Tom Waits

[Annabelle]

thsus far i've listened to alice, mule variations, & swordfishtrombones. i've liked sft the least. i think rain dogs & sft sorta ruined my objectionable listening of his 90-00 output; which i seem to like more. though, sft isn't exactly something i hated. you know?

[Annabelle]

thsus far i've listened to alice, mule variations, & swordfishtrombones. i've liked sft the least. i think rain dogs & sft sorta ruined my objectionable listening of his 90-00 output; which i seem to like more. though, sft isn't exactly something i hated. you know?

[The Czech Republic]

40-minute double post?

[Annabelle]

whats it to you

[BUTT]

I liked the name "che v" much better.

[Annabelle]

I liked the name "che v" much better.

 

have i suddenly become tom waits? why is the subject matter shifting to my user name?

[The Czech Republic]

is "Innocent When You Dream" too long? come on back me up on this one

[5_moves_of_doom]

I got The Black Rider about a week ago and do not understand the hate for that album at all. In my opinion it's just as good as anything else the man has ever done. Absolutely twisted and brilliant.

 

I own:

Closing Time

The Heart of Saturday Night

Swordfishtrombones

Rain Dogs

Franks Wild Years

Bone Machine

The Black Rider

Mule Variations

Alice

Blood Money

Real Gone

 

That's essentially all of the Islands stuff and his first two albums. I really, really want the third and fourth albums, as well as One From the Heart.

 

My top seven (seven because that's where the newly-purchased The Black Rider comes in.)

1.) Swordfishtrombones

2.) Real Gone

3.) Rain Dogs

4.) Bone Machine

5.) Alice

6.) Franks Wild Years

7.) The Black Rider

 

I really cannot see how both Alice and The Black Rider are so criminally underrated.

 

EDIT: I wouldn't say "Innocent When You Dream" is too long, but for someone who doesn't like the song, it obviously could be. There are a few Waits songs that do run out of ideas and then go on for an extra minute, but Tom's enigmatic and downright badass charisma essentially nullifies this problem, as far as I'm concerned.

[5_moves_of_doom]

Oh, and does anybody here know if his live album -- The Big Time -- is any good?

[Cheex Incarnate]

I just picked up Early Years Vol. 1 and 2. Great stuff and really cool versions of "Old' 55", "Ice Cream Man", "Please Call Me, Baby", and others. Definately pick it up, I can see this appealing to a more modern, folk fan too.

 

 

-Cheex

[Narcoleptic Jumper]

Oh, and does anybody here know if his live album -- The Big Time -- is any good?

 

Well, I've seen the film Tom Waits' BIG TIME and it's truly one of the most bizarre, fucked up, amazing live performances I've ever seen. It's not really a traditional live thing, it's a stage play about 3 different characters all played by Waits and they just play different Waits songs. It's so great. I didn't even know it was an album, I don't see the point if you can't watch the guy performing.

[Annabelle]

i think i like alice the most of his most recent work. its a very sobering album. its a one on one date i don't think i could share with anyone else.

[PLAGIARISM!]

I've felt the same about Alice. Now how about that date?

[Ravenbomb]

at what point did his voice get so gravely? Cause I've got a couple songs from Closing Time and he sounds a lot different

[The Czech Republic]

He sounds pretty gravelly even on Nighthawks, but it's a different kind of rough. The 80s stuff is a guy doing an impression of Captain Beefheart doing an impression of Howlin' Wolf.

[Giuseppe Zangara]

at what point did his voice get so gravely? Cause I've got a couple songs from Closing Time and he sounds a lot different

He sounded rougher on The Heart of Saturday Night than he did on Closing Time, but it was nothing compared to the leap from nasally crooner to Cookie Monster from THOSN to Nighthawks at the Diner. That it's so obv. an affection on NATD is a big part why that one's always been my least favorite Waits (alongside The Black Rider, though I dislike that one for different reasons).