Small Change: A Life of Tom Waits

by Patrick Humphries

For more than twenty years, Tom Waits has been the rag and bone man of contemporary music, a singer with a heart of gold and a voice of gravel. His ragged voice and haunting lyrics have enraptured fans worldwide, capturing the tattered hopes and boozy dreams of hard-luck cases everywhere. Small Change, the first biography of this unique performer, tracks Waits from his early days as a pizza chef and fireman right up to the masterful albums such as Rain Dogs and Frank's Wild Years that brought Waits critical acclaim in the eighties. Visions of Waits the actor (Down by Law, Ironweed), Waits the composer (One from the Heart), Waits on tour ("The new band is all midgets, they share a room"), and wonderful photos all add up to a welcome portrait of the music that has influenced U2, Elvis Costello, and The Pogues, and of the man whose ravaged voice and whiskey wisdom have shown us the high life, the low life, and all that lies between.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Writer and journalist Patrick Humphries is the author of acclaimed biographies of Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and Richard Thompson. He lives in London, England.

Reviews

[Woodsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What this book has which, Barney Hoskyns biography of Waits Lowside of the Road lacks: Humphries litters Small Change with the best Waits lines from interviews and song to indicate the mindset and writing style for different stages of Waits' career.

Besides that, as far as being a biography proper, it pales in comparison to Lowside of the Road, for instance lacking any depth when it comes to notable figures in Waits' life such as Chuck E. Weiss, Rickie Lee Jones, or Waits' family.

As far as biography goes, pick up Lowside of the Road. If you're looking to read a story of Waits' life that very short and very hip, Small Change will suit you well.

[Krem Brauð]

Fjallar bara um Tom Waits frá byrjun þangað til sirka 1988 en er samt skemmtileg. Ágætar lýsingar á plötunum hans og myndir sem hann hefur leikið í en er smá cringe á pörtum. Ein sérstök lína um Boy George kom í veg fyrir að ég tæki þessa bók fullkomlega alvarlega. Langar að lesa meira um 90s tímabilið hans af því að þar eru sumar bestu plöturnar hans en það er næs að finna einhverja bók um þennan gæja

[briz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was Patrick Humphries high when he wrote this? Was he channeling a particularly abstract Tom Waits song? It just didn't make any sense; and I don't think it's intended to be a post-modern non-fiction piece. Needs a good edit!

[Cave Empter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty in-depth coverage of his life up to the 90s, with a keen eye for what makes Waits' work tick. The author's got a nice style, but it's evident how hard he worked on getting the prose to feel Waitsean. Certainly learned a lot. Glad to have read it.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to Tom Waits music and one liners. Both, Small Change and Rain Dogs are the best Waits albums; great lyrics and humor not to mention the music. Just my opinion.

[Audun Stalleland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brilliant puns and quotes all around, but unlike the Waits’s songs, the book doesn’t have any depth

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author spends more time trying (and failing) to emulate Waits than profiling him. Heavy on opinions and mixed metaphors, light on biography.

[Tiah Keever · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked it when I read it years ago because I think Tom Waits is awesome. I want to be him when I grow up, or have a dad like him, or have a cup of coffee with him that is not as uncomfortable as the one he and Iggy Pop have in Coffee and Cigarettes, or just sigh dreamily when I think about him. When I stop and reflect I guess one of my past boyfriends had qualities not unlike Mr.Waits, which surely played a role in myself being highly interested in him. The quirkiness, the charisma, the interest in making music with not strictly normal instruments. But that boyfriend used to tease me about dressing like Tom Waits, which I did at times. The checkered polyester pants, the pork pie hat(though mine was closer to a fedora really), some fun shoes. This book gives you all sorts of info about TW, some of it may even be true...

[Jeb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a huge Tom Waits fan and I was totally disappointed in this biography. It reads more like a puff-piece than a biography and there's very little insight into the man and his music. The only merits it has going for it is a few interesting anecdotes and an amusing collection of Waits quotes at the end of the book. If you're looking for a substantive book on Tom Waits, you won't find here.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read this book very little was written about Waits so a whole book about our hero was a bit of an event. In hindsight it could be seen as a bit underwhelming but you had to get what you could in the olden days!

[Leo Jacobowitz]

Small Change, small words, small ideas. Reads like an extended Rolling Stone article. Don't bother.

[Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book about Tom Waits is amazing. I heart heart heart him! It reminds me of my senior year of highschool in Hawaii, missing Japan, and discovering Tom Waits!

[Jennifer Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

short and sweet. The pics are worth 3 stars alone.

[Evelyn]

What can I say, I'm a fan.