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Married couple\/songwriting royalty Tom Waits<\/a> and Kathleen Brennan<\/a> are the subject of a new compilation\/tribute album called Where The Willow And The Dogwood Grow<\/em>. The 19-track LP is set for release on May 29th through Ace Records.<\/p>\n The premise of the release is simple: Ace teamed up with Waits and Brennan to assemble 19 covers (ordered chronogically) featuring a who\u2019s who of talent. In addition to the actual covers, the CD contains extensive album credits alongside track-by-track commentary from Waits and Brennan.<\/p>\n And oh wait a roster has been assembled, with contributions from Bruce Springsteen (\u201cJersey Girl,\u201d live from a 1981 show in Newark); Willie Nelson (\u201cPicture In A Frame\u201d); Bob Seger (\u201c16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six\u201d); Johnny Cash (\u201cDown There By The Train\u201d); Marianne Faithfull (\u201cStrange Weather\u201d); The Ramones (\u201cI Don\u2019 Want To Grow Up\u201d); and Norah Jones (\u201cThe Long Way Home\u201d), among others.<\/p>\n Related Video<\/p>\n \u201cWith his long-time creative partner and wife Kathleen Brennan, [Waits] has dismantled and reassembled the idea of song itself, crafting works that exist as both raw expression and high art,\u201d reads a press release. \u201cThis collection honors not only the extraordinary versatility of Waits and Brennan\u2019s songwriting, but the importance of an artist who continues to haunt and inspire from the edges inward.\u201d<\/p>\n As the story goes, the couple met in 1978 on the set of Paradise Alley<\/em> (where Waits made his acting debut and Brennan served as a scriptwriter). While they were married a couple years later, they didn\u2019t begin collaborating together until the mid-80s, ushering in Waits\u2019 more \u201cexperimental\u201d efforts with 1985\u2019s Swordfishtrombones<\/em> and 1987\u2019s Franks Wild Years<\/em>. They\u2019ve also worked on two musicals, The Black Rider<\/em> (1989) and Woyzeck<\/em> (2000).<\/p>\n \u201cShe rescued me,\u201d Waits told The Guardian<\/em><\/a> back in 2009. \u201cMaybe I rescued her too, that\u2019s often how it works. Upshot is that we both got into the same leaky boat. Everybody knows she\u2019s the brains behind Pa, as Dylan might have said. I\u2019m just the figurehead. She\u2019s the one who\u2019s steering the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n Pre-orders for Where The Willow And The Dogwood Grow<\/em> are available here<\/a>. Below, check out Springsteen\u2019s cover of \u201cJersey Girl.\u201d<\/p>\n And speaking of star-studded cover albums involving Waits, he also contributed to 20th Century Paddy \u2013 The Songs of Shane MacGowan<\/em><\/a>. That record drops on November 13th.<\/p>\n