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Tom Waits for newbies

EBowieEBowie Posts: 532
edited April 2008 in Other Music
Which album(s) would you recommend to someone who has never listened to Tom Waits? Thanks.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    'Orphans - Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards' (every Waits style represented in this one)

    'Mule Variations'

    'Closing Time' (his debut, genius in itself but it shows how far he's come)
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
  • EBowieEBowie Posts: 532
    Thank you.
  • Jeremy1012Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    Yeah, Mark's suggestions are good. My first album was Mule Variations and it is probably my favourite. It can be hard to get into his more unusual songs at first but each of his albums has some beautiful ballads. Orphans is a very good option.
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"
  • Rhinocerous SurpriseRhinocerous Surprise Posts: 4,423
    I started with Used Songs - a greatest hits of his old bar-fly, piano work. And HLF's suggestions are good. But a part of me wishes people would just dive into an artist's catalogue without overthinking it first. Whatever happened to just liking a song, and buying the album that song is on?

    Man, I feel old.:p
    Smokey Robinson constantly looks like he's trying to act natural after being accused of farting.
  • harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    Rhinocerous Surprise wrote:
    I started with Used Songs - a greatest hits of his old bar-fly, piano work. And HLF's suggestions are good. But a part of me wishes people would just dive into an artist's catalogue without overthinking it first. Whatever happened to just liking a song, and buying the album that song is on?

    Man, I feel old.:p

    Well my first album I bought of his was Closing Time because I'd heard 'Martha' so there's something in it - I had no idea it was his debut at the time. :)
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
  • Rhinocerous SurpriseRhinocerous Surprise Posts: 4,423
    harmless_little_f*** wrote:
    Well my first album I bought of his was Closing Time because I'd heard 'Martha' so there's something in it - I had no idea it was his debut at the time. :)

    Oh, it wasn't aimed at you at all, or even EBowie.:) I just keep seeing threads saying "I'm trying to get into [such and such] - where should I start?", and I always wonder if they've actually heard a song they like, or if they just think they should listen to the artist in question.

    Anyway, this isn't the point of the thread at all.:p
    Smokey Robinson constantly looks like he's trying to act natural after being accused of farting.
  • Jeremy1012Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    harmless_little_f*** wrote:
    Well my first album I bought of his was Closing Time because I'd heard 'Martha' so there's something in it - I had no idea it was his debut at the time. :)
    Oh Martha... what an absurdly beautiful song.
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"
  • harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    Jeremy1012 wrote:
    Oh Martha... what an absurdly beautiful song.

    Nod.
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
  • onejourneyonejourney Posts: 285
    Start from the beginning. If you have no idea about his music....it is fun to see how he evolves. You'll eventually get them all anyway...;)
    "...just be glad you have the music and cherish it for yourself..." -stateoflove79
  • elmerelmer Posts: 1,683
    harmless_little_f*** wrote:
    'Closing Time' (his debut, genius in itself but it shows how far he's come)
    Rain Dogs
    Swordfishtrombones
    Heart of a Saturday Night(maybe not one of his most thoroughly satisfying albums but has some beautiful songs)
  • Jeremy1012Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    elmer wrote:
    Rain Dogs
    Swordfishtrombones
    Heart of a Saturday Night(maybe not one of his most thoroughly satisfying albums but has some beautiful songs)
    I would say that Heart of a Saturday Night IS thoroughly satisfying. Still has the more mellow voice of Closing Time but is a more developed album. s'all good :)
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"
  • Rhinocerous SurpriseRhinocerous Surprise Posts: 4,423
    Jeremy1012 wrote:
    I would say that Heart of a Saturday Night IS thoroughly satisfying. Still has the more mellow voice of Closing Time but is a more developed album. s'all good :)

    Shiver Me Timbers is absolutely beautiful.:)
    Smokey Robinson constantly looks like he's trying to act natural after being accused of farting.
  • elmerelmer Posts: 1,683
    Jeremy1012 wrote:
    I would say that Heart of a Saturday Night IS thoroughly satisfying. Still has the more mellow voice of Closing Time but is a more developed album. s'all good :)
    San Diego Serenade, ahhh, brought me to tears the first time I heard it. As a whole, probably prefer the other three I mentioned though.

    Blue Valentine I like too.
  • LONGRDLONGRD Posts: 6,036
    What album is I Don't Want to Grow Up from? I searched his wiki page's album infos and couldn't find it anywhere.
    PJ- 04/29/2003.06/24,25,27,28,30/2008.10/27,28,30,31/2009
    EV- 08/09,10/2008.06/08,09/2009
  • onejourneyonejourney Posts: 285
    LongRd. wrote:
    What album is I Don't Want to Grow Up from? I searched his wiki page's album infos and couldn't find it anywhere.

    Its on 'Bone Machine' ...Killer album.
    "...just be glad you have the music and cherish it for yourself..." -stateoflove79
  • muppetmuppet Posts: 980
    I don't know how but I stumbled on "Goin Out West" by Tom Waits on Youtube. I've only really heard "Way Down In A Hole" by him, cos it was the theme tune for The Wire.

    Anyway, I really love these two songs. Looks like I've got a lot of new music to discover.
  • Jeremy1012Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    muppet wrote:
    I don't know how but I stumbled on "Goin Out West" by Tom Waits on Youtube. I've only really heard "Way Down In A Hole" by him, cos it was the theme tune for The Wire.

    Anyway, I really love these two songs. Looks like I've got a lot of new music to discover.
    Good for you :) there's a lot to discover and it's almost all brilliant. He's also the only songwriter of his generation that I can think of who is actually getting better. His work of the last 15 years beats anything he did in the 70s for me.
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"
  • whulmefwhulmef Posts: 176
    Of his recent stuff, Mule Variations is the easiest and maybe the best. It has "picture in a frame" on it, the song that Eddie has been covering a lot.
  • Lukin66Lukin66 Posts: 3,063
    mule variations is pretty good.
    deep, deep blue of the morning
    gets to me every time
  • ManimalManimal Posts: 152
    elmer wrote:
    Rain Dogs
    Swordfishtrombones
    Heart of a Saturday Night(maybe not one of his most thoroughly satisfying albums but has some beautiful songs)

    Swordfishtrombone and Rain Dogs are very similair, I would start off with Swordfish (you may not like this style) and definately Closing Time.
    DVD: http://db.etree.org/Manimal
    Posters: www.expressobeans.com/trader.php?id=Manimal&view=4
  • Cropduster84Cropduster84 Posts: 1,283
    Mule Variations is my favourite Tom Waits and is a great place to start.....


    And yeah, as Harmless said, Orphans covers all his style.....



    Alice is another personal favourite.....
    'The more I studied religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself.' - Sir Richard Francis Burton
  • rival.rival. Chicago Posts: 7,775
    i recently got into tom waits myself. the first and only album i have of his is rain dogs, and i think it's incredible!

    what should my next purchase be????
  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    singularity wrote:
    i recently got into tom waits myself. the first and only album i have of his is rain dogs, and i think it's incredible!

    what should my next purchase be????
    Swordfishtrombones and then Frank's Wild Years.
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