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Can any Tom Waits fans help me?

harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
edited May 2006 in Other Music
I've got seriously into his music in the last few days, and I'm itching to get hold of an album or two to get started. I've heard an overview of his sound, and wonder which is best: I don't think his totally left-field stuff (Real Gone) is the best place, though I've no doubt that will grow on me. I like his show tune/jazz/spoken word stuff a lot, yet I also like a bit of 'alternative' darkness thrown in. I saw a video of his on youtube where he was singing with a double bass and a saxophone, and then pulled out a huge megaphone and growled in it. Genius.

Something between (what I see as) the two extremes of Closing Time (which I love) and Real Gone.

Can anyone help me out?
'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
Post edited by Unknown User on

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    cubbieblue82cubbieblue82 Posts: 292
    Alice has a pretty good mixture of both wierd stuff, and slower ballads. Otherwise, I really like Heart Attack and Vine the most of his older stuff.
    Obama/Biden '08!!!
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    moemoe6434moemoe6434 Posts: 455
    use the search there is a lot out there, like this one that is recent:

    http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=170843&highlight=tom+waits
    "If she don't love me no more, i know her sister will" Jimi Hendrix
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    StoneG82StoneG82 Posts: 806
    Mule Variations.

    It has a nice mix of wierd (What's He Building in There?) and ballads. (Hold On, Take It With Me When I Go, Georgia Lee)

    that's your best bet. Alice is also incredible, but it's mostly slow piano tunes.
    "What’s Orphans? I don’t know. Orphans is a dead end kid driving a coffin with big tires across the Ohio River wearing welding goggles and a wife beater with a lit firecracker in his ear." - Tom Waits
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    tachepiranhatachepiranha Posts: 399
    You can also buy Frank Wild Years, that's a fucking masterpiece.

    I would't worry about which one to buy right now, eventually you are going to buy them all.
    I feel very close to you all now; so close I could almost... loan you money. Really. it goes that deep.
    -Tom Waits-

    Everybody should believe in something...I believe i'll have another drink - anonymous -

    Ah that's just drunk talk, sweet beautiful drunk talk.
    -Barney Gumble-
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    miller8966miller8966 Posts: 1,450
    Tom Waitts is God!

    Rain Dogs and Sword Fish Trombones are amazing...you must buy them..you must
    America...the greatest Country in the world.
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    StoneG82StoneG82 Posts: 806
    tachepiranha wrote:
    You can also buy Frank Wild Years, that's a fucking masterpiece.

    I would't worry about which one to buy right now, eventually you are going to buy them all.

    Frank's Wild Years is my favorite TW album.

    you couldn't be more right about buying all of them. ALL of my money has gone to Tom Waits in the last three months. It's amazing.

    I can't recall the last time I bought a cd that wasn't Tom Waits.
    "What’s Orphans? I don’t know. Orphans is a dead end kid driving a coffin with big tires across the Ohio River wearing welding goggles and a wife beater with a lit firecracker in his ear." - Tom Waits
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    Clifwith1fClifwith1f Posts: 143
    StoneG82 wrote:
    Mule Variations.

    It has a nice mix of wierd (What's He Building in There?) and ballads. (Hold On, Take It With Me When I Go, Georgia Lee)

    that's your best bet. Alice is also incredible, but it's mostly slow piano tunes.

    I second this. Mule Variations is a great first choice. Also check out his early stuff like The Heart of Saturday Night.
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    scratched vinylscratched vinyl Posts: 742
    I personally think Bone Machine is his most accessible, even more so than Mule Variations, still very creative and "out there", but amazing song writing to boot. You've probaby heard "I don't wanna grow up" which was on that album. It's the album that got me into him, and remains the one that I revisit the most of his semi older stuff.
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    transplanttransplant Posts: 1,088
    I have to vote Rain Dogs. Between Singapore and Downtown Train you get a wide variety of music on here. Plus Keith Richards plays on it.
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    merkinballmerkinball Posts: 2,262
    scratched vinyl wrote:
    I personally think Bone Machine is his most accessible, even more so than Mule Variations, still very creative and "out there", but amazing song writing to boot. You've probaby heard "I don't wanna grow up" which was on that album. It's the album that got me into him, and remains the one that I revisit the most of his semi older stuff.

