Cover and Compare - San Diego Serenade

My favorite song on my favorite Tom Waits album is "San Diego Serenade" off "The Heart of Saturday Night". I like my Waits a bit folkier and at his most expressive. This song finds both. Waits pressed to the piano and pouring his heart out speaks to me far more than the more recent incarnations we've seen. "I never felt my heart strings/until I nearly went insane" What a line! And on his first solo album, singer song-writer Arthur Dodge (who can usually be found fronting the Horsefeathers) chose to close with the tune.

Dodge's version steps away from the piano and instead moves to a solo guitar rendition, but he still carries quite a bit of the feeling with it.


Tom Waits - San Diego Serenade


Arthur Dodge - San Diego Serenade


And by the way, the entire Arthur Dodge record, "The Perfect Face" is quite stellar and is worth giving a listen. Here's two more songs off the record via Lawrence.com:
Wet Paint
Million Dollar Muse



Arthur Dodge's Official Site