Lowside Of The Road: A Life Of Tom Waits
by Barney Hoskyns

Hey, what’s your story? Well, I don’t even care

With several Tom Waits biographies doing a fair job at capturing the life of a man who’s done his best to keep the baying dogs of public enquiry at arm’s lenth, the always awe-inspiring Hoskyns has performed a minor miracle. These days, the bones of Waits’ story are more then well-known, but Lowside pulls off the trick of providing an entirely fresh read (Hoskyns’ flawless insight, personal links to his subject and fresh information making this essential and refreshing), and one which is as page-turningly compelling as any best-selling novel – something most biographies, no matter how successful, rarely are.

Despite the rebuttals from many in the Tom Waits-and-wife- Kathleen Brennan circle of trust (an appendix of politely-declined interview requests is as laugh-out- loud as Waits’ quick-witted quips), those with no fear of recrimination have happily spoken. Coupled with Hoskyns’ own interviews with Waits, Lowside unwinds the tangled briars of image-versus-reality that Waits has couched himself in.

The music speaks for itself but, as Hoskyns describes waiting for his hero outside the Edinburgh Playhouse last year, only to find that Waits has been sitting in the nearby tour bus all along before driving off into the night, you’re left with the feeling that Waits is more magician than musician. Get this and the interview collection Innocent When You Dream, and you’ll be as close as humanly possible to lifting the veil.

5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars

ISBN 9780571235520, 640 pages

Reviewed by Jason Draper
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