Rain Dogs

I don’t know what this is but I love it. Blues, must have inspired less claypool. Reminds me of mix of less primos, Tim Burton and a great storyteller.

Discovered this eventually about 15 years ago, loved it immediately. I't ramshackle and poetic ramblings suit me down to the ground and it really is quite original. Always thought the guitar sounded like Keef Richards had accidentally stumbled into the studio after midnight and just decided to record something, turns out that is Keef on some tracks. Perfect. 'Downtown Train' despite its commercial success just sounds like a breath of fresh air here after so much heartache and gin soaked derangement. MTV Friendly oddness of the highest order.

Oddly overrated. Not TW’s best

I'm here for Marc Ribot's playing

Brilliant and fascinating album from Tom Waits where he creates abstract, dark and mysterious cabaret jazz songs. One of a kind stuff.

Interesting, better than the other Tom Waits record I got. If I came across this at a record store, 50/50 shot I might buy it.

Clap Hands Cemetery Polka Tango Till They’re Sore Gives me Halloween in the Bayou vibes. Creepy but in a kind of good way. A kind of sound you don’t hear every day.

Amazing.

What else

Some interesting choices were definitely made here. It's pretty good, but it's a lot.

Virkelig en speciel plade... Ikke stor musik, men alligevel en samling af numre som jeg ikke helt kunne lade være med at holde af. Tænker der er sange som godt kunne bruges i en piratfilm eller lignende :)

Det er vildt nok det her. Det er så meget Tom Waits, men nu når jeg aldrig har brugt vanvittigt meget tid med ham, så er det svært at forstå på et gennemlyt. Heldigvis flyder det super nemt, og variere vanvittigt meget, super sjovt lyt, men nok ikke dét her album jeg vender først tilbage til med Tom.. Kom lige til at lyttet til den igen. Det er altså ret sejt!

Ved ikke hvad jeg skal sige af kloge ord om det. Waits stemme er unik og fantastisk. Musikken holder min interesse. Det er som at albummet tager en på en rejse ind i storbyen. Stemningsfuld. Interessant.

Interesting quirky album. Liked it better than some of the other waits albums

oh this guy is freaky 4/5

It honestly sounds like the inside of my head these days. It gets a little less crazy and thrilling as it goes on, but still, it's Tom Waits and I'm never complaining about that

Two days of Tom Waits? After this I think I'm going on a four-day bender and waking up next to my new exotic dancer bride in a cheap Tijuana motel with no money and someone else's boots.

I didn't want to like it as much as I did.

If I didn’t know going in that this was released in 1985, I never would have believed it. Timeless, it feels like your whiskey-soaked uncle rasping crazy anecdotes at you after a drama-filled family dinner.

Iconic and memorable. More listenable than I'd expect for this style.

No notes.

Pretty great. Very theatrical

Once you get past the weirdness, this is actually a good record. The uniqueness works to its favor, whether it sounds like circus melodies, the soundtrack to a Crash Bandicoot game, or traditional folk rock. It's very bold and I admire that. It's also way better than Swordfishtrombones; I feel like Tom Waits gained a better understanding of how to create bizarre music that actually works after that record. Standout tracks are Tango Til They're Sore, Diamonds and Gold, Hang Down Your Head, Rain Dogs, and Walking Spanish.

Sykt chill

Greatness mumbling conceptual irony...

Nice

I like his sound, I do think it is unique - but I don't know how much of it I can listen to at one time. Couldn't tell the songs apart. Always reminds me of Black Books (which, I googled, and no, he did not make the theme song for it)

3.5

Evocative soundscapes. Does he have any less vaudeville-y albums?

Delightfully wacky. Such good grooves with such unconventional sounds. Loose playing of unconventional instruments, playful singing, he almost sounds drunk at least half the time, but the lyrics are so poetic and just sound so cool. Feels almost like haunted carnival music, slightly unsettling but super intriguing, but then at other times it's emotional and gentle (albeit weirdly so). Other times the tone is like smooth but smoky, like eavesdropping on a Southern barbecue hoedown or something. Four stars.

1985, Experimental rock, Americana Rain Dogs is the 9th studio album by Tom Waits (USA) Standouts: Singapore, Others: Jockey Full of Bourbon, 3.75

My second Tom Waits album in this project and I was pretty stoked about it. I love just how absolutely bonkers this record is. I said this in my last Tom Waits review but I'm a huge Isaac Brock fan and this Tom Waits album feels like an even bigger inspiration for Isaac Brock than the last one. The instrumentals and production are really fun and interesting and the vocals/lyrics really go well with the style.

Man, these Tom Waits albums are wild. I love the how all over the place he is with sounds, but how relentlessly unapologetic he is. He's decides to make a polka song, and it happens. He rolls in a pedal steel and decides he's doing a country song. And it all feels insync with itself. Truly a master of his craft. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

There are a couple stinkers here that sound like legit goblin music, but then there are some softer songs where Tom doesn’t play up the raspy voice schtick, and those tunes are just sublime.

Never heard this I like it. I've heard a couple songs on it but not the whole album. That's what I like about your program deep cuts

Completamente teatral, Halloweenezco, un poco turbio incluso en su portada, pero una propuesta interesante. #Dato, Keith Richards está en la guitarra

Very good. Some was too experimental for me, but that's awesome.

Spitze

I don't fully understand how I feel about this album. I think it is good though

Love the SOUNDS in this album. Pure uncut Waits.

A lively collection of music drawing on a myriad of stylings and genres, led by the gravelly voices of palpable characters. Captivating instrumentation carries throughout, matching Wait's voice as he goes off-kilter here, heartfelt there. Lyrically, the album often reads as nonce poetry, but the more blues-aligned tracks seem to stick harder to convention. Favorite tracks include "Clap Hands", "Downtown Train" and "Jockey Full of Bourbon".

I didn't really care for it on my first listen, but I listen to it a few more times and it really grew on me.

Bizarre. Disturbing. Marvellous.

Another album introduced to me by a friend. Fab to listen to it again. Favourite track - Clap Hands

Tango Till They're Sore Diamonds and Gold Hang Down Your Head Time Gun Street Girl Blind Love (with Keith Richards as guest artist) Downtown Train (also recorded by Rod Stewart and Bob Seger) man in artwork is NOT Tom Waits, but rather a man named 'Rose' and the woman is 'Lilly' by Swedish photographer Anders Petersen at Café Lehmitz in the late 1960s.

Never really listened to a full Tom Waits album. This was a good intro. Obviously his delivery puts you on edge for a number of songs. Downtown Train is an interesting song for me. I don’t associate with Tom Waits, and not even Rod Stewart. Feels so much like Bruce Springteen. I know it isn’t him but can’t stop hearing him (I know he has another song by the same name)

Really weird and I like it

I like Tom Waits. Not the biggest fan of the music tho, but its okay! Solid 7/10 album, so round up. Significant 36/108 Liked 17/108 Added 4/108 YYN

Wow. I know Tom Waits only marginally. I’ve seen him in films and listened to the occasional song. This is really awesome.

