Recorded on Vin Scelsa's "Idiot's Delight" radio show on December 14, 1976 for airing on December 18, 1976 on WNEW-FM (New York, NY).

In 1976, Tom Waits was promoting his fourth album, Small Change, when he popped into a New York recording studio with WNEW-FM radio host Vin Scelsa to do an interview and play a few songs. Waits was in a rare mood and delivered an intimate hourlong performance, in which he offered stripped-down but passionate versions of 11 of his songs, accompanied only by Ralph Elber on drums, as Waits added off-the-cuff lyrics on several songs and spun tall tales during the breaks. The performance became something of a collector's item among Waits fans lucky enough to record the radio broadcast of the session, and now the show has been released in full on the album Nighthawks on the Radio: Live. A fascinating document of Waits' early beatnik-influenced period, Nighthawks on the Radio is a spare but compelling performance that also finds him discussing his creative process and delivering plenty of his characteristic dry humor. ~ Mark Deming

Format: Vinyl Genre: Rock, Blues
Unofficial Release Import Double Black Vinyl

TRACKS

A1        Emotional Weather Report    7:45
A2        A Sight For Sore Eyes    3:20
A3        Step Right Up    6:45
B1        Eggs And Sausage/Invitation To The Blues    4:48
B2        Jitterbug Boy    6:35
B3        Diamonds On My Windshield    3:59
C1        San Diego Serenade    4:30
C2        Tom Traubert's Blues    8:58
D1        New Coat Of Paint    6:01
D2        The Piano Has Been Drinking    5:12
D3        I Can't Wait To Get Off To Work    4:05