Reviews (page 5 of 9)
One of my least favourite albums of all time. Find his vocals grating, the instrumental choices obnoxious, the songwriting annoying. Hang Your Head is this album’s one saving grace. I like him in Licorice Pizza tho.
Not many Tom Waits songs I can get into, want to like it but it doesn't click
I could get into some songs but not really the project as a whole. Favorite Songs: Jockey Full Of Bourbon / Midtown
It is insanely hard to believe that at one point Tom Waits was appropriately grouped with Billy Joel. Post-Rain Dogs, he consistently sounds like an alcoholic pirate with kids all across Southeast Asia. All of Waits' influences come together on this album, forming a stumbling cacophony of storytelling. Bizarre doesn't even begin to describe this album. 8.85/10 Favorite Songs: Singapore/Rain Dogs
Not sure how I feel about this one. I still don't like his voice and many of these songs sound like they belong as the soundtrack for a weird Tim Burton movie. 2. And I feel like that's being generous.
Like a ROPE OF SAND.
I do not like Tom Waits
This is like a novelty album but without good singing
Abgefreakte Seemannsmusik. Gerne nochmals anhören.
Absolutely fine. I do not like his voice, but the songs were more interesting than I had expected.
I just don’t get it. The gravelly voice is interesting by man but beyond that is tedious at best.
1001 albums to kill yourself to
Tom has a unique voice. Some of these songs are a bit strange. Overall a decent listen, even if I'd probably not reach for this album again.
very "tom waits" of you
What an eclectic album. Him and Kate Bush really needed to collaborate, they would've been amazing. I think every song was interesting, but only a couple stood out, so fair 3 imo.
I tried.
This is the worst carnival I’ve ever been to, 8/10
It’s crazy that I have gotten at least 3 Tom Waits albums in the last couple months. I appreciate his music more than I enjoy listening to it. 5/10
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. I f****** love, Tom waits.
Not a fan
Llegamos al miércoles con el groso de Tom Waits y un disco que hace mil escuché cuando me sumergí en toda su obra. Imposible no sentirse impresionado por su voz oscura y por su forma de interpretar. Plus al hecho de que en éste álbum participe Keith Richards (Clap hands es un excelente ejemplo). Favoritas además de la anterior: Jockey Full of Bourbon, Big Black Mariah. Hasta mañana, gentes bellas.
Bizarre, mesmerizing, enthralling
God I love this weird dude. These songs are definitely on the weirder side, and I am more of a Closing Time and Mule Variations person, but this album is still fantastic. Time, Downtown Train, and Hang Down Your Head are three of my favorite songs of all time. And even the weirder songs are still interesting and aren't overly abrasive. It's always a treat listening to him.
When I started this album I was not very keen, I can get behind the instrumental parts but the vocals aren't really for me. However it did grow on me as the album progressed and there were a few tracks I enjoyed, but I can't see myself revisiting it as an album or any of the individual tracks.
Not the type of album I've ever listened to genre wise before. Very interesting sounds. A couple of tracks I was vibing. I didn't hate it but equally didn't love it.
I really appreciate the fascinating sounds and instrumentals that he and his backing band employ I think it seems like a great album; I’m trying to decide how much I care about returning to it
Not for me
I thin kI needed to be on a metric shit ton of lsd
fucking weirdo album for weirdos, fucking little freak album; 5 stars
This dude sounds like the villain in an animated Disney musical soundtrack.
Didn’t really care for this one
Sheer perfection. It's an experience listening to this. The songs, the sound, the band all come together to make an outstanding album of songs that tell stories. I can understand how some folk got tired of the jazzy schtick of the later Warners albums (I know that I did). This was the start of something new, what a transformation. Everyone should own a copy.
This was a great listen! I listened to it on a loop over 3-4 hours. It was like a cross between a nightmare/dream and some nostalgic feeling from another time. First time listen, won't be the last, but its one of those albums that has the right time and place!
‘First it was fun. Then scary. Then fun again. Then spooky...but in a fun way‘ First time listen for me - mostly ready enjoyed it’s bizarre-fairground-gravely feel, some tracks in the middle I’d skip on a realised - Waits has a fabulous voice
such playful darkness
Not bad. I've heard a lot about Tom Waits over the years but never checked him out for some reason. Good introduction to him.
Lots of fun stuff here. I enjoyed the mix of slow, genuine ballads and then the wild circus-like extravagance of many other songs. 8/10
Whenever Tom Waits gets on the marimba I become Dom Waits, as in “Dom waits for the song to be over”. I was kind of feeling Big Black Mariah and then he hit us with another Donkey Kong type beat. I think Tom is at his best when he’s outwardly sentimental, so I fuck with Time and Downtown Train heavy, the latter of which is practically a The Cars song lmao. At some points on this album it’s like he’s doing chamber pop Slipknot, and I surprisingly found myself appreciating it. This is better than Bone Machine. I should have given that a 1.
There were like two songs I could listen to.
I think I understand what he’s trying to do and certainly think it’s a unique sound but I just don’t like to listen to it. It’s like deconstructed folk with an old timey feel. The type of music you put on at the end of the night to get everyone to leave the party
It's weird but fine when I get past the voice. The storytelling is where it's at
This completely rocks. Surprisingly so. The horns are great, many of the songs are great. “Clap Hands”, “Midtown” and “Gun Street Girl” “Downtown Train” are highlights. Loved it.
Scooby doo treasure island
What a classic. This is my early 20s sitting in a smoky room with friends, pretending to be intellectuals and not being like "all the other posers". Good times.
Ok?
so i definitely thought this album was interesting and original
Rain Dogs is certainly an excellent album. I always liked Tom Waits' style of music and how unique it is and this album does a really good job in capturing that style. It also just does every aspect that you would ever want in an album right. There are plenty of different styles of music here which all sound great, Tom's vocals which all are varied and gave the songs their intended feel and then some, the lyrics in every song are interesting and the production here was surprisingly very good, even better than Bone Machine even though that album came out 7 years later. I don't think i can think of a single problem that this album has so it gets full marks from me. Best Song: Gun Street Girl Worst Song: Time
Dope.
Feels like a soundtrack to a Tim Burton film.
Amazing.
Another dramatic Tom Waits album. It's OK. I can see why British people would think the American sounds on Rain Dogs are interesting.
Not giving it a 1 because I see the appeal. But I just don’t really like Tom Waits.
Not my favourite tom
Not for me
This album is sooo good, he took everything that was great on Swordfishtrombones and improved it.
Not the best by Tom Waits but quite good.
wtf did i just listen to... i absolutely love this
Can't stand his voice
Perfection, there’s nothing in the world that sounds like this
Artiste inconnu. J'ai détesté le premier morceau, avec son instrumentation type fanfare et la voix éraillée du chanteur. Cette voix éraillée reste sur les morceaux suivants. L'instrumentation change un peu selon les morceaux, alternant fanfare et ... autre chose, parfois dissonante et/ou originale, parfois plus classique. Mais la voix reste insupportable. Un vrai calvaire. =>1/5
There are some parts I like and other parts no so much. 3 stars or C.
O que é isso?
Cool.
I feel like I have to be in the right mood to like Tom Waits. I've never actually been in that mood yet, but I still believe it.
Tror det är fjärde plattan jag får med Tom Waits nu och det här är ju lätt hans bästa. Känns som man är på ett nöjesfält på 1930-talet och passar på att besöka en freakshow.
More spoken word from T. Waits? I still don’t see it.
Love the diversity in the record 19 tracks that flies by
And for today's album we have the soundtrack to every movie Tim Burton has ever made.