    There is a really cool cover of 'I Don't Wanna Grow Up' on a cd by Petra Haden & Bill Frisell called 'The Quiet Room'.

    Oh, and get Mule Variations or Rain Dogs next. Just picked up Bone Machine myself, like what I've heard so far.
    "You're no help," he told the lime. This was unfair. It was only a lime; there was nothing special about it at all. It was doing the best it could.

    http://www.last.fm/user/merkinball/
    spotify:user:merkinball
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    StoneG82StoneG82 Posts: 806
    transplant wrote:
    I have to vote Rain Dogs. Between Singapore and Downtown Train you get a wide variety of music on here. Plus Keith Richards plays on it.

    can't go wrong with anything from that period.....Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, Frank's Wild Years....all classic records that are essential for any Tom Waits fan.
    "What’s Orphans? I don’t know. Orphans is a dead end kid driving a coffin with big tires across the Ohio River wearing welding goggles and a wife beater with a lit firecracker in his ear." - Tom Waits
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    merkinballmerkinball Posts: 2,262
    Just found these on youtube from his VH1 Storytellers episode (never knew Tom did this show)

    Downtown Train:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO1DvPsfbxQ&search=tom%20waits%20vh1%20storytellers

    House Where Nobody Lives:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFMg7I8Wao0&search=tom%20waits%20vh1%20storytellers
    "You're no help," he told the lime. This was unfair. It was only a lime; there was nothing special about it at all. It was doing the best it could.

    http://www.last.fm/user/merkinball/
    spotify:user:merkinball
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    spnoonespnoone Posts: 626
    i start everyone with nighthawks at the diner. not that its my favorite, but its the most likely to make the prospective fan want more. then i'll switch it up and go with latter day album like bone machine, mule variations or swordfishtrombones. then back to small change and the heart of saturday night or blue valentine.

    frank's wild years, heartattack and vine, the black rider and real gone i save for later cause those take some getting used to.

    foreign affair, night on earth, one from the heart and those early years atrocities i never recommend to anyone. they're subpar.

    also, blood money is better than alice. and rain dogs is great but far from his greatest.

    did i forget anything?
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    esther1977esther1977 Posts: 540
    I would go for Rain dogs and The heart of saturdaynight. But any other TW album is great, go and find out for yourselves. Or you just might go out and get all the albums.
    When all your dreams turn to dust, vacuum
    When all else fails, read the instruction
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    ArabesqueArabesque Posts: 34
    I agree with esther...The Heart of Saturday Night and Rain Dogs are good places to start. My personal favorite is probably Bone Machine. "Jesus gonna be here...gonna be here soon...."
    "This is another sing-a-long." - Eddie Vedder before singing Lukin live at Madison Square Garden.
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    transplanttransplant Posts: 1,088
    spnoone wrote:
    i start everyone with nighthawks at the diner. not that its my favorite, but its the most likely to make the prospective fan want more. then i'll switch it up and go with latter day album like bone machine, mule variations or swordfishtrombones. then back to small change and the heart of saturday night or blue valentine.

    frank's wild years, heartattack and vine, the black rider and real gone i save for later cause those take some getting used to.

    foreign affair, night on earth, one from the heart and those early years atrocities i never recommend to anyone. they're subpar.

    also, blood money is better than alice. and rain dogs is great but far from his greatest.

    did i forget anything?
    your post is the reason why Waits kicks ass. I would never start someone out with Nighthawks (in fact I recommend it last), his first 2 are where I start everybody and I think Rain Dogs is his best overall effort. Pretty cool. It kinda goes to show that there aren't many wrong answers to this question. I am sure that everyone posting here could have one grand 'ol time picking out Waits tunes for hours with nobody disagreeing on the choices made. good stuff.
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    StoneG82StoneG82 Posts: 806
    Small Change is a heartbreaking record. It's so sad. I never got what "Tom Traubert's Blues" was about until I looked up the term "waltzing matilda" and found out it was like to bum around with nothing but the stuff in your backpack. Tom Waits really writes some weepy stuff.

    "I've got a bad liver and a broken heart...."