Not my usual style but I actually really liked it. The best songs were Cemetery polka, Tango still They're Sore and Big Black Mariah.

Enjoyed the blues, jazz, soulful nature. Tom Waits rough voice is irritating to me at times.

Liked it before Like it now

Truly like nothing I’ve ever heard

Didn't know what was going on at first. Then started to slowly dig it and ended up being an interesting, good album.

There's no one else like Tom Waits. Dr John comes close, but Waits is unique. I love the rhythmic feel to Rain Dogs. His storytelling is superb. There's an uplifting and almost spiritual feel to some of the songs. Hang Down Your Head remains a favourite.

A veces parecido a Bruce.

I have no idea what's happening, but I'm loving it.

Wohnzimmer Experimental Rock. Gut genug.

spooky vampire musical vibes

Y'a des chansons de Tom Waits que je kiffe, d'autres que je trouve insup. Singapore est dans la seconde catégorie, ce qui n'est pas une super façon de commencer un album. Jockey Full of Bourbon et Tango till they're sore sont cools, et j'ai toujours beaucoup aimé Downtown Train. Concernant la globalité de l'album, j'ai bien aimé sans tomber à la renverse mais c'est bien construit comme un tout cohérent et y'a de vraiment bonnes chansons, donc 4

I didn't know what to expect, but it was quite good. It gave me the Dr John's Gumbo vibe. The whole New Orleans Blues vibe.

New kind of style I like this is in my favs.

Best Tom Waits album I’ve heard yet. It’s got that Bone Machine percussion I like and lots of those twisted, raucous folk-blues numbers that sound like they’d be playing in a backstreet dive bar in deepest darkest scumsville, or a Disney villain’s lair. Nitpicking, I’d say it could be trimmed a bit, and that the more straight-up ballads don’t interest me as much as the weirder, grimier ones. But it doesn’t drag like most 19-track albums would - it’s all good stuff, really. 4 / 4.5

I could listen to Tom Waits sing the ingredients from the back of a package of Oreos.

An intriguing find. Has a mysterious, yet gripping vibe, can't get let of. Fascinating instruments and compositions. Not for every occasion, but a worthwhile record.

Clothes reeking of spilled bourbon and cigarette smoke. 3am insomnia music. Brilliant. I have to be in the mood for it tho. Took 3 tries of listening to the album in fits and starts, but when I got to "Time" I started over.

tasty, twangy folk(?) This had enough to day that I could have an opinion on it, much preferred to the recent string of pop

Take every undesirable yet attractive thing you read in a dime-store pulp novel and throw it into a pot stirred by an unshaven vagabond, and you get this bourbon-soaked album. Mad hatters and beat poets doing the polka on this postcard mailed from desolation row.

I love some Tom Waits, it feels like if steampunk was a music genre. It isn't something I'd want to listen to everyday but from time to time I get down with the weird vocals and gritty music.

Interesting. Brilliant. Standouts: Time, Downtown Train, 3.5

I like this album but I grow tired of the fake-drunk carnival singer.

4.25

Surreal and wild as he ever was, Waits does what Waits does here. Talk about someone accessing their true creative core and channelling it into the world without any distillation or sugarcoating. Waits isn't someone burdened by the shackles of what others think or commercial appeal, he just sends his art out into the world and come what may. I wouldn't call myself a fan, but it is nice just knowing that he exists. I have the utmost respect for the method to his madness and the truly one-of-a-kind artistry of him.

Another interesting Tom Waits album. It sounds abrasive, sometimes barebones, but still lush in its presentation. I can totally feel and see the image of the dark and dirty corners of a busy city. Wanted to rate this a 3 initially, but now that I see how many songs I saved in a playlist, I'm considering a 4. It's making me feel something at least. + Clap Hands + Cemetery Polka + Tango Till They're Sore + Rain Dogs + Midtown + 9th & Hennepin + Gun Street Girl + Blind Love + Walking Spanish + Bride of Rain Dog

Not my favourite of Tom's but it contains some of my favourite songs!

Yet another classic!

Waits- I love the album cover- great photo. Not Tom Waits in the picture but it looks like him! Started off really not into it and then liked it it more as it progressed. “Any where I lay my head down” may be my favorite and “Singapore” and “Cemetary Polka” I did not like. I like the vibe and sound of the record. Cool instrumentation I like the sound of upright bass paired with the bangs and clangs of trashy sounding drums and percussion. Marc Ribots guitar is super cool. Two of my favorites are“hang down your head”and “downtown train “ . I was thinking they sound like they could be Bruce Springsteen songs- their singing and songwriting can seem so similar to me even with the differences stylistically. The instrumentals “Midtown” and “bride of rain dogs”are cool “Blind love”is great too. Tough one to rate I really loved a lot of it but also really disliked some of it too. 4-4.5?

clap hands

Ok so turns out I really like Waits’ music & voice. I’m so glad I listened to this one.

We start off with Singapore, and I'm scratching my head about whether I'm listening to Danny Elfman singing as Jack Skellington. Interesting. Clap Hands sounds a bit more familiar as the raspy, "what the hell did you do to your vocie" blues style I'd imagine from Waits. Cemetery Polka runs straight back to Nightmare Before Christmas, however it is also very clearly where the Squirrel Nut Zippers picked up La Grippe from, and Jockey Full of Bourbon carries on as their inspiration for "Hell". More nice raspy blues stuff. Until Rain Dogs, where he turns in The Cookie Monster. Blind Love is unfortunately country-ish. The last trick is "Anywhere I Lay My Head" where Waits transmogrifies into Bobcat Goldthwaite. It's hilarious. Obviously I'm going to have ding a point for the country venture, but I absolutely love Cookie Monster so it'll still be a high rating.

4.5

Yeah really good man, liked the differing styles ans wild eyed stories. Ive failed to dig to Tom to date despite friends recomendations but yeah man, rocked.

Great moody swathes. Lyrically interesting, but like good classic poetry I feel like it needs undivided attention. I'm going with 4 stars because it seems like an objectively good album, despite the fact I wasn't really appreciating it.

