Tom Waits Releases Live Recordings of “Fish and Bird” and “All the World Is Green” Ahead of 2002 LP Reissues

August 8, 2022
Tom Waits Releases Live Recordings of “Fish and Bird” and “All the World Is Green” Ahead of 2002 LP Reissues

Photo via Tom Waits’ Facebook

Tom Waits has released two live recordings off two 2002 LPs, Blood Money and Alice, in celebration of their 20th anniversaries and shared that both albums will be reissued and released on Oct. 7. Two decades ago, in a similar fashion, Waits released both albums in conjunction on May 7, 2002.

The track Waits shared off Blood Money is a flamenco-styled rendition of “All the World Is Green,” which was recorded in Milan, Italy, in 2008 as part of Waits’ Glitter & Doom Tour. The cut off Alice comes in the form of a 2004 London performance of “Fish and Bird.”

Both LPs came to fruition due to a collaboration between Waits, playwright Robert Wilson and co-writer Kathleen Brennan who worked together on Waits’ iconic album The Black Rider. Blood Money was the basis of Wilson’s adaption of Georg Büchner’s play Woyzeck, while Alice is Waits’ addition to Wilson’s alternative take on Alice in Wonderland.

Blood Money is flesh and bone, earthbound,” Waits had said of the album in a statement. “The songs are rooted in reality: jealousy, rage, the human meat wheel…They are more carnal. Kathleen and I are well suited to this material. She is hilarious, blasphemous, and ominous. I like a beautiful song that tells you terrible things.”

The reissues of Blood Money and Alice are currently available for preorder on exclusive translucent blue and red vinyl now here.

Listen to the live versions of “All the World Is Green” and “Fish and Bird” below.