Rain Dogs

Gruff oddball nonsensical noisy Tom Waits in parts and melodic, beautiful and tuneful Tom Waits in parts. An interesting experience to listen to this. Rounding down from 3.5 to 3 stars though.

#281 Heard Before? Many times. Notes: - I'll make my usual complaint about a two-albums-per-artist limit, but noting that this is the one Waits album that should for sure be here, even though Swordfishtrombones is my personal favourite. - i think the biggest miracle of Tom Waits is that he managed to innovate not with new and cool sounds and ideas, but by scavenging amongst the discarded and unfashionable. Verdict: If you can't find yourself in these songs you need to get out in the rain with the rest of us dogs. Listen Again? For sure.

Maybe I'm just in a good mood today, but the further into this project I get the more I respect people like Tom Waits who do genuine play with their sound a produce music that is interesting to listen to, even when I'm not always interested in it. Like, if I have to listen to 5 (FIVE) Tom Waits albums, at least they all sound different enough to keep ms engaged.

This is not Tom's best, but his seconds are better than most of other's best.

You can't compare it with anything. "Midget's funeral" music. Love it

Enjoyable

Some of these songs are a torture to listen to, while others are certainly worth the pain.

I think this was my FOURTH album from Tom Waits. It’s not a verb I use lightly, but I hated the others. Naturally I suspected I would hate this too, but I gave it an honest go. Yeah, I hated it.

Every song is like a scene from a movie or something. It’s apparently supposed to be about disaffected people from NYC but there’s jangly showtunes, pirate music, spoken word- it’s all over the place. This is outsider music I guess, not really made for me. It’s different, I can give it that. But that makes it really hard to rate. ⭐️⭐️

The second album in an apparent trilogy (in between Swordfishtrombones and Frank's wild years) which represented a change on songwriting and recording style for Waits. This album really takes you into his world of characters and stories, veering between Kurt Weill, dirty blues and the occasional bit of New Orleans funeral band. Downtown train became a big hit for Rod Stewart four years later but there are other songs of similar stature in and amongst the oddities, shorts and vocal extremities. It's quite a refreshing sound for 1985 and Keith Richards' presence gives Waits even more credibility than he already has. A really good listen.

I love tom waits! his sound is unreprodiuceable

another concept album? this time sonically just ain't really my thing

Big D Randy ass music

Huh

album poznat otprije! maestralan! otkriven nakon preslušavanja »bone machine«, što je bio moj prvi susret s waitsom. moram priznati da mi je taj album nešto draži, no ovaj je glede kvalitete na podjednakoj razini. izvrsno, izvrsno! [odslušao i napisao 14/10/26]

Well, it's better than Bone Machine. Cemetery Polka is a rather unusual song. Weird lyrics throughout this album, puts me in mind of Tim Burton. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Waits has an undeniably cool/unique/weird voice, and I don’t know what other kind of music I’d rather hear him sing over, but I just don’t want to listen to this sort of music for more than like 30 seconds at a time. There were several parts that were so goofy that I laughed out loud. It’s cool that Tom Waits is out there doing his thing and making unique music like this, but it’s just Not My Thing.

Loved it. It is inspirational as fuck in the sense that makes me create weird, strange and unhinged art.

Contained rain, dogs, drunkeness, various firearms, some nursery rhymes perhaps not suitable for nurseries, and an emotional support drummer.

No. 438/1001 Singapore 2/5 Clamp Hands 4/5 Cementary Polka 2/5 Jockey Full Of Bourbon 3/5 Tango Till They're Sore 3/5 Big Black Mariah 3/5 Diamonds and Gold 2/5 Hang Down Your Head 3/5 Time 3/5 Rain Dogs 3/5 Midtown 2/5 9th & Hennepin 2/5 Gun Street Girl 3/5 Union Square 3/5 Blind Love 3/5 Walking Spanish 3/5 Downtown Train 3/5 Bride of Rain Dog 2/5 Anywhere I Lay My Head 3/5 Average: 2,74 Tom Waits doesn’t make my favorite kind of music. But I got to give it to him, that he is always an unique & interesting listen.