Hadn't listened to any Tom Waits before. It was alright, like. 3.5

This is the fourth Tom Waits album I'm reviewing. For every other one, my first few listens had me deciding whether it should be a 1 or 2 and my last few listens had me deciding between a 4 and 5. This time I decided to skip those first couple of listens and go right to the ones where I like it. Right from the start my reaction was, "Here we go!" "Singapore" sounded like it would make a good Primus song. Really liked "Clap Hands." Very cool song. "Jockey Full of Bourbon" sounds like it belongs in a Quentin Tarantino movie. Tango Till They're Sore got me thinking "He's so weird, but I dig it." Love "Time" - it's an absolutely beautiful song. "Rain Dogs" sounds like it belongs in a Tim Burton movie. Really liked "Blind Love" - it's a case where his voice suits the music (same with "Walking Spanish"). "Downtown Train" was a surprise - I had no idea he wrote it and performed it before Rod Stewart. Don't know what it says about me that I like Tom Waits' version better. The last track "Anywhere I Lay My Head" was definitely pushing how far I can handle his voice, though. I'm giving it a 4 for the same reason as the others - weird stuff, but I continue to dig it.

Listening to this album feels like being smacked in the skull with a sack of bricks. I don’t know what kind of debauchery is being described, but the entire first half of this album just makes me feel dirty. The second half was a lot easier to enjoy, as it was more traditional. I believe it was good. Lyrics were incredible. He was gifted with a very unique voice. Wide range, original chord progressions, and structure was nice. 4/5

Unique, very enjoyable, played it to death years ago, haven't listened for a while so good to give it another listen.

I must admit that I really only listen to his more popular songs, so this was a nice dive.

Great voice, great songs, a brilliant album all-round.

I'm giving it five stars because I was super surprised how much I liked this. It's weird, there's polka, there are highs and lows. But it runs a little long and starts to feel a little more bluesy than I care for at the end. Never mind, I'm giving it four stars.

Loved this - wasn't at all what I was expecting.

Rock experimental. La voz de Tom Waits me flipa. Un 4.

It’s crazy gruff pirate bullshit interjected with some of the most poetic little grumbles. Like a diamond forming in a quarry run by goblins

Wierd music

Tom Waits for no one. On his most popular (?) album, the second installment of a trilogy that is bookended by Swordfishtrombones and Frank's Wild Years, Tom simply allows you to make a choice of whether you want to follow him down his eclectic rabbit hole or just observe from afar. Either way, the ride is just as thrilling as it is fluctuating in whatever the listener's tolerance lies. Of course, there is a heart beating somewhere in the surface and it will take one by surprise by how much the guard had been let down and that things would be smooth sailing from there on. But, knowing the artist in question, no such thing is the case. Whether one likes it or not, there is no denying that there will never be an artist quite like Tom Waits and Rain Dogs is indicative of that. Favorites: Clap Hands, Jockey Full of Bourbon, Tango Till They're Sore, Big Black Mariah, Diamonds and Gold, Hang Down Your Head, Time, Rain Dogs, Gun Street Girl, Union Squarw, Blind Love, Downtown Train, Anywhere I Lay My Head.

Instrumentally, this sounds like Pretty Hate Machine-era Nine Inch Nails mixed with the Myst soundtrack. I love that. I think I've finally determined that the reason I can't get into her music is the vocals though. I just don't like her singing at ALL.

I actually quite liked this one. Favourite tracks: 'Cemetery Polka', 'Big Black Mariah', 'Gun Street Girl'. 4/5

beautiful album, my wife is al over 30 years fan of Tom Waits, for me he has his moments. I like his deep voice, but sometimes i have the feeling, he comes right from the pub. In this album he reaches his top level.

I haven't enjoyed most of the Tom Waits albums I've listened to on here, but this turned out to be an exception. It's definitely Waits, but it's less indulgent and more accessible than his later works. PS

Strange music, but also kind of fun.

I've always meant to listen to a Tom Waits album but always had trouble getting into it. Kind of difficult to listen to initially but I started to really enjoy it by the end.

160 records in and one thing I know for certain now is that I’m a Tom Waits convert. This the third of his albums that I’ve been generated, and along with Bone Machine it’s a classic. His style is a unique and chaotic barrage of mawkish noir cocktail bar ballads and bluesy mopes against a generally bizarre musical backdrop of pianos, guitars and the occasional marimba. When you’ve settled into the surrealist confines of Rain Dogs, he throws you a downright pop gem like “Downtown Train” tinged with his sardonic witticisms and that utterly iconic voice. There was a time when I would have found an album like this utterly ridiculous. Throughout its run time it throws up constant surprises and musical jolts that it can almost seem like lunacy. But really, this is just Tom Waits. And I happen to love it now.

Really interesting and super weird.

Delightfully weird and unique.

Somehow I really like this 4

A classic

I still do not get this guy, that being said it was an enjoyable record

I was recently turned on to this album and so this is my third or fourth listen. It’s awesome and gritty.

You can tell if you'll like Rain Dogs or detest it by a line that occurs in the first song Singapore. A wilfully eccentric sea shanty about a oddball crew of sailors, halfway through we get the detail, "The captain is a one-armed dwarf." How you react to that image gauges how positively you'll view the album. If you find it intriguing and macabre, Rain Dogs will reward you heavily. If it hits you as hackneyed and comicbookesque (not to mention borderline offensive), this album will have nothing to offer you. Both are perfectly valid responses, and right now I'm not sure exactly how I view this album, since I see the merit in both takes. Rain Dogs saw Tom Waits continue on the trajectory he began with Swordfishtrombones, where he had rejected his earlier piano-based approach and adopted more idiosyncratic instrumentation and songwriting informed by outsider musicians such as Harry Partch and Captain Beefheart. So we get a motley series of vignettes depicting New York's indigents, thugs, lovers, winos, creeps and dreamers, set to marimba and double bass and with Tom Waits delivering his lyrics with a highly corrupted howl. Curiously, what decides whether you'll appreciate this album or not is your attitude to theatricality. This is an album revelling in artifice, with the manner of a gobshite barfly spinning his yarn about how he scaled Kilimanjaro to win a night in bed with the Empress of Abyssinia, all in the hope you'll sling him a large scotch. Now, several scholars have noted that, whereas "poetic" and "balletic" are adjectives with wholly positive associations of beauty, elegance and grace, the similarly artistically derived "theatrical" comes with the negative baggage of artificiality, pomposity and histrionics. (I should point out that another of the standard barbs against the theatrical is its campness, with definite emphasis on the sexual connotations.) Now, all rock involves performance, obviously, so rock cannot shed the theatrical, at least not wholly. Yet another factor that has traditionally exemplified rock has been that antithesis to theatricality, authenticity. Only time has enabled the Monkees to be treated as a classic band, the years granting the Monkees the authenticity of history. Boybands are traditionally the most decried of acts, to the extent that defenders of them regularly claim the authenticity lies not in the bands themselves, but in the intemerate, untutored tastes of the teenage girl. (Whether authenticity is actually that valuable a concept is a discussion for another day, but I'll say in passing that I suspect it's not). And it's not as it Tom Waits doesn't understand the import of conveying authenticity. The gaslit strangeness is how the album sells its realness. Of course, such a tactic is oft the bait to yet another emperor's new clothes hustle. Yet the weirdness makes it a very straightforward album to assess, especially in the light of your own tastes. I like Tom Waits and I like Rain Dogs. It's fun, it's inventive, it's humorous and it's generally charming. There's the caveat that, even with a warm disposition to the album, you may easily find it sails well close to the boundary of exasperation, and perhaps fully into those dark waters. And if you have no tolerance for the determinedly kooky, don't bother with this. Fittingly for such a dramatic work, it has a specific audience, it knows it has a specific audience, and it seeks only to cater to that specific audience. You'll know during the first song whether you belong with that rather slim crowd. Me, I'm on the outskirts; I like it, but I can't say I love it. Good enough for 4 stars, but a second longer and it would have forfeited one. NoRadio, signing off (200th album! Woohoo!).