    "That Feel" from Bone Machine is another incredible Tom Waits song I've been really into lately. I can't for the life of me figure out what he's referring to with the lyrics though. Anyone have any interpretations?

    Well there's one thing you can't lose
    It's that feel
    Your pants, your shirt, your shoes
    But not that feel
    You can throw it out in the rain
    You can whip it like a dog
    You can chop it down like an old dead tree
    You can always see it
    When you're coming into town
    Once you hang it on the wall
    You can never take it down

    But there's one thing you can't lose
    And it's that feel
    You can pawn your watch and chain
    But not that feel
    It always comes and finds you
    It will always hear you cry
    I cross my wooden leg
    And I swear on my glass eye
    It will never leave you high and dry
    Never leave you loose
    It's harder to get rid of than tattoos

    But there's one thing you can't do
    Is lose that feel
    You can throw it off a bridge
    You can lose it in the fire
    You can leave it at the altar
    But it will make you out a liar
    You can fall down in the street
    You can leave it in the lurch
    Well you say that it's gospel
    But I know that it's only church

    And there's one thing you can't lose
    And it's that feel
    It's that feel

    speaking of that feel....I recently uncovered a version of Eddie singing it. He seems to be plastered and screws up the lyrics quite a bit. The band misses a lot of beats too. I wish there was a quality version of Eddie singing a Tom Waits song. That would make my day.
    "What’s Orphans? I don’t know. Orphans is a dead end kid driving a coffin with big tires across the Ohio River wearing welding goggles and a wife beater with a lit firecracker in his ear." - Tom Waits
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    harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    I just cant get over the song 'Martha.' It's on repeat over and over again.
    '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
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    spnoonespnoone Posts: 626
    parachutes reminds me of martha.
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    StoneG82StoneG82 Posts: 806
    I love "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You"

    such a beautiful song.

    I'm glad you are enjoying your first Waits purchase. I started out with Bone Machine. That album took a while for me to get used to....now it's one of my favorites. Truly a life changing record.
    "What’s Orphans? I don’t know. Orphans is a dead end kid driving a coffin with big tires across the Ohio River wearing welding goggles and a wife beater with a lit firecracker in his ear." - Tom Waits
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    StoneG82StoneG82 Posts: 806
    I just got the live album "Big Time"

    if any of you waits fans dont have this yet, run out and grab it right now. It's incredible. the "Cold Cold Ground" on there is one of the most moving pieces of music I've ever heard.

    "Falling Down" is also incredible.

    I really wish the video was still in print. If anyone knows where to find one at a decent price, let me know.
    "What’s Orphans? I don’t know. Orphans is a dead end kid driving a coffin with big tires across the Ohio River wearing welding goggles and a wife beater with a lit firecracker in his ear." - Tom Waits
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    spnoonespnoone Posts: 626
    StoneG82 wrote:
    I just got the live album "Big Time"

    if any of you waits fans dont have this yet, run out and grab it right now. It's incredible. the "Cold Cold Ground" on there is one of the most moving pieces of music I've ever heard.

    "Falling Down" is also incredible.

    I really wish the video was still in print. If anyone knows where to find one at a decent price, let me know.
    ifc shows it every so often. the movie is different than the album. pretty sure he still hasn't released it on dvd.

    a lot of the frank's wild years material really comes to life on big time. cold cold ground, telephone call from istanbul and especially train song. train song and falling down from the album are both sung in my favorite of his voices. i can't get enough of that sound. that boom. its like he's got the lungs of god.
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    StoneG82StoneG82 Posts: 806
    spnoone wrote:
    ifc shows it every so often. the movie is different than the album. pretty sure he still hasn't released it on dvd.

    a lot of the frank's wild years material really comes to life on big time. cold cold ground, telephone call from istanbul and especially train song. train song and falling down from the album are both sung in my favorite of his voices. i can't get enough of that sound. that boom. its like he's got the lungs of god.

    yeah i love that voice too....like "Anywhere I lay my Head"

    he growls on that song. it's beautiful.
    "What’s Orphans? I don’t know. Orphans is a dead end kid driving a coffin with big tires across the Ohio River wearing welding goggles and a wife beater with a lit firecracker in his ear." - Tom Waits
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