Hahahah wat is dít dan weer voor album? Een soort piratennummer met Singapore? Dat is tenminste de vibe die ik er van krijg, maar het gaat compleet los vanaf nummer 2. Ik kan dit ook niet echt in een genre plaatsen, is het blues? Ja dit is echt een vreemd, bizar album. Als je me verteld dat Tom het hele album straalbezopen is, dan geloof ik je echt meteen. Zo klinkt het namelijk compleet. Kan me goed voorstellen dat je dit niets vind, ik vind het zelf ook vrij lang duren, maar het is wel echt compleet iets anders dan wat ik al ken. Daarnaast, dit komt uit 1985??? Het klinkt echt eerder als iets uit begin 1900. Ik stel me hier een soort piraten kroeg bij voor, of dat dit in een cowboy film zit ofzo. Qua muziek en genres zit alles een beetje door elkaar heen, maar dit album is op 1 ding wel echt consistent: vibes. En dat is stiekem 1 van de belangrijkste dingen. God, duurt wel ballen lang hoor, zó leuk is het ook weer niet... Ik ga hierna wel even een rummetje pakken. Het is vast ergens 5 uur toch? FAVO: Singapore,Clap Hands, Time, Gun street Girl, Downtown train
Some of the most unique music I’ve ever heard but that doesn’t make it good.
I had to listen to this album several times in order to have a former opinion. What really shines about this album, and I'm betting that you could also say about this man's whole discography, is the how versatile his voice is. In some songs he mainly whispers while, in other ones it is very present and some other feels like you are listening to a Disney villain. But not only his voice shines. My favorite parts from this records where when the instruments played wierd and dissonant melodies, which match incredible well with Tom's voice. Nevertheless, I didn't find the slower cuts to be that interesting as the rest (like 'Time' or 'Downtown Train'). Overall, incredible album
Sometimes it sounds like a pirate singing songs and sometimes it sounds like a pirate singing songs well.
I’m not so into the burlesque sound of some of this album. But the blues tracks rock! I appreciate the creativity. Definitely want to give this another listen.
Holy fuck what a strange album
I don't get it, I feel like I'm missing context or something? DNF, wouldn't relisten
Very good storytelling from Mr Waits
Horrendous vibes
Someone give this man a lozenge.
Transports me to a time and place I've never really experienced, but am happy to belong to for a little while.
Tom Waits. Let's have this one out. He's clearly a genius of sorts, and loads of people rave on and on about him. But...he's also quite silly and often a little annoying. I think I said this on a previous Waitsy album, but he needs to seriously tone down the jazzy ones and focus more on trying to make me cry.
Very much enjoyed
Fever dream
Very strange. . .not something to listen to on date night (unless your date's a goth, perhaps), but the lyrics are compelling as is his ability to keep the music coherent. There are depths here that aren't obvious on a casual listen.
Once, I was delivering pizzas on a rainy summer night in Phoenix, Arizona, struggling to find the house numbers in the dark. 9th and Hennepin came on while I listened to this album and I was very scared. I like Waits when he sings songs, and I don't like him when he's spooky or weird. This one has incredible songs, but far too few of them. I don't think I'd have been as scared had Downtown Train or Blind Love come on when I couldn't find that house.
Did not finish. Slam poetry in musical form is not for me.
Ja, ok. Schrägi Stimm. Isch nüd zum pauselos lose. Spannend isch allerdings Instrumentalisierig. De Keith Richards hät bi einige Lieder mitgwürkt. Das Album isch i de 80er erschiene - Mainstream chammerem würkli nüd naasäge. Das git än Äxtra-⭐️
de scheiss isch mega weird, ich los ihm no gern zue. aber ich checks nöd. es will glaub au mega komisch sii. es isch soo kabarett chlikumst irgendwie. clap hands hani ehner langwilig gfunde. cemetery polka isch au ehner nervig, ich checks wüüürkli nöd. aso s macht easy spass zum lose und het mega e faszinierendi siite aber ich checks afoch nöd. ah uf big black mariah isch de keith richards druff. gitarre tönt geil. bin etz bi gn street girl und chume langsam drii. sehr bluesy. union square und blnd love findi no cool. glaub da git e 3, vilicht höcher wennis nomol wür lose. ich weiss selte was er will sege. downtown train tönt mega nochme guete 80er popsong bitz springsteen. nice. er transportiert eim scho ine welt irgendwie. sehr e seltsami.
tom waits funny musig! singapore erfüllt wieder das, won ich vo ihm erwarte hahahaha oke tag spöter versuech ichs nomal, willsmer doch z fest uf de sack gange isch ja es isch funny aber tönt sehr ähnlich, wie ichs ketschte album ich chopf han? wiso mümmer das zweimal lose? ahh mit dem keith richards?? mega funny wennd mit so musig no. 29 ide uk erreichsch, machsch iwie ja scho öppis richtig ich frög mich gad, was ich am fishtrombones album geh han. 3 oder 4 willi gad funny underwegs gsi bin? jockey full of bourbon isch reeecht cool s albumcover isch fantastisch, anschinend ide nöchi vode reeperbahn ufgno tanzo till they're sore isch uuuuhuere geil, es kreiiert es richtigs chopfkino! wie das s achtbeste album us de 80er sötti sii, müssti mier pitchfork aner no erchläre shit ich verfall wieder am charme vo dem umebrüllende huere bär hang down your head sehr schön!! hobbla ja jz ischs eifach gloffe und jz simmer scho bim letschte lied. han mich zerst gnervt, de tubel nomal müsse z ghöre, doch ich hans actually gnosse, bin zwüscheme 3 undeme 4 Die einzelne lieder sind, abgseh vo hang my head oder time, nöd unglaublich aber s album als gsamtwerk isch super okkkkkkkkkja vlt isch das min innere quirk aber 4!
Tom Waits certainly keeps me waiting...for something to liven up on his albums. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I just cannot vibe with what he wants me to vibe with. I understand the appeal, but these albums seem to be hell bent on boring me to death.
The gravel-voiced troubadour crafts something truly singular that earns my sincere admiration, if not my subsequent plays.
52/100.
Best Song: Jockey Full Of Bourbon. No one else sounds like this. To me, this sounds like good ideas, bad intentions. I love the character of this song. Very close second to "Tango Till They're Sore". Worst Song: 9th & Hennepin. This kind of spoken word kind of interrupts the flow of the album. I think this could have been a good closer for the album, but it distracts right in the middle. Overall: Probably my favourite Tom Waits album. Everything about this album is brilliant. The way it alternates between these moments of carnivalesque silliness to indulgent melancholy, all dripping with Waits's unique mix of booze and blues. The way that the lyrics are as just idiosyncratic and characterful as his melodies. And especially the way he dips into atonal, sometimes almost amusical choices in such a way that he somehow makes even those moments of ugliness feel beautiful. Fantastic.
Very different.!
This sounds like it belongs in an old black and white film, yeet is much newer. Very well done I would say. Stamd-outs: Tango Till They're Sore, Hang Down Your Head
3/4
Tom, some real SICK shit there. Who would buy this CRAP?
I really didn't like this at first. Just heard bad musical theatre but glad I persevered. Enjoyed the slower songs and can see how appreciation would build with each listen.
I've quite enjoyed listening to this. Not listened to much TW in the past but find this really accessible. I'm quite pleased with some of the albums that have been thrown up as it has expanded my listening range. In particular I like the guitar playing of Marc Ribot on jocky full of bourbon. Favourites include Clap Hands, hang down your head and time.
what the hell is this
Enjoyed a couple of the songs, but ultimately didnt do it for me. I appreciated the subject matter, but the musical style wasnt for me
didn't listen super in depth: jockey full ofbourbon was my favorite song, or time. new strange sound. doesn't sound like eightes. Cool, but not my thing.
Why is there so much carnival music on this list? Fortunately for us listeners, this one is actually really great. Tom Waits seems a little deranged and this is an album that is truly unique to this listening experience, which is refreshing. Singapore is a great opener and tone setter for what kind of twisted Alice in Wonderland journey you are about to embark on. I also liked Clap Hands, and these were probably my favorite before the album started losing some charm. That's not to say the rest of the album isn't worth it, but the shock of the opening tracks was really memorable.