I don't like the Tom Waits schtick but the songwriting is undeniable.

Really evocative vignettes. I wasn’t 100% in a Waits-y mood, but always an interesting listening

The more I played it the better it gets.

This one has been on my list for a long time. Very weird but the combination of Waits' signature snarl, lyrics about the "urban dispossessed" and bold experimentation is a winning formula.

My first Tom Waits album and still one of my favourites.

Great album. I have listened to it quite a bit before, but not for at least a few years. 4/5

A good introduction for Tom Waits. Not my favorite, but it’s weird without being too weird, and showcases his brilliant ear for songwriting and character. B+

Captain Beefheart, bathtubs and tubas. Crazy linking tracks, scary tunes and fantastic song writing. I discovered Tom with this album and Swordfishtrombones and was massively disappointed when I went back to his earlier lounge stuff, heresy for Tom fans I know. That said, I reckon Tom knew he had to get out of tenor sax solos and moody introspection before he turned into a B grade Billy Joel. And here is where Captain Beefheart comes in. Rain Dogs is a straight lift on the Clear Spot template, and that is no criticism. Beefheart's stunningly beautiful My Head is My Only House Unless it Rains informs so much of Tom's new found voice and by jingoes it works. Wait's is rightly lauded for his sound, but I think his songwriting gets missed, he is a great writer of lyric and melody, Cole Porter would have got it. Clap Hands is alluringly freaky, drags me in every time, Big Black Maria is rolling thunder, Downtown Train worthy of a Roddy Stewart cover and Hang Down Your Head is a bona fide pop classic. Blind Love is in my country and western playlist and let me say whenever someone at work is giving me the shits, I instantly start humming Walking Spanish (no doubt they are thinking and humming the same thing). Love this record, the apotheosis of mid 80's pop.

Ehhhhh good to hear

Enjoyed this one much more than the last

This is exactly the kind of album this project should have more of. From the opening song, it sets a certain mood, makes you feel a certain way, and then sticks to that mood throughout. It was a refreshing change from all the filler augmented one hit wonder albums I've been getting lately. Also of note, it doesn't sound like every other album made around it's time. Four glasses of whiskey out of five! 🥃🥃🥃🥃

So, I du not know what to call this music, and it's certainly not an every day vibe, bit I REALLY like this. Dark, weird, kinda grating, but also catchy and captivating.

I usually find Tom Waits a struggle. He is like a really good friend from my very chaotic booze fuelled years that had more highs than lows. I appreciate their friendship and will always hold the fact that they stuck by close to my heart but now they are little too full on and too much of a reminder of days go by.

Wow, never heard anything quite like this. Might never listen again, but glad I’ve heard it.

Greasy unique atmospheric raspy clonky cool. If Bourdain was musical he'd be Tom Waits. If Bernard Black was musical he would be Tom Waits too. The same with any scruffy, dissolute, boozy favourite uncle actually. The sort of music enjoyed by precocious students more than genuine grown ups but still very very enjoyable.

4.5

8/10

We bought this album when it was released and didn’t listen to it much – I remember liking the title track, Gun Street Girl and Cemetery Polka, but the rest I had forgotten. It requires a more intense listen, preferable with lyrics handy. You get a feel for the underbelly of America with its imagery of people huddled in doorways and alley ways in the rain. Lots of references to pawn shop guns and of course, dogs. Waits’ gravelly voice and the sloppy, muddy production adds to the feel as do the accordions and trombones and banging percussive sounds. It’s great that a performer late in his career is brave enough to take a turn away from commercial success and toward a more Avant Gard sound.

Tom Waits is in fine form here, quirky and offbeat. The first side hits you with a barrage of brilliant songs, but it falters slightly on the second side. Scanning the reviews of the others I mostly see 4 and 5 star ratings, so I'm surprised this album doesn't have a higher global rating. This record is essential listening.

Tom waits is fucking weird and I'm here for it.

A great eclectic listen. Downtown Train is an all-timer.

Un genre de Berthold Brecht de la fin du 20e s. Créatif, original, intéressant!

This is not my favourite Tom Waits album but it is fun and funky and shakes up our perceptions of what music is and how it should sound (and I've always loved "Time").

I thought the other Waits album we had was annoying shite so wasn’t looking forward to this. Turns out it rules.

I actually really like this one, wonder if I'd have said the same if the other Tom Waits album hadn't shown up first 🤔

What a voice

Not sure what to expect, but it just works. Tom Waits's gruffy voice gives the album such a particular style of music, and all the different songs showcase how it can still be used in melodic ways. Downtown Train, Time and Singapore were highlights for me. But definitely an album that calls for more listens.

I didn't know the music from Nightmare before Christmas was a genre, but this is it. Very good.

I will always love Tom Waits

Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and Nick Cave are the gravelly-voiced Cereberus of doom-laced music. I love them all - this might be Waits’ finest album. Also, 16yo me had no clue that Rod Stewart sanitised and covered Downtown Train in the early 90s. It’s like Pat Boone covering Ozzy Osbourne. Ick.

Hatsikidee, Waits!

4 Fun fact: Tom Waits plays Captain Hook in Shrek 2! Anyway I went into this knowing that he was smoky drunken singer but I did not expect to like this as much as I did. It’s discordant and weird but it’s also catchy and very emotional. At times it was like evil Leonard Cohen. I even dig the almost weird noir movie monologues. The imagery his music paints is strong. You can almost imagine the dusty, dingy carnival, or smoky bar. It’s eclectic enough to be interesting, rocking and catchy enough to keep me listening. Favorites: Clap Hands, Jockey Full of Bourbon, Time, Gun Street Girl, Union Square, Downtown Train

Gritty, clanky, antediluvian, like a seaman's and cowboy's novel thrown on the streets of a dirty metropolis.

