Only going to do an album poll cause there aren’t many singles or a Best Of and I’ll take nominations for the playlist. Please feel free to add polls…
I’ll probably be back with a tl;dr essay but I just wanna get a five in early. He’s got no chance of topping Aretha but if he doesn’t at least crack the top ten I’m never gonna trust any of you heathens on anything ever again.
Big 5! I get that he’s a bit marmite and he’s had a couple of duffers, but at his best he’s absolutely bloody brilliant. Took a long time for him to click with me, but it was Bone Machine that did it on the way home from a funeral (bit morbid I know). That run in the 80s of Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs and Franks Wild Years is pretty much untouchable. But my favourite is Blue Valentine, mainly for Kentucky Avenue - what an incredible song that is. If you’re looking for suggestions for the playlist, I’d love to put that one forward!
I remember getting a Tom Waits Island years compilation, as I’d head of him lots and never actually heard him. It took weeks before it clicked (the inclusion of The Black Rider early in the tracklist is a huge curve ball to be fair), but there was something that kept pulling me back to give it another go. Shore Leave and Clap Hands were the route in for me.
I actually care a lot less for his barfly crooner years, in that it just isn’t the type of music that ever does much for me, but once he veered weird there is nothing better or even similar.
Holding out hope for one more album - his last was excellent. Rain Dogs is an all-time top 10 record too.
Gone with a 4 because I haven’t heard a huge amount of his work, but what I have heard verges from amazing (Swordfish… Rain Dogs, Closing Time) to almost unlistenable (Black Rider). The good definitely outweighs the bad though. Much prefer his more “song-based” work than the “hitting pipes with sticks” stuff.
One of my absolute all time rain dogs! Be a shame not to give one of the greats a song poll, so put one together from his retail singles, promo singles and a couple of notable omissions. Hope that’s ok with you @anon19035908
Easiest 5 I will ever give, but really difficult to choose the best album. I went for Rain Dogs in the end as there is so much variety on there and for me it’s the perfect link between his singer-songwriter past to his experimental future.
My favourite of his early records is Heart of Saturday night. Really great jazzy songwriter stuff with some heartbreaking ballads.
You could make a good case for Small Change being his best record. A bit more strangeness entering the mix amongst the beat poetry and schmaltz.
Franks Wild Years pushes Rain Dogs close for me. Cold cold ground and train song at the end of that record are devastating.
If I’m in the mood for something darker then Bone Machine is where I go. I don’t wanna grow up and that feel towards the end of the record are quite fun in Waits type way.
In terms of his later records, I love Alice and Bad as Me. Bad as me is kind of similar to Rain dogs in that it covers a lot of ground in Waits’ discography.
Love this man. I’ll post some links to songs later.