Yeah it’s pretty good but I once again cannot think of something to say
Waits has never been my cup of tea, though I can appreciate his musicality
You really just have to be a fan of his eccentricity to get this album. I catch glimpses of it sometimes, but ultimately it doesn’t quite resonate with me. That doesn’t change that this is creative genius and a massive collection of comedic, dark, and complex songs.
Yeah… this is too weird for me
This is such a strange album, but I can't help but admire it rather than be put off by it. It's kind of ramshackle and down and dirty, but there's a real artistry to it. It's not really my thing, but it's bold and I like that.
Finde Tom Waits macht sehr spannende Musik und ich liebe einzelne Lieder. Bei dem Album waren mir zu viele Lieder irgendwie piratenmäßig und ein ganzes Album würde ich mir von ihm wahrscheinlich nicht noch mal anhören
I can maybe understand the inclusion of one Tom Waits’ album in this list but this is getting painful now.
Raspy vocals
Just not my thing, but sure is unique. Like an avant garde Bruce Springsteen in my opinion who is influenced by Dr John and the whole New Orleans sound.
Spooky scary skeletons, send shivers down my spine.
I like the lyrics and musical styings.
I kinda loved this one. Very strange in a good way Will I listen to again: 100%
Kut
Het eerste derde van het album is echt moeilijk raar, en het weet zich maar gedeeltelijk te herstellen. Nummers als Time, Gun Street Girl, Downtown Train en Anywhere I Lay My Head kan ik wel waarderen, maar de kans dat ik dit album in zijn geheel nog een keer terugluister, is klein. 2.75/5
Not for me
Unique? A mix of styles for sure. I like it, it's very good music. Marc Ribot's guitar is great throughout.
absolutely brilliant.
A bit too silly. It's ok to do silly music, but this might be a bit too much.
The only thing I knew about Tom Waits was that people said he had a weird voice. I was expecting something like Bob Dylan, but was very surprised from the first track. This album took a second listen for me to really get it. The imagery he creates with each song is really amazing. It’s like each song is a scene from a movie. The guitar on the album is really great too.
weird
Like a bad pirate love song
I want to like Waits’ music, I really do. But I don’t and it’s unlikely that I ever will. I’d love to have pints with him though. 4.2/10
I don't think I had ever listened to something like this. It was marvelous.
Very good and trippy
Gun Street Girl kinda slaps tom waits might be a little insane
Bursting with creativity
As much music as I know, I never got Tom Waits. And I love some of the weirdest shit out there. I'll admit, I gave it a try again. But I just don't get it. Maybe I never will. Funny seeing the reviews are either 1 star or 5 stars on this. I guess it's a guy you either love or hate. I wish I could see what the 5 star rating people liked in this, but I just don't.
Singapore - 3/5 Clap Hands - 4/5 Cemetary Polka - 5/5 Jockey Full Of Bourbon - 5/5 Tango Till They're Sore - 4/5 Big Black Mariah - 4/5 Diamonds And Gold - 4/5 Hang Down Your Head - 2/5 Time - 3/5 Rain Dogs - 4/5 Midtown - 2/5 9th & Hennepin - 2/5 Gun Street Girl - 5/5 Union Square - 3/5 Blind Love - 3/5 Walking Spanish - 3/5 Downtown Train - 4/5 Bride Of Rain Dog - 2/5 Anywhere I Lay My Head - 3/5 Average score: 3.4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ it's like that one chop shop song in the movie Robots, but for like an hour jokes aside, was almost certain I'd hate this whole album when i heard Singapore for the first time, but this grew on me the more i listened. some of the tracks have a creole-y, jazzy vibe to them that I can appreciate. there were some off-putting spots, but i could see myself listening to a good portion of this album in the future. weird but somehow likeable
Something about a man singing in a voice as if he's swallowed a bucket of nails, chugged a pint of beer, and just gotten into a bar fight gets me going.
One of his best. Though better on a gloomy day
WTF is this? Terrible... It sounds like drunk Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean trying to make a concept album. I just don’t get the love for Tom Waits… 1⭐️
Well that was fucking weird. Ok, but different, which I guess is why I'm here
This sounds like nothing else that came out in the '80s. None of the production gimmicks of the day, just some damn good musicians (including Keith Richards) and Waits' unique voice. It sounds both like it could have come out at any time, and doesn't really fit into any time period. It's incredible. I got Waits' Bone Machine as album #8 on here, over a year and a half ago. I didn't really like it very much at all. His voice is deep and a bit aggressive, and that album has a bit of dark undertones. It very quickly became clear that this one is different. His voice still isn't my favorite ever, but the deep raspy thing works so well here, whether on the more approachable pop-ish songs, or the ballads, or the more experimental stuff. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what I like about this, but I got that excited feeling like I get sometimes when listening to new things that feel different. It's raw and emotional and just hauntingly beautiful. I don't typically like to copy/paste quotes here, but the Wikipedia page has a Thom Yorke quote that I like: "falling asleep listening to it on my Walkman, only to wake up in the morning with it still on autorepeat in my head. Every track was a short movie set in a mysterious, circus-like down-at-heel America that I had almost no understanding of, with different characters both in the lyrics and the instruments, an entire universe revealed to me for a few minutes only to drop me at the other end of the block – no idea how I’d got there. Every lyric was an effortless rhyme you could only dream of ever writing. Falling off the tongue so beautifully, but never giving easily, keeping half the story to itself. Waits was playing a character with a darkness and humour that felt far more genuine than anything trying to be, I dunno, genuine in 1985... This record has never got tired for me, though I have played it over and over throughout my life, as did my kids growing up." I can't wait to listen again. I probably owe Bone Machine a relisten too now. Favorite song: Downtown Train Other: Singapore, Clap Hands, Cemetery Polka, Jockey Full Of Bourbon, Tango Till They're Sore, Diamonds And Gold, Hang Down Your Head, Time, Rain Dogs, Gun Street Girl, Union Square, Blind Love, Walking Spanish, Anywhere I Lay My Head 1/26/25
Rain Dogs was straight-up miserable to get through. I know Tom Waits has a cult following and people swear by this album, but honestly? I have no idea why. It sounds like a drunk pirate muttering nonsense over trash can percussion and broken accordions. The whole thing feels like it’s trying way too hard to be weird for the sake of being weird. There’s no flow, no real melody to hang onto — just a mess of clanking sounds and gravelly rambling that made me feel like I was losing my mind. I kept hoping it would turn a corner or give me something to latch onto, but it never happened. Every track just made me more annoyed that I was still listening.
I was waiting for one of his. Having developed stockholm syndrome via being force fed Leonard Cohen (good), elvis costello (middling) and morrisey (horrible man) i wasnt sure how id react. It took one listen to get past his voice. But second and third time around this really started to grow on me. The growl has a lovely bluesy feel, the story telling and the playing are top notch. Im now a fan
Crazy how avant garde some of this still sounds 40 years on. Unusual, creative, unsettling. At times genuinely offputting, at others enticing and enchanting, even comforting. He truly has one of the world’s most unique voices. I think because I love Nick Cave so much and there’s quite a lot of similarity, it’s almost surprising I haven’t been more into Tom Waits before, I’ve only ever dipped my toes, so I think I’m going to get into him properly now.
The only Tom Waits song I'd heard before was Flowers Grave, so imagine my surprise clicking on this album expecting to hear a sombre, serious melodic tune, only to get hit with the jaunty pirate waltz that is Singapore. Shock aside, I loved this album. It was entirely different and very enjoyable. Looking forward to exploring more Tom Waits music.
Don't get the hype, generally unenjoyable with a few OK bits. His voice is grating and the songs sound like a circus. Goes on for too long too.
Great Waits album. You either love or hate Tom but I love him
3 out of 5. Not bad for a first time listen.
Suena como Tim burton
Zitten echt prachtige nummers tussen!