Da strangeness

An album I have liked for a very long time. It's still brilliant, a lot of tracks, but each is a short journey into a new world. Plus Rain Dogs is an absolute banger of a song. 5 Heard before? Yes Owned: Yes, 111/442 (25%) Will I get: Already have

This is such a classic, often considered Waits’s finest work. There’s nothing I can write here that would bring anything new to the discussion, but I will say this: with Rain Dogs, Waits finally created something precise and special. Having evolved from an observational piano man into a weirdo extraordinaire, he set out to catalogue all kinds of early American music and twist it into something his own. Expect to hear everything from Tin Pan Alley blues to sea shanties, accordion-led polka, ragtime piano, prison chants, early bluegrass and so much more. It’s a treat to listen to: diverse vocal styles, organic playing on a wide range of instruments, and even everyday objects used as percussion. It also features great musicians like Marc Ribot and Keith Richards, which makes it a wild ride of sorts. Every time I put it on, I feel like I’m sneaking into a secret concert in a speakeasy or a dodgy sailors’ bar. It’s a true homage to the freaks, vagrants and folk heroes of any city, anywhere. The cryptic lyrics only add to the mystique, and I discover something new with each listen. I like Bone Machine just a tad more, but I don’t think he ever made anything more accomplished than this. It’s truly original, innovative music that still sounds fresh today, despite being an ode to the ghosts of the past. 4.5 stars.

Clap Hands is incredible. I liked Heart Attack and Vine better as an album. Some of Rain Dogs tracks felt over the top and almost cartoonish, as opposed to gritty. It was neat to learn that Downtown Train is his song. PS Album Generator, I’m good on Tom Waits albums…

A masterpiece cobbled together with dustballs and broken windows

Furchtbar!

O sea, en cuanto a letras estuve bueno, perono me gustó lo sonoro. 2,5/5.

Still don't really get this album. It's weird as hell, but I guess cool?

Sucks

Dreadful. Ever get the feeling you've been had?

実験的なのにまとまってる！みたいな感じを期待したんだけど、まあいろんな音楽の要素を取り入れてるっていうのはわかるし、上手く取り入れてると思う。でも、あんまり僕には良さがわからない。調べれば調べるほどこの曲はこの人の最高傑作だ、とかそういう意見ばっかり出てきて正直僕が悪いのかもしれない。まあでも僕はこの声といい曲の構成といいあんまり好きではなかった。

Loved this - transportive, rich, and cohesive yet varied.

Jarring

OK

It's actually pretty swingey and pretty varied.

I’ll put this on the jukebox next time I’m at the tavern during a storm and I’m talking to a grizzled sailor with a peg leg.

Tom ain't for me

What am I hearing. I’m so confused.

Tom Waits sure is an experimental artist and I deeply appreciate his work but this album really isn’t it .

Just straight, unadulterated dogshit. Absolute ass.

Loveeeee the vibeeeee so much... His voice is so scary but i love it

Rad 3.5/5

This is probably the best Tom Waits album I've ever heard. The songs aren't so much an assault on your senses as they are the musical ramblings of a junkyard poet. I loved the imagery of "9th & Hennepin". I loved that "Downtown Train", which Rod Stewart covered, was originally a Tom Waits song and sounds so much better coming from Tom Waits. Just an amazing album, and we need more musicians willing to be brave and a little chaotic. My Rating: 10/5

Okay

I have loved this for a long time and still listen to it often. I love the percussive menace of Clap Hands, the jarring funkiness of Jockey Full of Bourbon and the sheer beauty of Downtown Train. Rod Stewart's version of that was nowhere near as good, but he can be forgiven for thinking 'Waits writes great songs but surely I can sing them better than he does'. That's an understandable mistake, which ignores the fact that Waits is an excellent songwriter but an even better arranger. No-one does his songs better than he does. As for his voice - it can certainly be a barrier but I actually think he is a great singer. A great singer with a terrible voice. There can be such a thing, can't there?

objectively it's probably a 3.5-4 but i'm rating it a 3 because i know i'll probably never listen to it again. you know?

I expected to hate this, but didn't. I wouldn't say I liked it, but I didn't hate it. However, like the little girl in the meme, I don't want to listen to Cookie Monster any more.

I’m always here for some Tom Waits. The vivid lyricism, the jangly instrumentation, the circus/carney/hobo feel. It’s all magic to me. Bonus: my wife walked down the aisle to a live version of jockey full of bourbon.

7/10 Starts of engaging. The album does overstay its welcome though. There is only so much Tom Waits a person can take. Highlights: Singapore Cemetery Polka Downtown Train Clap Hands Jockey Full of Bourban Big Black Mariah

I was recommended to listen to Tom Waits before and there was only one or songs I enjoyed on that album. I’d have to give this one another listen but he’s just a bit odd

***An easy listening album

Not bad. I enjoyed his vocals, but this is another one that I'm not going to return to. ★★★

