Tom Waits and Mose Allison - PBS Soundstage, WTTW Studios, Chicago, IL, 8-12-1975 | Albums That Should Exist

Tom Waits and Mose Allison - PBS Soundstage, WTTW Studios, Chicago, IL, 8-12-1975

Paul says : Here's an interesting episode of the "PBS Soundstage" TV show. It's really two concerts in one: a short set by Tom Waits and then another short set by Mose Allison. I did a little research and confirmed that Waits and Allison performed on the same stage on the same day, due to a comment by Waits that he was excited to be taking part in the same show as Allison, one of his musical heroes. However, there's nothing here that has them together on stage as the same time. (That's why I'm using "and" in the title instead of "&," to try to convey the two acts weren't linked.)

Waits gets the top billing here, because his section is considerably longer, 36 minutes compared to 21 minutes. However, video footage confirms that Waits was the opening act. At the time of the concert, Waits was recording his third solo album, "Nighthawks at the Diner." It would be released a few months later, in October 1975, which was probably around the time this episode was broadcast. Three songs, " Eggs and Sausage (In a Cadillac with Susan Michelson)," "Better Off without a Wife," and "Nighthawk Postcards (From Easy Street)," are from that album. The rest are from his previous album, "The Heart of Saturday Night."

While Waits was in an early stage of his music career, Mose Allison was already about 50 years old and a much respected music veteran. Personally, I like his music, so I'm glad I finally have an excuse to post something from him. His music combined blues and jazz, and his songwriting had a quirky sense of humor. (He died in 2016 at the age of 89.) 

Unfortunately, if you watch the Mose Allison portion of this concert on YouTube, as I did, you can tell this recording is not complete. He was just starting a new song when the credits rolled and the show came to an end. There was only a little bit of that song, not enough to even identify what it was. So I just cut that off and added some extra applause to the end of the previous song to give this album a fitting ending. 

This album is 58 minutes long. 

01 Eggs and Sausage [In a Cadillac with Susan Michelson] (Tom Waits)
02 Semi Suite (Tom Waits)
03 Diamonds on My Windshield (Tom Waits)
04 Drunk on the Moon (Tom Waits)
05 Better Off without a Wife (Tom Waits)
06 Nighthawk Postcards [From Easy Street] (Tom Waits)
07 [Looking For] The Heart of Saturday Night (Tom Waits)
08 San Diego Serenade (Tom Waits)
09 If You Going to the City (Mose Allison)
10 Everybody's Crying Mercy (Mose Allison)
11 Your Molecular Structure (Mose Allison)
12 Swingin' Machine (Mose Allison)
13 How Much Truth (Mose Allison)
14 Your Mind Is on Vacation (Mose Allison)
15 I Don't Worry about a Thing (Mose Allison)