I only didn’t really like the first song (Singapore), which honestly that sucked because I was a little turned off to the album immediately. Thankfully I pushed through, because the rest of the album was quite good! Ended up really enjoying the variety of styles/genres, lyrics were great. Not exactly my preference for music, but still great album.
Very good
This album was way better than I expected it was kinda fun
Almost didn't make it through the first song ... in fact, I skipped ahead after only a minute in. The rest wasn't so bad. But, He's not going on my list of must listen to's ...
weird
I think this list has taught me that I’ve transitioned past enjoying Tom Waits. And I mean that literally. Tom Waits appeals to precocious young men in liberal arts programs who think that their desire to become an alcoholic novelist makes them interesting, smart, and better than you. They believe the rules don’t apply to them, and Tom Waits, in his endless journey of I-don’t-give-a-fuck-ery, speaks to these types of young men intellectually, and maybe even emotionally. But there’s no emotion to this bullshit; it’s just Waits taking the piss, and that’s funny, and sometimes leads down interesting avenues where he finds the capital-A Art™️ in kitschy Tin Pan Alley music, but none of it seems to come from a place of sincerity. It’s edge lord music for 19 year old boys who fancy themselves tortured poets just because they black out at house parties and don’t know how to talk to women, let alone anyone, without referencing Plato for some goddamn reason even though they’ve never read a sentence Plato wrote. Which sucks, because occasionally, Tom Waits is also a folk singer, a piano player at the bar downtown that feels nicer than a dive bar but is still populated with townies going nowhere, and he sings them songs about how he is also a townie going nowhere. This was always the Tom Waits I loved most, and when he comes out on Rain Dogs, I wonder if I’m being too harsh, because those moments are genuinely enjoyable (although they’re never so amazing that they win me over completely, and they’re way too infrequent). But then he’ll go back to piss-take carnival barker bullshit, and I realize that the year I pretended to like Tom Waits after only listening to Closing Time was all posturing, all part of the worst period in my life when I tried so hard to lean into being masculine, much to the detriment of my mental and physical health. Now, as a full grown adult woman, I can’t help but find this shit deeply insufferable, adolescent, and toxic. I’m too much of a Doll to give a fuck about the drunk ramblings of an edge lord.
Like much of Tom Waits, I want to like it more than I do. HIs voice affectations can be a bit much. The acoustic organic sound making is nice. The lyrics are ok.
What a great album! Someone wrote that this was like Halloween music. I agree with that statement, but where we differ is that I view it as a good thing. There are several songs on here that would be right at home on the soundtrack for Nightmare Before Christmas. So many new favorites: Singapore, Clap Hands, Cemetery Polka, Jockey Full of Bourbon, Gun Street Girl
A Masterpiece! The best Tom's album. Vocal and music are perfect! Every track is amazing, It is one of my favorite albums.
Day 78 - January 7th "Mom? Can we have Danny Elfman?" "No. We have Danny Elfman at home." Danny Elfman at home: 1/5 (this is one of the few albums I could not finish)
I need to listen to this 60 more times to get a full grasp of it, but it’s long been my favorite of Waits’. Nothing much like it.
Sehr kompliziertes Konzeptalbum mit echt schrägen bis fast unhörbaren Songs. Es gibt aber auch sehr ordentliche Stücke, die die Einordnung des Albums des Songwriters und Tausendsassa ein wenig retten. Hierzu zählen „Hang down your Head“, „Time“, „Gun Street Girl“ und auch „Downtown Train“.
1.5
I had Swordfishtrombones about 6 months ago and I wasn't a fan at all. Something felt different about Rain Dogs though. It was remarkably varied, and the title track especially was quite the earworm. It's not enough to convert me into a true Waits fan but I'll still give this collection a hearty 3 stars.
Tom Waits is indescribable. Such a unique sound and perspective in his songwriting. This is the kind of album I thought there would be more of on this list. Something not heard before and is truly different.
Unusual
Étrangement, malgré le style très typqiue "Tom Waits" de cet album, je l'ai bien mieux aimé que beaucoup d'autres qui figurent dans cette liste. 7/10
I really wasn't expecting to get this album as quickly as I did. Like, this isn't my first encounter with Tom Waits, to be clear. This is, as it happens, the second time I'm talking about an artist I first heard through the SHREK 2 soundtrack, after David Bowie. "Little Drop Of Poison" was one of my favorites, 'coz the arrangement was stranger than anything else on there and Tom Waits just had this uniquely gravelly voice, like nothing I'd ever heard before (it'd be a few years before I'd hear Captain Beefheart). It was also one of the two "piano bar" songs on the album, along with "People Ain't No Good" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds — and somehow, I always thought this album would be more like that. I'unno, the album cover just always gave me the vibe that it'd be really "sad piano ballad-y," and potentially a little boring as a result if I wasn't in the mood for that sorta thing. Like, this album **did** come out 20 years before SHREK 2; I thought maybe that's just Tom Waits was doing way back then. Nope. Unsurprisingly, I was wrong. Within the first couple seconds of the opening track, I got the sound of this album immediately — one half of its sound, at least. This is clearly the kinda shit that inspired bands like That Handsome Devil and Primus, with these unconventional arrangements and lyrics about strange, odd people. I was especially reminded of That Handsome Devil with these vocals. And, like, goodness, if I thought Waits had unique vocals before, I swear, there are so many times where it sounds less like he's singing, or even yelling, and more like he's just... **Vomiting** the words. Some kinda Bruce Springsteen who went way too hard on the liquor and cigarettes. It's kind of amazing, honestly. These are the kind of songs where I can tell why someone wouldn't like this album; it might just sound strange for the sake of it. But believe me, once you've got an ear attuned to it; if you've heard as much SAILING THE SEAS OF CHEESE and A CITY DRESSED IN DYNAMITE as i have, it's great stuff. And that's half the album, probably actually a majority of it. As for the rest, it turns out there is actually a small selection of songs that play into that "sad piano ballad" thing I was somehow expecting from this album. I wanna highlight "Hang Your Head Down" and "Blind Love" specifically, where I was honestly taken a little off-guard by the emotion he was able to wring out of his vocal style. And actually managing to pull off those vocal melodies — honestly, they maybe hafta be my favorite moments on the album. What an album it is, goodness. Not even the fact that it approaches an hour is really an issue to me. It breezes by, and I'm loving it the entire time. It's another hard 5 from me — my eighth in a row now! Just outstanding music, my goodness. So that's another win for the "SHREK 2 soundtrack seal of approval," I guess. Which, I'm already aware it doesn't have a 100% success rate — lookin' at you, Dashboard Confessional — but dang if it ain't have a good track record so far.
Some of these tracks just have a quality to them that remind me of a group like The Residents, which does put it up a notch in my alley. 4.5 bumped up to 5.
I’m not even sure how to rate this album – I’m either at a 3 or a 4, and I gotta talk myself into it one way or the other. This is my first time listening to Tom Waits – for some reason, the name sounds familiar, but I genuinely haven’t been able to place it at all. I don’t have any songs from the guy in any of my playlists, so I have no idea what the hell my subconscious is trying to tell me here. If anything, after listening, I’m a bit more confused, with a hint of strange admiration – I have no idea if I’ve ever heard an album that’s this scattered in terms of genres, soundscapes, styles, vocals, or production. It’s not even scattered in a bad way, it’s just scattered in a way that’s really jarring, a bit incoherent, and throws any and all album tradition and structure out of the window. It’s very unique for 1985, especially because the formula for an album felt pretty set in stone at this point, especially post-Thriller. I did like a lot of the tracks on this album, which is where I’m more inclined to give it a 4, but his vocals have such a weird consistent inconsistency that makes me want to go down to a 3, and I really can’t decide what should win out. His vocals have a really deep raspy grit to them, which sometimes works for the tracks, and sometimes doesn’t – I think it really distracts from the instrumentation and lyricism, most of which correctly nails a storytelling vibe. Beyond that, the fact that his vocals sound filtered, recorded away from the studio, while the instrumentation has a really crisp tone to it, makes each track feel weird to listen to with headphones in. Downtown Train is the clearcut example here to me – the mismatch between his vocal quality and the instrumentals is extremely apparent, so much so that when Rod Stewart covered the track, it became a huge hit for the guy. And yet, for whatever reason, I just find myself sort of charmed by this album, in an inexplicable way. It’s not as commercially acceptable as it could be, but that’s still fine. It sets its expectations from Track 1 with how out there and unusual that instrumental is, and never really strays too far from that vision. Does it align with my tastes that much? No, not necessarily, but I really did end up liking a lot of the tracks here for their storytelling and their ability to capture a mood. It’s not the most melodic, but when the instrumentals want to find a groove that works, it really does work. It’s a very strange album, and I’m not sure how much of it I can ever fully return to, but I think I admire its sort of dirty throwback style enough to bump it up to a 4 – you can only make something that sounds like this with a full intention to do so, and a deeper knowledge of exactly how to do it. It succeeds at that, and it does so in a way that doesn’t feel so far astray from the standards of 1985 to really harm the musicality of it all. I could totally go down, but I think I’m good with a 4.
