New to Tom Waits....

iAmNoKiller

So here's the deal...I know absolutely nothing about Tom Waits, however, I seem to hear about him quite often on this pit and have always been curious. I've tried to go to amazon.com and get a clip of some of his songs but the 15 second clips just don't do it for me. So I need to know if he's worth getting into, and if so, where do I start? Thanks for the help!

Rhinocerous Surprise

I'm not a huge follower of Pitchfork, but they said it best: it's not a question of whether Tom Waits is a great American songwriter. It's a question of whether he's the greatest.

transplant

well, you are going to get probably every CD listed as a good place to start. I would ask yourself what type of music do you prefer?

his first 2 (Closing Time, Heart of Saturday Night... and I guess you could put Nighthawks in there) are smoky bar ballads that are beyond beautiful. I have a special place for these 2 CD's. However after that? All bets are off.

If I were going to hand off 2 to somebody to get the feel it would be Heart of Saturday Night and Rain Dogs.

Honestly, I don't see how in the world somebody would not like the first 2. His remaining work is more challenging which equals greater rewards. I can see why it wouldn't appeal to people however I feel sorry for those folks

jwillmo

I would go through his stuff chronologically. That way, once he gets really weird you're already hooked. Personally, my favorite albums are Mule Variations and Rain Dogs, but I would start with early stuff like Closing Time and Small Change.

And if you want a taste of what a brilliant wordsmith he is, check out this interview with himself:

http://www.antilabelblog.com/?p=288

I will be seeing him next month in Houston and am extremely excited.

UKDave

Small Change is great... Rain Dogs.... Mule Variations... I need some of the earlier stuff myself too but those 3 won't let you down

W.C. Carter

If you're wanting to dive into Tom Waits head first, I highly suggest 'Bone Machine' and give it a few listens. It'll grow on you.

Jeremy1012

My first Waits album was Mule Variations and I now have about 85% of his stuff so it was clearly a good intro. Amazing album. Has just the right mix of his beautiful ballads (which are peerless imo) and his crazy juke-joint stomp mental songs.

Here are some of the best songs from it:

Hold On:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74xpualjuhk

Come on up to the House:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GugzLSbOQE

Then just go chronologically from the beginning I guess.

This is a song from his debut, Closing Time.

Martha:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBtlmdV_ZLY