Oh no. Oh noo. What is this. Oh my god. Looney tunes Mickey Mouse music. Now what in the world is this. I cannot wait to hear what the second song on this album sounds like. God what the hell is on this list. Holy shit how long is this. God I just don't think I have the proper taste to appreciate this. I'm sure it's groundbreaking or sonically insane but it's it's just horrible. It's just background pirates of the carribean music. It's the type of music jafar and hades and fucking ghengis khan were listening to. I can't do this I'm sorry. Emphysema? I know that one. Just screaming genuinely. Playing the accordion and clinking bottles together. My god this is so bad. I know I say this about a lot of album but this truly is just noises. Hold on is that a normal song I hear?? Even the normal song is just kinda meh. No one gaf. Honestly quite Bowie-esque if Bowie sucked. Why is there a spoken word poem. What are we doing. Son I'm crine. And naturally a shitty instrumental. What are we doing here?? Fuck off. Favourite: Tango Till They're Sore/Time Least favourite: 9th & Hennepin

Tom is always good for a wild and woolly ride, like a Herkimer Battle Jitney bouncing down pothole-filled dirt road in the mountains. Blind Love is a real standout song. Overall a really good experience.

I don't even know why I signed up for this. Another album that gives me the ick.

Esse álbum me passa uma sensação de cidade pequena, as vezes um pouco rural. Muito legal musicalmente. Celest Phoenixcall.

11/16/26. The more I listen to Tom Waits, the more I become a fan. Certainly a unique artist and eclectic style. I’m sure many people don’t like his voice but I find it intriguing, mainly aided by the music.

This is Tom Waits' last album in this project. And for me, it's the best one. I really enjoyed it, and I'll definitely listen to it again. 5/5

The musical equivalent of being in a carnival’s fun house. What did I just listen to

Not for me, and really shouldn't be for anyone

Not my fave Waits, but the bar is very, very high.

Tom Waits? What is he waiting for?

I have never heard of Tom Waits or this album, but I was definitely surprised by it. Based on the release date, album cover and title, "Rain Dogs," and the previous albums I listened to, I was expecting something a little more rock heavy and alternative. What I found was a mixture of old dirty blues, sea shanties, and a whole lot of other influences. There is a lot of musical competence here, but I found myself most shocked with the fact that I couldn't explain clearly what the sound of these songs were. These songs give you more of a feeling rather than a thought if that makes sense. Also, every song I heard reminded me of the seen in Shrek 2 where the king goes to the Poison Apple to find a bounty hunter. Captain Hook is playing a song when he walks in. I was shocked when I found that it was indeed Tom Waits playing/singing in that scene. Just a fun fact. My favorites were "Time," "Gun Street Girls," and "Downtown Train."

3.4 2x it's good and enjoy his voice and lyrics, just dont see myself revisiting it soon

Apparently a lot of people enjoy a performer who rasps and growls through all of their songs. I'm not one of them. To the albums credit, I could get on board with most of these songs if they were performed by someone who could actually sing.

Why does this even exist?

Prima gezongen en gespeeld, maar het is mij iets te jazzy.

ew

Interesting but probably won’t listen again

Definitely talented individual , but I like Tom Waits in small doses, not 19 songs worth

Perfect for the first real rainy day after summer

Not far off throat singing. Very good though.

Very interesting

For all the Tumblr Gays™ in the audience, I'm gonna get y'all's attention. So imagine Will Wood and the Tapeworms, like their absolute most theatre gay song imaginable, like Front Street or White Knuckle Jerk, and stretch that style out for the length of a whole album. Now replace Will Wood and his theatre gay-ass personality with a man with the most gravely voice imaginable while still being about equally as theatre gay, just a little more closeted about it. Now give him the most random percussion section you can think of, I'm talking marimbas and tambourines in place of a drumset. Don't forget some ships' bells for good measure. You now have Rain Dogs. Now, as enticing as that sounds, it gets better. This shit predates Will Wood by 30 years. This guy is John Dark Cabaret. But wait, it gets even better. There's JAZZ in the latter half, like cool spy jazz instrumental stuff with saxophones (and as such, saxophone bonus points), and this album is GOOD. It's so good. It's all fun, much like the fun I had writing this.

ok, não odiei tanto esse como os outros que passaram dele, mas em algumas músicas essa voz de fumante dele me irrita demais. até que algumas músicas são divertidinhas. dito isso, nunca vou ouvir novamente.

Nooooooo! Not more Tom Waits. This is terrible but amazingly, not his worst work.

No idea on this one. An iconic name but not managed to catch anything. -------------------------------------------------------- Wow. I was expecting singer songwriter with acoustic guitar. This is original and iconic. Tom throws himself into his jaunty folk tunes with undeniable character. There's a bardic element that is just fantastic. Creative as anything I've ever heard, with so many elements building an atmospheric album. The percussion in particular is standout using a wide range of instruments to provide an undeniable rhythm. It's odd as all hell, but so am I. 5* (Best album so far)

It’s Tom Waits doing Tom Waits things, and I for one am all for it.

