i caught tom waits on PBS' Austin City Limits last night and really enjoyed the show and Waits' original sound. I'm not too familiar with his work, can anyone recommend a good album to start with?
If you like Alice and BloodMoney then make the leap over to Bone Machine...go for the gristle!! Get into the real marbled meat of Waits. May be too chewy for beginners, but in a similar vein as the two new ones. Don't get me wrong, Swordfishtrombone is one of my favorites, just not in the same vein as Alice and Blood Money. Also try Mule Variations!
I must confess that a few years ago I felt as Nrchy seems to feel. However, this year my brother made me listen to Alice, and I cannot believe how good it is! Needless to say, I am now a believer... and I now own both Alice and Blood Money. Now I'm trying to figure out where to go next... should Swordfishtrombone be next? Anyway, great thread on an amazing artist!
sreno, from top to bottom, is that the order you would recommend tom waits to a newbie?! you dove hard core into this guy pretty quickly! i would suggest easing someone in with Blue valentine or heart of a sat night. and i agree, the early years stuff is great, raw and the sign of a budding genius. i would also put swordfishtrombone before mule variations and bone machine. good lord man, we dont want to scare people away from our guy.
anyone who 'gets' waits starting with the recordings you did has my respect...and fear.
I recently discovered Tom, I bought Alice then Blood money then I bought Beautiful Maladies which projected me into his early stuff.I would not recomend Black Rider. Try : Mule Variations Bone Machine Swordfish Trombone Blue Valentine The heart of Saturday Night ( listening to this right now) closing time The Early Years Vol 1&2(demo recording in 71') Awsome!!!!!!!!! some never released songs and raw versions of some of his best! Tom is great! don't know why it took other artists to redo his work to get radio play (Eagles , Rod Stewart I think)Anyway he is a no brainer if your looking for some new music to get into .Lots there to enjoy, 30+ albums.
thanks for the responses everyone - definitely some good places to start...
for those who are interested, i've posted a link to the austin city limits homepage that provides info on tom waits' performance...apparently, it was from 1979
Been a big fan of TW since the late 70's. Guess I'm the opposite end of the spectrum from Nrchy. Indeed he is not for everyone, but who is then? I love most of his work. Actually the more accessible ones folks have reccomended here are probably my least favorite, though I'd agree that they are indeed more accessible to average tastes than his later work. I didn't see the Austin City Limits show but wish I had. I'd imagine that if it was a recent show he would likely be playing plenty of stuff from his two newest releases, "Blood Money" and "Alice", both of which are great and neither falling into the kind same category of 'accessible' that folks are recommending above. If it is the case that he was playing mostly tunes from recent works, you might be dissappointed if you go out and get all his early stuff. My favorite albums are those when he began to collaborate with his wife Kathleen Brennan. 'Swordfishtrombone', 'Raindogs' and 'Bone Machine' are all wonderful, imaginative and richly textured albums. Swordfishtrombone is a great album to enjoy soundstage on (wide and deep and full of nuance). He continues to collaborate with his wife right up to the most recent albums which are also great. He's also a pretty darn good actor, though the parts he plays he mostly seems to be playing himself (Rumblefish, At Play in the Fields of the Lord, Mystery Train, Down by Law, Ironweed and a pretty over the top performance in a small roll in the 1992 version of Dracula ...among several other films). If you want to see him more as his hilarious, street-wise self try to find the short film by John Lurie (of The Lounge Lizards) called "Fishing with John" in which he documents his fishing trips with some of his friends, among them Tom Waits. He also did a very funny concert video titled "Big Time" which is out of print as far as I know, but worth looking for. He puts on a great show. I wish I could have seen him perform live but it is a pretty rare occurance. A few years ago when he came back to Seattle and performed here at The Moore it was the first time in eight years he'd returned. The tickets sold out in under ten minutes which was some kind of record as I recall hearing on the news.
I guess a good tact would be to get one of the many compilation albums that a few folks have recommended. These collections only cover various periods of his career. There are six different compilation albums I know of and each is a different mix. They are:
Anthology Asylum Years The Early Years The Early Years Volume 2 Beautiful Maladies Used Songs
I'd agree with Abysmillard that Beautiful Maladies and Used Songs would be an excellent place to start and are my favorites among the compilations.
His "official(?)" website may tell you more if you want to check it out here
I confirm that Blue Valentine is a great accessible recording to listen to, but I find that Frank's Wild Years is wonderfully done project, it was a performance piece in the chicago area, and although there may be many songs that are hard to listen to at least half the disc is easily listenable.
Also closing time is a good disc to listen to with one light on, at a light glow, while indulging on a glass of wine, or two.
"Heart of Saturday Night" is probably the most accessible album, as Pehare has stated above, though it might not be the most typical. The live, "Nighthawks at the Diner" is my favorite for long car trips.
"Used Songs," "Beautiful Maladies," or another of the composite albums might be a good place to start, as you'll get a feeling for the spectrum of Waits' work.
Also fairly accessible are "Blue Valentine," "Small Change,"and "Closing Time."
If you like his harder-edged stuff, "Swordfishtrombones," "Mule Variations," or "Rain Dogs" are a good listen. If you want to hear him go over the top, try "Bone Machine," or "The Black Rider."
His two newer albums, "Alice," and "Blood Money," are also a middling easy listen. There are others as well that i haven't mentioned.
My personal favorites: "Small Change," "Mule Variations," "Rain Dogs," and "The Black Rider," in no particular order (and subject to change at the drop of a stylus).
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