Fantastic emotion

Waits ploughs his own furrow and conjures up disjointed tales of the roughnecks, swindlers and ragamuffins that abound on the docks. These tales are thrilling to hear and the presentation, whilst jarring at first, is compelling with its dissonance, hurdy gurdy and junkyard percussion. Quite a voyage.

great album. would buy $20 or less. Clap hands is one of my faves. Love the productions Not every song works, and is probably 10 minutes too long. There's a thing tom does with his voice, occasionally, where it goes really deep with no fry or grain in it and I love when that happens.

Mega-hårt….

Like the preceding ”Swordfishtrombones” but better realized

His voice is a bit of an acquired taste, which did make this album a little bit of a struggle at times - I know it's meant to be a deep soulful thing but it does border on the ridiculous at times. But these songs are undeniably great.

I have massive respect for Tom Waits' particular brand of blues/jazz/whatever-the-rest-is. But I have to be in the right mood to enjoy his music, as his lyrics and voice go to places hardly anyone else (OK, maybe Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen) dares to venture. I'm not in that mood today, but I can recognize quality whenever I hear it. Sonically, this album is exactly what anyone who knows Waits' music can expect. Many of these songs are good enough, but not really great. But there are a couple of standouts as well: Hang Down Your Head, Time, Rain Dogs and Downtown Train are instant classics. This album deserves a re-listen. 3.5/5.

It's either hit or miss with Tom Waits, as far as I'm concerned, and this at whatever point of his long and productive career. But I gotta admit I undertstand why this abum in particular is often quoted by his more casual fans. It's part of that string of albums in the 80s where Waits dived into weirder territory, not that his mock-jazz, mock-blues, mock-cabaret act has ever been a normcore affair anyway... Listening to *Rain Dogs* with a little more attention, I sense that I could very well become one of those casual fans in time. The writing (the lyrics first, but the music, instrumentation, and arrangements, too--see those poetic-yet-often-ominous marimbas) is top-notch on this record (starting with 'Singapore' and 'Clap Hands', but also for many other tracks here). What's working out quite well in this particular album is that it's well-balanced, between weird experimental interludes, moody pieces where Waits is as much an actor as he is a singer, and more straightforward love songs, where his voice is a little less 'outré' and even suggests a very *slightly' inebriated Springsteen (so someone with whom you could have a normal conversation, which is not the case cuts that are out of this category here). A quite dynamic entry overall, where you don't *necessarily* need the lyrics sheet to get into the songs (reading those words is a plus, but it's not mandatiry), contrary to less accessible records of his. Maybe I'm slowly becoming a casual fan, who knows? Since this app suggested me to spin it, I've even found a secondhand copy of this record online. Given that I've never found any Tom Waits compilation that fully satisfied me (it's always missing tracks that i wish i had), "Rain Dogs" will happily be my key Tom Waits album. Until the next suggestion, maybe... Number of albums left to review or just listen to:  less than 900, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens:  approximately a half so far (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter, approximately Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter

Un dels punts culminants de la segona etapa de Waits. Mai han estat els seus discos les obres mestres que es cacareja arreu, però cal treure's el barret amb la seva inventiva, originalitat, qualitat i expressivitat. Aquest home és un génere en si mateix

A very ugly, vibrant album. It's like you're being serenaded by an old sailor with only one eye, recounting tales of curious oddities and spooky characters. Waits is a one-of-a-kind songwriter who knows his voice and his capabilities when crafting music like this. He paints a picture of the city in a way that can only be described as "eerily accurate". It's fantastic. There's no one else like Tom Waits. I treasure these songs.

Snilld, tær snilld.

Tom waits with his weird ass folk pirate halloween music. Love it as always.

Rock experimental. La voz de Tom Waits me flipa. Un 4.

A veces parecido a Bruce.4

Very cool. I wish I had the guts to sing like this or make music this weird.

Wild and weird. My dad used to play this album to make our dog howl.

Weird as hell and I’m here for it. Can’t remember the last time I heard so much variety on an album.

My second Tom Waits album after Bone Machine last week. Enjoyed this one even more still really weird and experimental but more melodic in parts. Great album just a couple of songs that were a bit too strange for me stops this getting a 5.

Listening to Tom Waits is like getting sucked into a time vortex where all music is a step off, vaguely threatening, and could be played in a seedy bar called Ole Scratch's. But also, you love it.

Great album, totally unique.

Me sorprendió. Pensé que iba a ser un bodrio y me encontré con una versión alternativa de la banda sonora de The nightmare before Xmas. Buena onda, buen descubrimiento.

This is the 2nd album of Tom Waits I’m rating. The first one was to weird for me, but this one is great. Good variety in the songs and some many great ones. His voice is something special and the way he uses it is amazing. Will come back to this album for sure. Favourite songs: - Tango till they’re sore - Hang down your head - Time - Rain dogs

This album is sick.

Really good

A man with a very gravely voice sings buncha sleazy songs. God damn I love Tom Waits so much. Most of the songs on here are extremely good and even the ones I was bored with are still compelling because it’s him singing.

Genre: Experimental Rock 4/5 A real hodge-podge, a tough nut to crack, and overall a very interesting listen. Tom Waits is another artist I haven’t had the chance to get into until now. Rain Dogs seems to be the perfect LP for it. Weird enough to suffice as experimental, but with moments of real beauty and emotion, this album is really one-of-a-kind. Each song seems to function as its own world, with Waits’ gravelly voice serving as the narrator through a slew of fucked up towns and strange happenings. Captain Beefheart-style blues jams on one song, to soft and intricate beat poetry on the next, to Beatles-sounding guitars on the next. The soundscapes change song-to-song, giving us something new to ponder on every few minutes. Certainly an album that will reward repeat visits. Not every song is a 10, but Tom Waits proves to be an interesting listen.

Ohhoh! Tom Waits on kyllä osunut ja uponnut aina! Tää ei oo vielä ohan bone machine -levyn neroa hulluutta mutta lähellä ollaan. Ja tiedän kyllä että monille just tää on se the levy tompalta. 4/5

Voimallista blues/rock-jyrähtelyä. En ollut varmaan kuunnellut aiemmin kokonaista levyä Waitsilta, mutta tämä epäkohta on nyt korjattu. Tätä varmaan kuuntelen tulevaisuudessakin. 4/5

Very soulful, if a bit repetitive.

After the first Tom Waits album I got, I thought I wouldn't enjoy this one either. But surprisingly I really enjoyed this obe. His style really works for this album and the songs. "Cemetery Polka" my favourite song

Sounds weird, but I dig its weirdness. Favorites: "Clap Hands", "Jockey Full Of Bourbon", "Downtown Train"

Poetički, pomalo alkoholno, njegov onaj poznati hrapavi kameni glas + pokoja "sea shanty" traka + zvučno prljava glazba + emocije = nagrada, iako je vjerujem, težak album. Waits je veliki pisac koji je ukomponirao svašta na ovom albumu da se dobije Rain Dogs. Definitivno u njegova top 3 albuma (The Heart of Saturday Night, Closing Time i Rain Dogs). Znam da sam nasro boga oca ovdje.

