Thought this might be a bit of fun given the recent Stewart/Faces discussion... Stewart's cover of "Downtown Train" seems to be almost universally despised, but why?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHqB3v5rNCc[/youtube]

What was a tormented, pained, desperate song thanks to Waits' jagged production and smokey delivery became a melodramatic, houswife-pandering bit of radio-friendly shlock, that's why.

Although (it goes without saying that) Rod's version of this song doesn't hold a candle to the original, I don't find this song nearly as offensive as Stewart's Songbook Standards Series.

I'll take this song and the Standards series any day over "Tonight's The Night". That song always creeped me out.

Patty Smyth does a credible job on this song on her cd "Never Enough."

I don't think either version rocks as hard as Toto's "Africa".

I dislike that it was the lone new track on a compilation.

"All of the above".

I dislike it for a couple of different reasons: I don't think it does the original Waits version justice. And I disliked the fact that Rod based his version on Bob Seger's (after he heard Seger's demo, which is why Seger's version was never released).

Whew-that was a good one! Keep 'em coming!

On another note, I don't hate Rod's version at all, but Tom Waits is a genius and that song just can't be covered properly.
Rod's version of Van Morrison's "Have I Told You Lately" was wretched however and I despise it.

Funny thing about this song: I'm pretty sure Tom Waits sings the lyrics out of order on the original (the last couple lines of each verse make better sense if switched) and everyone who covers it repeats the mistake. Except me. But I only cover it when I'm singing my kid to sleep.

Its lyrics aren't and deep and meaningful as "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"

I love the song and definitely respect the original, but am not the biggest fan of Waits' voice. So I like Rod's and Patty's -- not to mention Mary Chapin Carpenter's version from "Hometown Girl" -- all better than Tom's. My favorite, though, is probably the 1992 acoustic version by Everything But the Girl. Tracey Thorn's voice is just amazing.

I'm sure Waits never complained. As Glen Frey has said, when The Eagles covered "Ol '55" on "On the Border", Waits despised it. Until he got the royalty check in the mail!...

Jeff