Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Mojo | |
| Robert Christgau | (B) link |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Sputnikmusic | |
The album only charted on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at 164. This was the highest position he had ever held at the time. His next album, Small Change, would be his highest charting with Asylum Records, who dropped him in 1981 for failing to move beyond cult status. It is currently certified Silver by the BPI.
The album has been generally well received by critics, and is considered by some to be the best album of his early career. Reviewer Peter Watts wrote "although it could be dismissed as an entertaining conceit, the fake nightclub atmosphere of Nighthawks... possibly captures the appeal of early Waits even better than the two impressive albums the preceded it." Allmusic gave it 3 and an half stars, saying "You could call it overdone, but then, this kind of material made its impact through an accumulation of miscellaneous detail, and who's to say how much is too much?", and positively noting Waits' addition of comedy and acting into the set. On November 18, 2010, Rhapsody named it the album of the day, saying that "Waits' meticulous persona is remarkable."
Read more about this topic: Nighthawks At The Diner
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“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
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