Beginners Guide : How To Buy Tom Waits

Time-Span

First LP : Closing Time, 1973

Last LP : Orphans, 2006

Classic Line-Up

Tom Waits - Vocals, Piano, Guitar

Sound And Vision

From apparently earnest beginnings as a fairly typical singer/songwriter at the dawn of the Seventies, Tom Waits has gone onto astonish, delight and alarm music lovers for more than three decades now. “Um bow, bow, bow BOW!” screamed, yelled as sounding as if it’s an old 78rpm disc scraped across sandpaper. Guitar, Piano and dustbin lids. A clattering of noise obscuring the depth underneath and is there a single female Tom Waits fan on the planet? I hope so, although I’ve personally never come across one. Having said that, the legendarily distinctive vocal performances of Mr Waits can be off-putting for nearly everyone. Out-there sounds? Mix a little Howlin’ Wolf with a little Chuck Berry and a little Leadbelly. Add in a surrealist’s viewpoint from the bottom of a glass and you have something approximating Tom Waits. The first couple of albums were ‘standard’ singer/songwriter fare, ‘Small Change’ developed this with the introduction of a down and out boozer persona trawling jazzy bars in seedy streets.

Come the Eighties, ‘Swordfishtrombones’ saw another reinvention, a total contrast from previous Tom Waits material. This was developed for the likes of ‘Rain Dogs’ and reached new heights for the alarmingly distraught and percussive ‘Black Rider’ opera. Diversions occurred along the way, ‘Alice’ was a one-off return to days of yore, an entire album of heartbreaking bar-room bawlers. This takies us nicely upto the modern era with a 3cd set of ‘Orphans’ presenting us with an idea of everything Tom has ever done. Image? Well, the mans face gets craggier every year, more and more resembles a cliff-edge. The sound darkens and lightens and occupies absolutely its own world.

A Common Misconception

That he's not a good singer. He is in fact a tremendous singer. His voice is an acquired taste for sure, but that doesn't mean he can't sing! His voice sounds like Bob Dylan with a sore throat shouting through a megaphone. That still doesn't mean he isn't a masterful interpreter of song. The ballads especially prove very affecting when sent through the Waits vocal chords.

How To Buy

Selecting only three Tom Waits albums for a beginner to buy? It’s almost impossible and practically every fan would pick something slightly different. So, I’ve plumped approximately for something from every different era beginning with ‘Small Change’. Tom informs us he “don’t have a drinking problem…cept when I don’t have a drink” and the sound of the piano is soaked in whiskey and gin and the vocal betrays smoky bars and a thousand cigarettes. ‘Small Change’ is the album the full force of Tom’s voice vocally became apparent. Try imitating his performances here. No, go on, give it a try! You’ll find you’re vocal chords will shred themselves in protest after about 50 seconds. It’s fun though, I do it all the time. Ah, moving forwards, then! ‘Downtown Train’ from ‘Rain Dogs’ became a world-wide hit. When Rod Stewart performed a cover version, that is. In truth, on an album that overall was as out-there as any the man had produced, the likes of ‘Downtown Train’ and some of the ballads bordered on pop/rock and hinted that Tom would takes things easier and sell records. At the same time, the demented ‘Singapore’ was a Tom reaching new heights of vocal and musical insanity. I mean that in a good way, naturally. A very rounded album is ‘Rain Dogs’ and if there is a consensus at all amongst the wait-heads, it’s surely going to go to ‘Rain Dogs’. However….. my personal pick is ‘Alice’. I’m not going to recommend it though, because ‘Orphans’, a newly recorded set of forgotten gems and never before heard material is such a gem of an album and touches upon practically every style the man has ever grappled with. 3 differently themed CD’s, every fan of Tom should find something to like. Thus, I’d go as far as to say newcomers should just delve in here first, give yourself a couple of months and immerse yourself in the funny and scary world of Tom Waits. An excerpt from ‘Ophans’? Imagine an entire roomful of drunken Tom Waits personas sing along to Leadbelly’s ‘Goodnight Irene’ and causing neighbours to complain. The past and present of Tom Waits collide across 3CDs, nearly all of them previously unheard tunes, compositions or new recordings of previously rare recordings. It’s a beautiful package with a massive illustrated booklet and a great document of a real musical treasure. So there!

Download Tom Waits

A selection of Tom Waits songs to download from the web, also forming a nifty 51 minute CD compilation.

1) Alice
2) The Black Rider
3) Shore Leave
4) Shiver Me Timbers
5) God's Away On Business
6) I Dont Want To Grow Up
7) Rains On Me
8) Singapore
9) If I Have To Go
10) Hoist That Rag
11) Bad Liver And A Broken Heart
12) House Where Nobody Lives
13) Earth Died Screaming
14) Time

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