I want to like Tom Waits, I really do. I put him in the same category as Frank Zappa. They're both artists that I listen to and consistently feel like their music is almost good. Like, every song on this album is almost good, but they're all missing something. It's like cooking without butter or oil. Sure, all of the parts are there, but where's the fucking flavor? At the same time, what he's trying to do is cool, and I think this album deserves 4/5. It's unquestionably ahead of its time and it influenced a lot of stuff that came after it. Also, it sounds like a throwback somehow too. Nothing makes sense for this album, but it isn't bad, despite the fact that I don't like it that much 4/5

Abundant muscial elements from all around the world, and some intersting try. Entire album sounds like someone having fun, a bunch of demo.

Awesome

It compels you from the first moment and continues to enthral as you inhabit these words and stories and you can’t turn it off. It’s my favourite Waits but there is still so much to explore.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Singapore, Clap hands, Cemetery polka

Gefällt mir! Manche Nummern sind mir zwar nur 3 Sterne wert, aber in Summe ist’s recht cool und ich kannte vorher noch gar kein Lied von dem Album.

This might be the third or fourth Tom Waits album that's appeared in my rotation in this project. He is such an intriguing artist and always creates music that interests me. As with any art, my subjective experience varies regarding which of his songs and albums I like, but I always find myself paying attention. That's quite an accomplishment. This album has some great stuff. Not sure who plays lead guitar in some of the tracks like 'Clap Hands,' but it's really cool stuff. I read the Wikipedia entry on this album and that's got some cool stuff, too.

Parece tocar muchos géneros aunque la mayoría de las canciones suenan como el soundtrack de una obra circense un tanto macabra. Un disco que habla de la calle, lo que ahí sucede y las personas involucradas. Interesante, nada cómodo de escuchar. Supongo que al tratar de retratar asuntos callejeros hace sentido tener piezas pequeñas de 1-2 minutos, aunque no me termina de encantar. Songs: Gun Street Girl, Big Black Mariah, Hang Down Your Head

It’s all here; the raspy yawp, weird percussion, tales of the backroads or alleys. Great band as well. Gun Street Girl, Big Black Mariah, Jockey Full of bourbon, Union Square, and Walking Spanish are all highlights. Makes me want to sip some bourbon… cheap bourbon!

Great album that I'm not entirely sure what to think about. Usually if I feel like that about an album I'll end up listening to it more and more until I finally make my mind and at that point I'll be a fan. Therefore I'll skip to the part where I like the album (even though it's kinda lengthy) and rate it appropriately.

ROUGH, WEIRD, WORTH TO LISTEN

Like wandering through back alleys of New Orleans and running into an underground Disney World musical troupe

This is mad…. In a good way. It leans and lurches all over the shop. The guys a genius!

Dla takich albumow przede wszystkim brne w te liste, czlowiek przeslucha plyty i nie ma pojecia czego sluchal, ale i tak sie podoba, gatunkowo bedzie to rock, ale z tak mocnymi eksperymentami, ze czuc jakby to byl patchwork x gatunkow, brzmi to jakby ktos zebral bande jazzowa, mocno ich napoil trunkami wysokoprocentowymi i dal im jamowac, a na tych jamach pan Tom Waits, o ktorym myslalem ze slysze go pierwszy raz, a jednak juz zdarzylo mi sie na plejce miec jeden jego traczek troche bardziej konwencjonalny goin out west, snuje swoja poezje, czy to w recytacji, czy w bardziej spiewanej formie, bardzo ekspresywnej, wiec glos jest lamany na wszelkie sposoby, to samo mozna powiedziec o instrumentach, bo jak jamuja najebani jazzmeni, to slyszy sie cos naprawde wyjatkowego, wsrod tych pijakow instrumentalnych obok pana Waitsa, ktory gra zarowno sporo gitar i klawiszy, czy bonjo, znajda sie takie nazwiska jak Keith Richards ze stonesow, czy Larry Taylor z canned heat, wyjatkowosci tylko dodaje motyw przewodni plyty czyli miasto, nie jest to koncept album, ale glowny watek jest wyraznie skierowany na brudne ulice wielkich miast, gdzie w rynsztokach caly czas rozgrywa sie cudowe zycie i piekna smierc, miasto pana Waitsa ma w sobie cos czego sie nie da ubrac w slowa, z jednej strony pokrzepiajace, a z drugiej tak zlowrogie, ze skidrowy ktore znam samemu wydaja mi sie jakos mniej mroczne, moze w tym tkwi pokrzepiajaca strona albumiku, bo nie moze on byc tak negatywny, bo z pewnoscia nie zostawia on sluchacza smutnym jest w nim za duzo zycia, co do trakow plejkowych, to jest to plyta ktora wchodzi swietnie jako pelny krazek, jak i pojedyncze kawalki maja sens, wiec plyta na poleczke, a na plejke tytulowy utwor rain dogs, jockey full of burbon, downtown train i tango till they are sore, dodatkowo na jazzowa plejke instrumental pod tytulem midtown, ktory przypomina mi aranzacje z cowboja bebopa, dokladnie openingowy tank, czyli hardbop z mocno latynowskimi klimatami, plyta po ktorej z pewnoscia obadam reszte dyskografii pana Waitsa

Gravel. Lots and lots of gravel

Gevarieerd album tussen ballads, nummers met iets meer tempo, en af en toe wat blues. Bepaalde nummers zijn wel heel experimenteel, maar wel goed

Like nursery rhymes from a nightmare. Great!

not bad, never got into Tom Waits before but always knew of him obvs.

Something for everybody, poetry and whisky. Drunken drawling emotional man music

Strange but always interesting album. 4 🌟

"...Nah, was much sicker than that. It involved a midget in a nappy, a life size model of SHACK and a sex swing."

He was surprisingly experimental wasn't he old Tom? The kinky devil.

I would listen to Tom Waits read from the dictionary while playing an accordion. Rain Dogs is near peak Tom Waits. He's very experimental musicality-wise, but his lyrics are just poetic.

Unique and powerful voice with New Orleans jazz feel. Neat that he wrote the theme song to the wire although not on this album.

This was different, but had a cool, mysterious vibe that really sucked me in. Good stuff.

A classic.

