weather”); The Ramones (“I Don’ Want To Grow Up”); and Norah Jones (“The Long Way Home”), among others.
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“With his long-time creative partner and wife Kathleen Brennan, [Waits] has dismantled and reassembled the idea of song itself, crafting works that exist as both raw expression and high art,” reads a press release. “This collection honors not only the extraordinary versatility of Waits and Brennan’s songwriting, but the importance of an artist who continues to haunt and inspire from the edges inward.”
As the story goes, the couple met in 1978 on the set of Paradise Alley (where Waits made his acting debut and Brennan served as a scriptwriter). While they were married a couple years later, they didn’t begin collaborating together until the mid-80s, ushering in Waits’ more “experimental” efforts with 1985’s Swordfishtrombones and 1987’s Franks Wild Years. They’ve also worked on two musicals, The Black Rider (1989) and Woyzeck (2000).
“She rescued me,” Waits told The Guardian back in 2009. “Maybe I rescued her too, that’s often how it works. Upshot is that we both got into the same leaky boat. Everybody knows she’s the brains behind Pa, as Dylan might have said. I’m just the figurehead. She’s the one who’s steering the ship.”
Pre-orders for Where The Willow And The Dogwood Grow are available here. Below, check out Springsteen’s cover of “Jersey Girl.”
And speaking of star-studded cover albums involving Waits, he also contributed to 20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan. That record drops on November 13th.
Where The Willow And The Dogwood Grow Artwork:
Where The Willow And The Dogwood Grow Tracklist:
01. Jersey Girl – Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (Live at Meadowlands Arena, NJ – July 1981)
02. 16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six – Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band
03.Gin-Soaked Boy – Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes
04. Jockey Full Of Bourbon – Los Lobos
05. Hang Down Your Head – Lucinda Williams
06. Temptation – Diana Krall
07. Yesterday Is Here – Bettye LaVette
08. Way Down In The Hole – The Blind Boys Of Alabama
09. Strange Weather – Marianne Faithfull
10. I Don’t Want To Grow Up – Ramones
11. Down There By The Train – Johnny Cash
12. House Where Nobody Lives – King Ernest
13. Picture In A Frame – Willie Nelson
14. Hold On – Madison Cunningham
15. The Long Way Home – Norah Jones
16. 2:19 – John Hammond
17. Diamond In Your Mind – Solomon Burke
18. Trampled Rose – Alison Kraus and Robert Plant
19. Day After Tomorrow – Joan Baez