Nice album. Although about New York, it sounds like New Orleans. Tones of Dr John. Similar gravely voice and tunes. Only drawback, it goes on a little too long

This is great. So much emotion and heart. Great story teller.

No escuché una canción completa, simplemente no me gustó

I feel like I'm missing most of the context of why this is good or enjoyable. It got nice around Hang Down Your Head and Time. Bro needs a lozenge.

Listening to this makes me think of Frenchmen wearing those naval shirts with broad blue horizontal stripes, wearing berets and smoking Galoises. With beatnik style jazz in the back and someone reading poetry. Groovy, but I am sure that I missed most of the point because I did not savor the lyrics. Overall, too artsy for me, but I can imagine coming back to it and eventually appreciating it.

This is significantly better than the other Tom Waits album we had, Heart Attack and Vine. The dark, mysterious, folky ambiance of this album suits Tom's voice much better here. The music and his voice are complementary, whereas on the other album, they just existed side by side. I still am not a fan of his voice, but it was better on this album. Musically, the album started out with what felt like an unserious, silly tone. As the album pro. Rain Dogs had really strong, tight instrumentation throughout. I loved the jazzy feel of Tango and the blend of instruments on Hang Down Your Head. Favorite Tracks: Hang Down Your Head Downtown Train

Every Night Is Just The Same 1001 Albums Generator 341 (9/2/2026) Rain Dogs simultaneously sounds like it could have come out 100 years ago or 100 years in the future. It's a 1 of 1 album and features music that takes inspiration from old school crime jazz, blues, rock, cabaret, polka, country, folk, sea shanties, and more. I find that Waits' signature vocal style, which I didn't like much on Heartattack And Vine, works a lot better on the songs here. Downtown Train is a downright pop song, while 9th & Hennepin is a free jazz poetry freakout. This album has something for everyone and there's a reason it's considered Waits' magnum opus. Some of the experiments don't work for me, but I really appreciate this album. 4/5. Favs: Singapore Jockey Full of Bourbon Downtown Train Least Fav: 9th & Hennepin

It's a colorful album with detailed characters, but man his voice can get draining. Good band.

I've probably listened to this whole album at some point, but I don't remember it. I knew Singapore, Clap Hands, Jockey Full of Bourbon, and the amazing Downtown Train cover. Seriously, how good is that cover? Good. Really good. But the star of this album may be Gun Street Girl, which I frankly don't remember ever hearing before.

Singer-Songwriter/Experimental Rock/Dark Cabaret Favorite Song: …I did liked Hang Down Your Head. Least Favorite Song: Even though it’s an interlude, Midtown. Oh. Great. Another Tom Waits album. Yippee. Although, to be fair with this one, I felt like this might be a better album sonically. I did liked one of the songs on the album… 6/10

All hail “diamond and gold”

I love all of it. Strange Waits fucks.

Odd even by Waits standards, inaccessible-er

Listening to this makes me feel like I'm missing something...Is it the context? The nostalgia? The taste? This sounds like more depressed male musings - a precursor to the Radioheads of the world. Someone explain why this album is so iconic?!

That voice

Peak Waits. The fog came in for me to drive through today while spinning this, perfect set and setting. One of a kind.

Only time I come across Tom Waits or when I intentionally hear him is when he crops up on this list. Just checked and this is the fourth time. Bad news is that there’s still another album to come (endure). All my previous reviews go on about his voice or lack of it. This is no different. As I’ve also said previously this is a pity as there is the occasional musical interlude which is worth a listen. Which makes me wonder if by now a significant anniversary of an album has occurred and as is customary nowadays on such events a remastered 6 disc box set is released. This normally includes a previously unreleased instrumental version of the songs. Now that could be worth buying - well eventually when seen in a record store bargain bin - I’m not that stupid or made of money. Wrote the above a few days ago and nothing’s changed. At least this is the 5th and last album on the list. 1/5 31/8/26

This might be my favorite Tom Waits album in the project. I still disliked it, but it was better than the other four. 2.25/5

It's not bad. You have to be in the right mood to want to listen to this. This is a little more 'quirky' than some of his other albums on this album. Sometimes it's cool, sometimes he sounds like a muppet, but that's Tom Waits. This isn't near the albums by him I've enjoyed the most.

I didn't know the artist. A few good tunes. An OK album at best.

Utterly maniacal and strange, in the best way. Feels like the drunken, hallucinogenic ramblings of a man suffering a psychic episode while wandering the dark, creepy cobblestone streets of Victorian London. I happened to listen to this album while stuck on the tarmac (first half) then in the air (second half); and having airplane mode on really forced me to lock into the music and pay attention to the lyrics. Tom Waits really didn’t hold back on the mania, it’s fantastic

Not really my thing