8/10. I really liked this once I got into it. This album just gives off major singing skeleton vibes, the Marimba combined with the hoarse singing, and the depressing lyrics just added up to a skeleton playing music on his ribcage as he wiles away eternity. That said, if I was a cursed skeleton captain of a pirate ship, I would play this constantly. In a weird way, a lot of these songs remind me of Springsteen as well, just his voice is rougher.

fascinating album

Wow. Känns som du är pirat. En usling av något slag. Tjuv. Du gömmer dig från polisen i New Orleans gränder. Regnet faller mjukt i natten. Inte likt något annat du lyssnat på! Sista låten, Anywhere I Lay My Head, ska tydligen vara strukturerad som en traditionell jazz funeral i Louisiana. Spelas nog inte på förfesten, om du inte vill att gästerna ska börja undra hur du egentligen mår. Återvänds kanske inte alls så ofta till det här. Men vill du tillbaks in i detta mörker vet du var du hittar det. Bästa låtar: Svårt. Hang Down Your Head och Clap Hands. Jockey Full Of Bourbon också kul.

Never really listened to much Tom Wait, but this has a very distinct personality and I was surprised by how much I liked it. Need to listen to some more Tom Waits, I think.

Right… umm, artistic… entertaining, unique? I think I get it. Moody, lyrical, recorded in a tent or container or trash can? I’d listen again to understand more.

I really liked the percussive stuff on this one. Lots of jazz influence too. I am not a fan of ending many songs with fadeouts though

Didn't know Downtown train wasn't an original from Rod Stewart. Interesting album overall

Great full album. Sucks you into a while new world.

Traveling somewhere

New Tom Waits fan here.

Dark

Somehow I’d never really sat down and listened to this whole album before now. I know a few of the songs - “Jockey Full of Bourbon,” it’s hard not to know “Downtown Train” - but most of the rest was new to me. Tom Waits occupies a unique corner of music, and pop culture as a whole: not quite an outsider artist (he’s too self-aware), not quite a character actor, you hear his songs or see him pop up in a movie and immediately go “oh cool, Tom Waits,” even if what follows is utterly bizarre. Rain Dogs was challenging at times but ultimately I liked it a lot, even if I truthfully preferred “Downtown Train” to some of the junkyard-percussion-filled howlers. It’s a solid and enthusiastic 4, something tells me living with this record for a while would push it to a 5.

4

Every song tells a different story, all weird and vibrant. Feel like I could craft a different vintage movie from each song.

Interesting album! There are 19 tracks and the songs are all so diverse. Lots of New Orleans big band sounds. A cool album, but nothing too memorable (probably because the songs are all so short).

Soo.. What kind of genre is this. Weirder than expected, but I like

This one is pretty weird. The music sort of sounds like "bad guy songs" from Disney movies (just with more alcohol in the lyrics). I sort of liked it though, fun to listen to.

Wusste nicht, was mich erwartet und kann das Album auch jetzt noch nicht wirklich zuordnen. Da mischt sich einiges, ist auch nicht immer meins aber doch oft gut.

Once you get used to the style it's nice, specially the jazzy/folky songs.

Tom Waits siendo Tom Waits. Alguna de sus canciones típicas. Hombre orquesta, lo que se espera de él.

This album is awesome and has a lot of emotion. Very gravely vocals that make me want to sit in a dimly lit coffee shop or bar with a glass of whiskey. Spotify recommends a lot of other great music like Leonard Cohen.

Magnificent.

roots

A veces parecido a Bruce.

Nice vibe, what I expected

Gran álbum si no tuviera que estudiar le hubiera dedica una.... ANIMO MARTESCITOS DE SEISCITOS

Not something I will usually listen to but I can appreciate how good it was, it felt like I was listening to a movie or some sort of story in a blues/rock kind of way

What can I say? It's Tom Waits.

Una sorpresa. Había escuchado canciones sueltas y siempre me habían parecido interesantes pero la verdad es que este disco me ha gustado mucho. La clásica Downtown Train acompañada por Clap Hands, Diamonds & Gold, Hang Down Your Head o Rain Dogs. Totalmente recomendable.

LIKE IT. FUCK YALL

I've always appreciated Tom Waits but haven't listened to his music extensively. I enjoyed this album, but I think I best enjoy him in small doses.

Very different and cool

Pretty good

This is weird as hell and I'm into it.

Liked it more than expected. Pretty interesting and it still all came together. That said, I'm not itching to go back and listen agian?

This is my kind of weird. Such a cool record. So glad I finally took the time to listen to some Tom Waits.

This morning, I'm listening to Rain Dogs by Tom Waits. I like Clap Hands it's got a nice flow and rhythm to it. Like a carnival this is. It makes me think of Charles Bukowski and fun house mirrors. Like a kaleidoscopic, jerky dance along some mirror world of my own. Most Tom Waits listening I do is focused on Mule Variations. Could I become more of a fan of Tom Waits? Listening to one of his albums is challenging and sometimes not very pleasant. Other times I get swept up in melodies that come out of nowhere and make me think this could be the greatest song ever. Maybe this is just what I needed.

Some rate this below Swordfishtrombone but I think it ranks with his greatest.

There seems to be something in this gentleman's voice.. probably rocks in a garbage disposal, but i like it

I never got what the fuss was with Tom Waits, now I do. That was great, can see how he's so influential.

super interesting

Ewig nicht mehr gehört. Warum eigentlich nicht? Hang Down Your Head ist einfach nur schön. Und Downtown Train! Tom Waits ist ein ganz Großer. I‘ll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past.

Groovy, unforgettable voice. Likes experimental noise a bit too much for my taste

Took a couple of listens to get into, but I kind of like it now. The first listen was very rough, but subsequent ones were slightly better every time.

Chill for programming too

This album has some amazing highs but some really bad lows if they would have cut of some of the bad tracks this could easily be a 8-9. for me this album is a 7.3/10

9.2/10

First few seconds are very promising. One of my kind of music. Interesting music, interesting rhythm. It is relaxing music, not listening music. 4

Fun to listen to all the way through, don’t know that I could add any of these songs to a playlist

Very odd, might come back to it

nostalgisch und irgendwie langweilig

I mean it's certainly....interesting. I don't really know how I felt about it though.

Very strange mix of genres. Sort of carnivally and jazzy and he has a very musical theatery and Bluesy voice. Just a strange album altogether. Some good some bad. 3/5

This doesn't feel like music I'd casually listen to. This feels like something I would dig up from memory if I was making a silly little movie and needed background music for a silly little scene. As a semi-serious person... I can dig it.

