"It's a live album, but only sort of. Waits and producer Bones Howe assembled a small audience of friends at the Record Plant in L.A., rolled out a piano and a microphone, and let Waits bend their ears for a few hours ... This live/not live album is a pivotal release for Waits, one that demonstrates the depth of his world and the extent of his dedication to evoking it in fine, eccentric clarity".