I struggle with Tom Waits. There are glimmers of a top tune or a good vocal and then it all goes quite odd and it’s a no. Great lyrics though. He would make a great poet. I feel the same about Leonard Cohen
This wasn't terrible.
Rain Dogs - Tom Waits The first thing that immediately popped out to me was the already strange instruments he tried to combine. Plus it has this sort of honky tonk rhythm like the band Primus. Basically if you are into this sound, this record is killer if not, then you might hate it. It really sets a mood for a long walk thru New Orleans at night. His voice is so hoarse it seems over the top at first but it’s genuine, and it grows on you. Especially after Rain Dogs, that is when it really clicked for me. Funny how he goes “1,2,3..” for a lot of the intros. It feels like he’s playing for you individually. And the more I read about his life it makes me all the more curious to see a performance on YouTube or something. It’s a very like “oh I’m gonna drive for a while” vibes. Again circa Americana. It just is so smooth that it surpasses time and generations. I get it. 3/5 though I sometimes just cannot hang with this mood. I mess with Gun Street Girl but not like Union Square. He sounds like he’s about to pop a vessel on that one haha. Tom has crazy vocal range in Walking Spanish. It’s like he has peanut butter in the back of his throat and he’s just hawking it out. My god the beginning of Anywhere I Lay My Head has a jump-scare right at the beginning. But it comes around and you again can feel his genuine take on this sad song.
A bit too experimental, but you can still hear the Waits.
So, so good. One of his best
I don't think anything this man touches Will ever be below 5 stars from me. It's so unique and somehow sounds ancient and brand new, despite being 40 years old.
I think there are probably more Tom Waits albums on this list than there need to be, but this one is definitely the best I've heard so far. Tom's voice is its own thing, but I think it lends itself well to this album, and there are some seriously good songs on here.
Quite repetitive
Absolutely fucking brilliant, Tom Waits' best. My go-to album when I need to hear something good.
Pretty cool, guaranteed it will be rated low
Magnificent
Not really my cup of tea. Some of it was alright.
maybe bc i listened to swordfishtrombones first this one didn't hit as hard. what i did get from this one is what justin vernon wishes he sounded like when he shouts! good to know waits was accompanied by pretty fun instrumentation more than once. definitely made me curious to dive deeper into his stuff
I was not prepared that I like this record that much. I listened to others by Tom waits before and was not convinced. But this was really great!
I didn't care for most of the songs. I did like Hang Down Your Head.
Nogle af hans bedste numre på den her, men det der imponerer mig ved Tom Waits er, hvor godt albums hænger sammen
Ved ikke hvilket univers Tom Waits lever i, men fuck det her er en fed plade. Det her projekt gør mig til en større Tom Waits fan.
Great instrumentation - Very varied, but it all just works out so seamless. Great atmosphere. Great voice. Big 4
I really had to chew on this album. I listened to this years ago and didn't think too much of it. Now I think I'm beginning to understand the full picture. Most songs on it are really phenomenal, it's really just the couple of NOLA style saloon jams that are almost a bit of a caricature that detract from the whole. That being said, my impression of Rain Dogs only continues to improve with time, and I'm really glad I can appreciate it now. 4.5/5 -> 5/5
I feel like I am listening to a cartoon character singing jazz. Almost sounds like Bigweld from Robots (I know that's Mel Brooks but still). 1 star
Jockey Full Of Bourbon // Tango Till They’re Sore //
7/10 I love me some Tom Waits. So much fun. 11-27-2024
Rating: 7.5/10 What an interesting and intriguing album. I commend Tom Waits on being ridiculously creative and unique with his style. Even if it does not always work for me it's so interesting musically and vocally to warrant 4 stars.
So unique. HIs plethora of short songs all feel like scenes in a larger performance that I don't necessarily grasp.
Blind album, know the artist from other albums on the project. I get it. I totally get it. Im hooked so hard on this album. I love the wacky songs, I love the Heartland tracks, I love the instrumentation, I love the jumpy staccato that isn't too aggressive or overstayed, its the perfect middle ground, complimenting the legato parts and overpaying to make something you dont hear every day but brings emotion from the soul. The vocals fit so many styles, and the album being a jumbled mess of those styles isn't jarring. 1 bit where 1 song is rock/Heartland, and the previous being wacky percussive blues, it doesn't pull you away, it hooks you in! It sucks you in to tune in actively but still feels laid back. If this is the middle of 3, I cannot wait to hear the other 2.
Strange album. Not always in a good way. Appreciate the various genres attempted, but it sometimes makes the album feel disjointed. 2/5 Won’t listen again
Tom Waits really broke through for me on this listen. His halting, strange melodic style has an appealing intimacy. It wasn't always my cup of tea, but this album has to be the pinnacle of his work
kipu...kivuissain... aaaaaah... AAAAAAHHH the pain... kärsimys. nyt oijoi nytt tuntuu pahalle nytt tuntuu pahalle aijjjaijjai nyt nytt tuntuuu muuten pahalle. terv. tom waits... maailman sylki.. kurakadut, rumat kulmat.. mikään ei säikäytä. maailma on likainen.. kaikki paska nähty... tätä se on, prkl, tätä se on.. revi kaikki kauneus, naamari pois ja mitä on jäljellä? yhteiskunta.. nyt oijoi nytt tuntuu pahalle nytt tuntuu pahalle aijjjaijjai nyt nytt tuntuuu muuten pahalle. aha... sataa taas... heh... vesisade... noh, siinähän se on... heheh.... ai että, sehän sen selittää ... hehe... muussakaan ei pahemmin järkeä loppujen lopuksi ole... tämän ymmärrän... rain dogs
Tom Waits is such a weird artist it's hard to describe what he's even doing. He's making traditional music is the most unsettling way. This album feels timeless and scary. My only complaint is that it gets a little "normal" at the end.
A stone-cold masterpiece. Musically interesting, cinematic in scope, lyrically piercing. By far it's his most balanced record, where the cheap laughs, borderline sentimentality and grim/noir aspects work well together, reinforcing the emotional impact of each. The middle part of the record through the end is just classic after classic – "Hang Down Your Head" and "Time" and "Rain Dogs" and "9th & Hennepin" and "Gun Street Girl" "Walking Spanish" and "Blind Love" and "Downtown Train" and "Anywhere I Lay My Head." All his dues-paying seemed to pay off in the coalescing of high musical art here.
what is this, the peaky blinders theme song?
-this is so interesting damn. Not at all what I was expecting but I really liked it, it makes me feel like an Italian-American gangster in New York -The variety and the sort of quirky instrumentation and vocal styles keep this feeling consistent and never boring. I fw it -Favorites are Clap Hands, Jockey Full Of Bourbon, and Gun Street Girl
"Have you ever listen to Tom Waits? If so, fucking shoot yourself." ~Joey Diaz. Tom Waits is the most talentless bum on this list and it's not close. The fact he appears multiple times on this list is legitimately insane. 1/10.