Definitely a guy that doesn’t leave a great first impression I’ll say that I thought there was some cool stuff on this album, one of the rare albums where the second half is better than the first. It’s not a pretty voice in any way, but I think his vocals are very well suited to deliver emotional lyrics (which is another highlight of this one). Blind Love and Downtown Train are probably my favorites on this one, I really like the instrumentation Elephant in the room is that voice, that damned voice. I absolutely hated that first song, just super grating and nothing of substance. There’s a couple other songs scattered through the album I didn’t like at all, such as Diamonds and Gold and Jockey Full of Bourbon, though there are like 20 songs on this album so they’re not too in your face at least Not exactly sure how I want to rate this one; it’s a fine album and one I’m pretty confident I’d like more if I listened to it again after getting used to his voice. I think this would be a 4 if the songs I really don’t like were gone, but there’s too much good for this to be anything less than a high 3

Every song sounds like the villain song in a musical

I'm conflicted about this album because there are many things that I liked about it, but it still isn't something that I would listen to regularly. The percussion was the highlight of the album for me. There's a lot of variety and unique percussion instruments used, most notable among which was the dissonant mallet instrument used in several songs. I don't dislike the sea shanty-like songs, but I can't really say the same for the Halloween-sounding songs. It seems like he tried his hand at writing a pop song with downtown train, which was an unexpected style after hearing the rest of the album. His voice is unique like many other artists we've heard so far, but I actually didn't hate his uniqueness as much as a few of others. I'm having a hard time rating this.

This is quite something isn't it? First 30 seconds, I thought "I'm going to hate this" but it's grown on me over the 50 minutes. I'll give it a 3 overall - feels like one to revisit.

Listened

I can understand why it's on the list.

okay man

This is my first album from the 80s on this project and you see the 1980s and you expect a certain sound right ??? This was NOT what I expected but honestly I quite liked it! It certainly wasn’t boring. Safe to say this years halloween playlist is sorted - I genuinely think they play this in the queue area for the London Dungeon.

Better than the last one but still not over 3 for me

Very "Tom Waits" - but less bedraggled and distressed than "Bone Machine," which I loved. The fact that "Downtown Train" is a Tom Waits song is incredible to me. It's clearly a Big Pop Song, no matter what Tom does to tie it down. I like the songs here, but nothing destroyed me emotionally like "A Little Rain" or "I Don't Wanna Grow Up." It's fine - an album I'll need to listen to again when I have the time to sink into it. THREE STARS

Correcto

mais uma do tom waits bem parecida com todos os outros que vieram até aqui, mas um pouco melhor? é isso ai

Suena exactamente a lo que tocarían en el bar que atiende Doris en Shrek. Nota: 3.2

Not a big Tom Waits guy, but enjoyed it for what it was.

This surprised me. I’m not a Tom Waits fan, and yet this bizarre circus, cabaretesque oddity strangely mostly worked for me. It was an intriguing listen. 3.5/5

Cookie Monster joins the carnival.

Couldn’t shake the thought that it sounded like a Disney villain singing. Decent album overall and a bit out there

It’s ok

This album is a little out there. I’m not gonna lie and the world definitely tends to build on you, but I think you definitely need to be on the streets in New York drunk to really get the full effect of this album. Hey gave me the song downtown train but everything but the girl does it 100 times better so I’m gonna get this album a solid three grow on me but man it was a weird one for sure drunk on the street of New York or your lost in the back rooms in a carnival setting

I have never listened to a Tom Waits song before, let alone an entire album. I like a lot of the instrumentation choices and styles that he explores throughout the runtime, but he's got the weirdest, gravelly, "3 packs of cigarettes a day" voice that really throws me off. I think maybe another album of his might suit me more. I honestly don't think I dislike this, but this is one of those "filter" albums where I don't quite "get it" yet. Extra note here: I really liked Downtown Train.

I guess I had no idea what a Tom Waits song sounded like. I was aware people had opinions on his voice. Anyway, this was unexpected. I think I was expecting more traditional rock, so I appreciated the range of different instruments used. I didn’t know what I’d hear with each new song.

This one is more of the same of tom waits. So he is pretty diverse and sometimes it sounds like he is trying to sing. Never paid attention to his lyrics again. Feels like a big part of tom waits vibe.

interesting listen overall, experimental and ahead of its time

Enjoyed this album. I love the syncopation and lyrics. But I can only listen to so much of Tom Waits in a single sitting. Would give a 4 but for that.

Decent album. His best I think.

Some interesting sounds

ich hab nur so die hälfte gehört, mag seine stimme nicht und die musik ist auch so meh

He's sure doing something, but I don't enjoy it. 3.

Very showtunes-y, if thats a word to describe it. Not gonna lie, the first song threw me off with the vibe but the album was pretty alright. Downtown Train was probably my favorite. 5.1/10

I get the Tom Waits thing, and also I need to lie down. Rain Dogs is a lot...in the best way, but only when you're ready for it. Highly mood-dependent. Circus vibes. Will revisit when the planets align.

Very interesting. Tom Waits is more a lyricist than a singer, but this music was brilliant, different, and engaging. A fun listen, all in all

I gotta be honest, there was a lot more to like on here than there was on the last one I listened to. I was worried listening to the first song, but he doesn't do that really annoying voice as much, and there was actually some really appealing writing on here. I still didn't love it, but I can understand the appeal a little more with this one than the last one. Favorites: Cemetery Polka, Time, 9th & Hennepin

Heartattack and Vine was better. The opening quarter of this album was wildly varied with the polka a particularly obscure one. This album had a fair bit of the extreme gargling, gravelly tones appearing at points that I just don't get on with. I've said it before, but when he angles towards the conventional, I'm more on board.

I now know where Danny Elfman got the inspiration for nightmare before christmas

Solid

Tom Waits is a treasure. He’s also a schtick.

Je ne savais pas du tout dans quoi je me lançais en mettant cet album. Je n'ai pas tout à fait compris de quoi il s'agissait. Vocalement, Tom Waits est très rocailleux et brut, ce à quoi je ne m'attendais pas du tout. Musicalement parlant, je ne saurais pas vraiment dire ce que c'était. C'est ce que les anglophones appellent les "songwriters", mais au fond, ça ne veut pas dire grand-chose, tant ça regroupe plein de choses. En tout cas, cet album et ce chanteur ont une vraie personnalité, mais je n'ai pas plus accroché que ça. Je suis quand même content de l'avoir entendu, parce que ça avait le mérite d'être original.

What that Leonard Cohen album should have been.

Pretty good

Ok

Downtown train Gun street girl Blind love Clap hands Time Jockey full of bourbon

Cants say I wasn’t intrigued by this dirty blues-pirate dawg. Some gems in there, worth searching around the Waits library.

Teeters between circus music made with found antique shop instruments and soulful blues and ballads. It has a certain pull that makes it almost a 4 in my book.

I actually enjoyed this one. By far I think my favorite tom waits. I really enjoyed the eclectic style of this.

I remember the day I reviewed "Bone Machine". That album would have my first 1-star review on this site. Unlike "Bone Machine", "Rain Dogs" is pretty good. Waits' voice is off-putting for the first 5 or so songs, but I got used to it. "Time" should get more love. 3 stars for " Rain Dogs".

3- Stars (7/15)