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James Hetfield’s opinion on Tom Waits
Formed by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich in the early ’80s, Metallica became not only the biggest Thrash Metal band of all time but also one of the most successful Metal groups in music history. With the release of their self-titled album in 1991, they went mainstream and became more commercial, reaching a massive new audience.
Hetfield is a big part of the band’s success, as he is not only the vocalist and guitarist but also the main songwriter. One of his secrets is his wide range of influences, which includes artists like Tom Waits.
What is James Hetfield’s opinion on Tom Waits
The singer, songwriter and actor Tom Waits has always been a big inspiration for James Hetfield. The Thrash Metal frontman talked about him in an interview for the “The Metallica Report” podcast, calling him a “master craftsman”.
“As far as Tom Waits, just being a master craftsman at lyrics and painting a picture in one sentence interests me, and it takes work. I saw Tom kind of live it. It was his vocabulary as well. He could sit and speak like that. I can’t.”
Hetfield sees Tom Waits as someone who writes poems and then adds music to it. “I’ve been really focusing on lyricists. As opposed to people who just sit down and crank out some words for a song — who write fucking poems and then put music to them.”
“I wanted to understand other people’s ideas about how to write lyrics. Nick Cave’s Murder Ballads are the coolest, and I dig all the Tom Waits stuff. I ‘ve even listened to some Leonard Cohen. I mean, I hate the fucking music. But his lyrics are very cool. You do a lot more acting’ with your singing,” he told Guitar World in 1996.
James Hetfield wishes he could be like Tom Waits
Back in 2006, Hetfield was one of the honorees of the fundraiser for the MusiCares MAP Fund. The organization helped musicians who have fallen on hard times, health-wise or financially. He played in the event which also had Tom Waits and after on, during his speech, the musician said:
“Who needs alcohol and drugs when you have Tom Waits? The emotion is amazing. And who needs drugs and alcohol or whatever when you have friends like this here tonight. I’m very honored that everyone is here and shown up for this.”
10 years later, during a symposium hosted by Lars Ulrich at the Berkeley University in California, James talked about his songwriting inspirations. He mentioned Tom Waits among the songwriters he wished he could be as good as.
“(Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) Uh… I listen to Hair Metal, that makes me angry, so… (laughs). It comes from anywhere, a line from a movie, listening to talk radio, its kind of anywhere really, reading stuff. As far as lyricists go, I mean there are some that I really admire and like to tap into.”
He continued:
“I just wish that I could be as good as Tom Waits, Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy), Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, a lot of great lyricists. It is really cool to read up on them and hear how they come up with their stuff.”
Waits was born in Pomona, California back in 1949. His debut album “Closing Time” was released in 1973 and during his career, he has released 17 studio albums. Waits has sold an estimated amount of more than 4.6 million records in the United States.
He also has a successful acting career, having been featured in movies like “Rumble Fish” (1983), “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992), “Mystery Men” (1999), “The Book of Eli” (2010) and “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (2018).
Tom was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 by Neil Young, who said in his speech that: “Tom Waits is indescribable and I’m here to describe him”.