Day309 - tom waits is becoming my favorite find on this list
I like it. It's like an improved version of captain beefheart with a bit of the residents blended in. Favorite song: Cemetery Polka.
sick. eclectic, and i loved the spoken word stuff
AI, make me an album of sea shanties, children's skipping songs, blues, jazz and folk songs. Here you go Thanks. Now make the singer a chain smoking ogre, but make it bizarrely awesome. Like this? Yeah. Now throw in a Rod Stewart cover version that isn't a cover version. This one? No, the other one. This one? That's the one. Perfect
I've seen a lot of reviews that love or hate this. Personally I think this is pretty good. Waits voice is so unique and couple that with some bayou jazz and this is a winner.
Much stronger album than Swordfishetc and best TW album together with Franks Wild Years.
Great album. It felt more balanced than Swordfishtrombones.
Unique combination of roughness and beauty: a deeply satisfying album.
Another classic from Tom Waits. Rain Dogs comes to finish what Swordfishtrombones started: a crazy troubadour screaming stories from dwarfs, sailors, and prostitutes in a really hoarse voice. Great album. I cannot get enough from it!
4.7 - I think this was probably more accessible. I just find he has so much character
Three Tom Waits albums in now, I just don’t see the appeal. His voice and style is weird, which is great and all, but it doesn’t make good music to me. I really would not like to go back and listen to many of these songs. At its most interesting the album sounds like the soundtrack for an evil villain in a kids movie. Fave Tracks: Time, Downtown Train 2.4/5
Ehkä 20 minuuttia tätä albumia riittäis, sitten tunnelmointi ja temaattisuus alkavat painaa. Tehokeinona ne toimivat mulle paremmin. Makee ääni toki, ja onneksi tarpeeksi vähän karnevalismia.
Waits kirjoittaa (ison) kasan biisejä saadakseen aikaan levyn. Onko ihme, että biisit kuulostavat omaksutuilta, eivät sävelletyiltä? Ja silti artisti on kehittänyt niin toimivan kaavan, että hänen tekeleitään ei voi ohittaa viihteenä - ei vaikka kuinka vierastaisi Taitelijan maneereja. Kuulemisen arvoista? Peräti.
Amazing album from an alternate universe. Not a bad track. Will spin again.
I didn't hate it but I was done with it by the end. One and done.
Pretty good. Another album with amazing vibes and a glorious voice. For me peak Waits is Bone Machine. I’m not very familiar with this album, and it might be the first time I listened to the entire thing. Maybe Rain Dogs will get up to five stars after I become more familiar.
Probably the best Tom Waits? Yeah probably. If I have only one nitpick it’s that parts of it seem weirdly sequenced. But I think that also adds to the charm.
It’s Rain Dogs. Rain Dogs? THE Rain Dogs? Its’s weird and sometimes abrasive, and I’m sure I’m lucky that I first heard it as a young hipster 25 years ago. If I heard it for the first time now, would it be 5 stars? You know…. maybe so. It’s incredible.
Sounds like I accidentally hit play on the Nighmare Before Christmas soundtrack. Having said that there are some redeeming songs. Not a fan of the whispy distant vocals on some of the tracks.
This is another album with some beautiful songs but a lot of this is bad. I have a hard time figuring out when I'm supposed to listen to this one. It feels a bit like two albums mushed together.
You either love him or you hate him and I love him!
Many years ago, (more than I want to think about tbh) back when I was a teenager, this album was my introduction to Tom Waits. I bought it as I was curious about hearing the original version of Downtown Train, which Rod Stewart had a hit with. I remember being taken aback when Singapore started as it really wasn't what I was expecting lol. Over time the album really grew on me and I explored more of Tom's catalogue. It was fun to revisit this one.
Cool album, but I’m not blown away by it. 4/5
If there is one thing I found Magnificent about the Tom Waits album it is the fact that it sounds so natural that it is pretty much unlike anything I associate with 1985. I absolutely adore the sonics he was going for. As for the material I'm a little less sure where I want to go as far as rating it because I enjoy it but it's not something that I would want to pull out and listen regularly. But it is rather charming in its own right. I really kind of dig a lot in the early part of the album the kind of New Orleans feel. In some ways it kind of almost made me feel like I was listening to a musical production by Tim Burton. So I imagine Danny Elfman was very inspired by this album. I must admit I did not know that he wrote "Downtown Train" which is never been one of my favorite Rod Stewart songs. I do much prefer Tom Waits mainly because Rod Stewart at the point where he recorded it was basically making everything sound like a bland pop song where Tom Waits almost gives like this springsteen-esque delivery that gave it some urgency. All in all it's a real solid four for me though (8.67) ★★★★
Fantastic album, with gem after gem! So diverse, so unpredictable, but so good! 5 stars
One of my favorite albums of all time. Waits is just firing on all cylinders here, and you get such a weird mix of genres from blues, jazz, and caberet to heartland rock and country. It's also one of my favorite guitar albums of all time. Marc Ribot is a mad scientist making me rethink what lead guitar on an album could sound like. And Keith Richards and Robert Quine show up too. Side one is perfection. Side two is a little more uneven, but certainly enough highlights that it's still an easy 5 star album. Highlights for me are "Singapore", "Clap Hands", "Jockey Full of Bourbon", "Tango 'Til They're Sore", "Hang Down Your Head", "Time", "Union Square", "Downtown Train" and "Anywhere I Lay My Head". 5 stars
4.5
Just a bunch of silly Sesame Street bordello songs and Halloween tunes. Feels like puppets are singing and playing along to every clink clank beat and junkyard rhythm. Even prettier ballads like Time, Downtown Train and Blind Love are a bit comically overwrought and hard to take totally seriously. The vocals on Blind Love are absolutely outrageous by the way. Like the Cookie Monster trying to crap out a massive boulder. The last song Anywhere I Lay My Head is the Cookie Monster crapping out another boulder whilst transforming into a werewolf with Last Post military brass playing underneath. Super eclectic overall but sunk to 2.5 stars because half the tracks are really annoying.
more shenanigans from tom waits. his delivery is certainly unique and while i wouldn’t say i love it, i don’t mind it. it’s different enough to where i would have to be in the right mood to listen to it. having said that, if there’s one thing the man can do it’s paint a picture with his words. he’s a gifted writer for sure and the songs set a mood often feeling as if you’re actually there in the story. and i think that ultimately that’s the hook that draws people in; his weather worn voice combined with his lyrics have an authenticity that’s often lost in most music today.
That voice.
Ett unikt album, med bra låtar. Kanske inte riktigt för mig dock
A strange duck
It starts off sounding like someone lost their voice and is still trying to sing. Then, it ends sounding like a dying Bruce Springsteen.
Had potential to be pretentious tripe. Some really emotive songs, Downtown Train and Time. Some strange songs, but never boring
1. zingapore - 0 2. clap - 0 3. polka / - 1 4. bourbon - 1 5. tango - 1 6. mariah - 1 7. gold - 1 8. head - 0 9. time - 1 10. rain - 1 11. pin - 1 12. gun - 1.5 13. union - 1.5 14. blind - 1.5 15. zpanizh - 1 16. train - 1.5 17. bride - 1.5 18. head - 1
hated it at first, grew to like it kinda not really. 3.5/10
I was surprised by this. What genre even is this? There were more tracks I liked than I thought
Pretty enjoyable. I like the atmosphere it creates with the rough vocals and rickety sounding instruments
I wasn't sure what to rate this, but pretty sure I didn't want to listen to it again.
This album gives me the same feeling I get walking through a cold drizzly rain in the seedier part of a major city at 2am, Oddly something I've done way too much. Dirty, stark, worn out and darkly beautiful 9/10
Interesting... Some songs were okay, others were just too much. Too much of that awful voice.
Easy A. An important album in my formative (college) years.
