Sam Phillips rules. But don’t listen to me. Listen to Tom Waits.

Tom Waits was asked about his favorite records of all time.

And guess what he picked…

Martinis & Bikinis:

“Peculiar, innovative, soulful, and reasonably undiscovered, with a deeply expressive voice and challenging and unusual topics for songs. Kurt Weill with a revolver. Her cracked vocals and surreal lyrics make for an odd and familiar ride. She and producer T- Bone Burnett make her face yellow and her hair red, and give her a third eye, and together they make tough records. She’s Dusty Springfield via Marianne Faithfull with a dash of Jackie De Shannon, but very much her own woman.”

Man, he can throw off a better description of Sam than I’ve been able to concoct in all my twenty years of writing about her…