Мюзикл про грустного сатану получился
8.5/10. The album did feel a little bit overdone, but I really enjoyed it. :)
I don’t know if I vibe with this interestingness.
Bueno
I get it. I finally get it. I understand the appeal of Tom Waits. When I listened to Nighthawks at the Diner back in February, I didn't see the appeal. I just thought it was mumbling over some decent jazz instrumentals. Surely there was more to Tom Waits than that, right? Well, it's September now, and I've listened to Rain Dogs, an album that is considered by many to be the best Tom Waits album. I've become accustomed and open to "weird music" in the 7 months since Nighthawks. Because of those reasons, I was very hopeful that I would be able to see what makes Tom Waits so great because of this album. Fortunately, I was right! This is a great album! This album is just so weird and all over the place. But you know what? That's what makes this album great. I respect this album because each song feels completely different from the last. Comparing the opener, "Singapore," to the closer, "Anywhere I Lay My Head," really makes you appreciate that. Like, how is a beautiful song like "Time" on the same album as something insane like "Cemetery Polka"? I don't get it, but I also do! Tom's vocals are also very unique and characteristic. I feel like I was way too critical in my Nighthawks at the Diner review, and me calling Tom Waits's vocals "not great" was wrong of me. What was I thinking? Do I need to relisten to that one? Now I feel that his vocals add to the strange feel of this music in a good way. The writing is pretty good too. While I don't love this album as much as others do, I feel like it's really opened my eye to the appeal of artists like Tom Waits. I sarcastically said in my Nighthawks review that I was "excited" for there being 5 Tom Waits album on here. But you know what? I'm not sarcastic about that anymore. I genuinely want to see what those other albums are like. Maybe, just maybe, I will become an actual Tom Waits fan. I wouldn't go that far now, but I do see the appeal of this album. High 4/5.
I may have turned a corner. I found myself driving to work actually liking some of this. In the past TW has just sounded like a man barking at the moon. I think I get it.
I find this album uneven... some really good songs and then some that seems like they are just filler.
Despite not having a classic singing voice by anyone’s definition this works so well and is such an interesting listen.
This album to me sounds like a joke piece from a terrible kids cartoon. Basically, I envision an episode of some D-Tier kids cartoon with a plot where a lame pirate villain decides to try and make a music album to get money from album sales to further a dastardly plot. But the album is so abominably terrible that his plan falls through and the heroes win by default due to how awful it is. This, to me, is that album. I cannot express enough how much I find this, and \"Swordfishtrombones\", the other Tom Waits album on here, to be so utterly abysmal that I cannot put it properly into words. The only possible reason I can even imagine these projects being on a \"Must Listen To\" List is a similar reason why Tommy Wiseau's The Room is so ironically beloved - it's so meager, so horrendous, so unbelievably detestable that it's almost impressive in how bad it is. Unfortunately this album, and the other Tom Waits one here, don't even have the status of being \"So Bad It's Good\" like The Room is. It's just so horrible that it's honestly extraordinary it *doesn't* come back around to be at least a little ironically enjoyable, or be something to gawk at in a fun way. Much like the other Tom Waits album here, this was one of the worst things I have ever had the displeasure of listening to. And I'm already mentally preparing for some other Tom Waits nightmare to stroll it's way to my daily listen here. Because if this list shows anything, it shows it's very rigid in it's taste of 90% bland classic rock, 8% the occasional token \"anything else\" to seem more well-rounded than it actually is, and finally the 2% of the \"so awful, you write four paragraphs to try and grapple with how it's even here, and to even try to begin to review this trash\".
The absence of new Tom Waits music in almost 15 years (and no sign of this changing any time soon) is made more bearable by the existence of his back catalogue, this album being one of the greatest entries in that discography. Hearing this for the first as well as the 20th or 50th time, it's still utterly original and intricate in its themes and instrumentation. And its vocal delivery, of course.
A mix of Americana and weird carney back alley music. Waits is a singular creature. I don't think I'll revisit this but I'm glad it exists.
HELL YES. Glad this one showed up. One of my recent favorite albums. Everything about this is exuberant grime. Beautiful and boozy, Tom Waits is definitely one of the most unique singer/songwriters ever. Every song on this album is amazing. His voice is wild. The instrumentation I believe is described as "Junkyard Jazz" and great mixes of classic folk song traditions as well.
Another super solid album by Tom Waits, with his usual, extra-recognisable style and amazing stories. It's not something I would like to listen too often, but it's a real piece of music, this one.
Good bits are great some is too whacky though
i can’t begin to work out what this album is trying to be. at times it’s a spooky, halloweeny type, then it’s a melancholy, introspective story - such as the track “time”, the only one i really enjoyed - and i can’t figure out what i initially aimed to be. none of the tracks are particularly memorable, writing this the day after, and for the most part i was either bored or confused.
And the Tom Waits glazing continues… This was the first Waits album I ever heard and it’s on my top 5 favourite albums of all time. Everything you could possibly wants from a Waits album is here and then some - gorgeous ballads like Time, huge stadium rock choruses like Downtown Train, unsettling slinking oddities like Clap Hands and just some fun and freaky shit like Singapore and Cemetery Polka. Probably his most diverse album, and even though there are 19 tracks on here they’re rarely more than a couple of minutes so it absolutely whizzes by, lurching from genre to genre like a ghost train led by a drunken vagabond
Uniquely brilliant. Waits at his best!
Can't believe this is 80's production. Compliments to how authentic Waits is to his craft that he is not swayed by any passing aesthetic trend. He knows exactly who he is and he stays 100% true. Who is he you might ask? A man swooned by the romantic notions of the American down & outers, the ones 86'd from railroad bars, heartbroken outcasts, and generally an older aesthetic of beautiful souls that America has left behind. This beatnik noir is a chapter of his exploration of misunderstood rogues, lamenting their abandoned search for a 3rd or 4th second chance with one foot in the grave. All of this is set to his raspy poetry, well crafted prose laid out against percussive clangs, rootsy angular fretwork, and old barroom pianos-- tuning be damned. Every musician in lockstep like men possessed, each understanding the assignment. Because who, among musicians and artists, don't understand his sentiments? His songs of the marginalized population left out in the rain speak to anyone seeking for validation in a bygone last ditch effort, even if the writing is written clearly on the wall of the bathroom stall. While the bouncer waits on the other side to reintroduce you to the gutter, accept this last bit of sympathy in the form of a raised glass by Waits, for whatever it is worth.
If you read about Tom Waits - say, on Spotify - you will notice they mention: — many genres — many instruments — garage lids You’ll also see lots of adjectives and commas — all in pursuit of some way to describe what this eclectic blues, jazz, cabaret, story-telling artist is all about. My favorite album is the one that precedes this (Swordfishtrombones) - that is a 5/5 and this one rounds up to 5.
Unique voice. Good music.
I fucking love Tom Waits. This album is so, so good. He's a tremendous storyteller. His lyrics are poetry, a lot of it gritty, but then there's tender songs like Hang Down Your Head. "Hush, a wild violet, hush, a band of gold / Hush, you're in a story I heard somebody told / Tear the promise from my heart, tear my heart today / You have found another, oh baby, I must go away" I mean, come on. No one does it like Tom Waits.
Big improvement over Heartattack and Vine, but still not my cup of tea. 3.5, I guess?
Not for me
Such a unique sound. Not 100% what I’m into but I enjoyed it. 3.1 stars
Man, Tom Waits is just so damn interesting. Definitely not a singles album, and I can’t imagine turning this on around anyone else…but there is something so manic and strange about his style that really draws me in and made the 54 minutes fly by.
OK I really like this albym! Time is an all-time classic
After enough Tom Waits albums I feel like I could make Tom Waits Song Character Generator, where you put in your intials and birth month and it gives you an anachronistic profession, a characteristic (a personality flaw, perhaps a disfigurement?), and a place of origin that only sounds sketchy because it's being mentioned in the context of a Tom Waits song.
I know that this IS a Tom waits album but so much of it sounds like a caricature of Tom waits. It’s Tom waits at his most Tom waitsy (this is not a good thing to be)
Oh my GOD. What is with this author's obsession with Tom Waits?! How did this man with the most obnoxious gravelly voice, the worst opinions on instrumentation, and poor songwriting skills (IMO) become popular enough to have even one hit, never mind multiple albums on this list?! It really boggles my mind!!! Needless to say, this is a one star. I can't believe I had to sit through this.
smells like raindog in here
everyone else in my album listening club: MORE tom WAITS how many can there BE why must we be TORTURED like this me in the background, wearing a silly little outfit with perhaps a silly hat that trails behind me, carrying a bongo drum and doing a little conga line dance as Cemetery Polka plays: uncle VIOLET / was a PILOT [shimmy shimmy *bop bop* shimmy shimmy *bop*] I did not really care for the instrumental though
I cam dig the smokey lounge singer. I loved nighthawk. I can't do the kitchen-sink carney approach. Some of these songs were comically bad. Not a Tom Waits guy. Saved Songs: - Clap Hands
Favorite track: Rain Dogs. Woof.
The original hipster. Rasps out poetic novellas while not-particularly-interesting music plays in the background. (The bluesier tunes are more tolerable than the carnival variety). I suppose it’s all about the lyrics. In which case, just write a book. Pretentious for sure. Annoying listen thanks to his voice, in my opinion. I refuse to pretend to enjoy this just to seem cool or intellectual.
His sound is so unique. This record is excellent.
Weird but in a fun tom waits way
This album tows the line between genuine brilliance and utter absurdity (the bad kind). And I'm torn between giving this the 1 it probably deserves and a 5 for the sheer fun of it. I'll go with a 2. The singer's gravelly voice is kind of out of place in an 80s context, but it occasionally works, particularly in the great mid-album one-two-punch of Hang Down Your Head / Time. If I were forced to pick which other vocalists sound like this, I'd go with Ram-era McCartney (think Monkberry Moon Delight) and Randy "It's a Jungle Out There" Newman. But honestly, the voice is so distractingly out of left field that there's little time for comparison. The instrumentation is a whole different can of worms, with the only common element being a jangly old-blues guitar, reminiscent of pre-WWII acoustic blues charts. Everything else is thrown together pretty oddly, including free-jazz brass playing, a drum player that really isn't trying (example track: Downtown Train), some light organs and synths, and incredibly straightforward chords that make one reminisce about simpler times. Then one meanders through this album's tracklist and correctly wonders, "what the heck?" Songs like 9th & Hennepin, Midtown, Singapore, Blind Love, and Tango Till They're Sore - among others - seem like purely novelty tracks. Except here they make up the entire album. What a strange idea. 2/5 Key tracks: Time, Hang Down Your Head, Clap Hands
I like early TW not so much after seventies
M'n derde Tom Waits voor de lijst, van de in totaal 5 als ik het goed zie. Ook dit album begint weer als een soort schijtlollige grap die ik niet begrijp. 19 tracks is veel als het zo het hele album door gaat. "Hang Down Your Head" vind ik wel een lekker nummer. En zo staan er wel meer op. Daar staan natuurlijk een aantal nummers tegenover die te clownesk zijn, maar ook een aantal nummers die eigenlijk best wel te pruimen zijn. Het valt me op dat het ondanks dat het vrij apart is me nergens écht irriteert qua geluiden. Dat had ook nog gekund. En je went er wel een beetje aan. Een stuk beter dan dat rochel album. Ik vind dit wel geinig eigenlijk. Terwijl ik er tegelijkertijd ook wel een beetje een hekel aan heb. Ondanks de verschrikkelijke start kom ik toch op een 3 uit. Het is in ieder geval een ervaring.
This is my fourth(!!) Tom Waits. I rated the first three 4, 4, and 2 stars. Rain Dogs, though, is an absolute triumph. A fascinating, weird, triumph.
I never really figured Tom Waits out before. It takes a few listens but there is some pretty great songwriting hidden in there under the ridiculousness and strange singing.
Typical Waits album. Raw voice, raw lyrics and raw music. I'm here for it.
Uneven first half. Spectacular second half.
As I learned to expect from a Tom Waits album, it's unexpected. It's hard to say if i liked it, but it of course crossed some boundaries and if I didn't lost the count, it's the last album from him that I'll got, so it deserved the 4 stars.
Such an amazing voice. Enjoyed listening, but probably not going to listen to it all the time. Fun though!
I’ve said this before, but I adore Tom Wait’s voice. I’m inclined to say that he may have the best voice I’ve heard. His music here remains as interesting as I’ve come to expect, mixing rock and roll with cabaret. Diamonds & Gold sounded unusually close to Chim Chim Cheree from Mary Poppins, but otherwise everything here sounded very unique. I’m not sure I enjoyed this more than Heartattack and Vine which remains my favourite, but I did still enjoy this.
Not sure what I was expecting.. but it wasn't this....
I did not this album to sound like it does. It has a mixture of rock genres, and feels at times like it is from the 60s, but with a twist. It is unique, and surprisingly enjoyable. It feels fun and full of creativity.
Not quite getting the Tom Waits hype. Starts carnivalish and pushes my ability to listen with an open mind because of all the distracting sounds. Cemetery Polka pretty much sums it it... its POLKA, FFS.
Great songwriter. Voice? If you're in the mood it's superb but otherwise it's grating.
I love Tom Waits.
I managed to know who Tom Waits was, but never really listen to his music at all until this point. The first two songs immediately made me think of The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack for some reason. Otherwise the rest of the album was just okay to me. Nothing much to write about it.
For the most part this sounds like music in a spooky biker bar, but then Hang Down Your Head comes on and its a huge tonal shift. This album makes me think Jack White wants to have the vibes Tom Waits gives out in spades. I enjoyed it way more as it went on. Will I listen to it again? Probably not, but it was fun.
What a tremendous album! Have always been aware of Tom Waits but any time I tried to get into him I wouldn’t get far. Hang Down Your Head was such a shock when I heard it. “This is just a normal song! Almost sounds like Springsteen”. I thought Tom Waits just did haunted Mardi Gras/pirate music. Still the kind of music you listen to in private and then wait a long time before sharing it with loved ones or friends. It’s a big gamble but if they did it then brother you’ve got a friend for life!
Tom Waits always comes through. Some good tracks and way more enjoyable than anticipated especially with his singing.
What a great find this one was! A beautifully eccentric portrait of the lesser seen sides of New York. It sounds like if Captain Beefheart was both weirder and more accessible. I never listened to Waits before this challenge. This has been my fifth (and I believe final) of his albums in the generator and it's been my favorite. It's hard to explain why exactly. It's just humorous and raw, and like it came directly from a different reality that most people don't see. Eccentricity is on full display here. Waits' recording technique was physical and deeply connected to the sounds, eschewing simple studio tricks for anything that we could make himself in a bathroom with a microphone, like a foley artist on a dare. I know not everyone would enjoy this but I loved it.
Great record. I love the Island Records albums from Tom Waits. Beyond reproach.
Unexpected, atmospheric and vivid, this album painted a sultry, smoky world I have never come across in music before. The orchestration is wonderful, like the songs are made from the city itself. Great moody vibe after a long walk getting lost in the drizzly hills :)) We had a detour for some ballads, which were solid, but the return for the title track and the screeching Midtown was what I craved. The wild, unique side of Waits is what really has me captivated
As with the other Tom Waits album I listened to (Swordfishtrombones), I found the start of this album jarring and abrasive, but I was surprised by how quickly I warmed up to it. Weird in the best kind of way - unsettling, atmospheric, unique. Sounds like nothing else, and I’m glad it exists.
This is not the album to introduce people to Tom Waits. Small Change and Closing Time are "better" albums. Rain Dogs was hard to get through...
"Rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy" - Tom Waits