1001 Albums Summary

6.5/10. Very smooth like a good whiskey! It puts together some simple elements in a nice way and sounds nice all the way through. My problem was that it didn't have much creativity/storytelling, other than a few flashes of brilliance like "Sally"

I've been listening to earlier Doors albums and appreciated their creativity in the 60s-- when I saw the date on this one, I was worried that the singer-songwriter era of the 70s would maybe sanitize their music. In some sense, I think that's true on some of the low points of the album, but there was still plenty of boldness in shouting "LAND HO!," writing about seas of blood on a song called "Peace Frog," and playing blues music on a toy piano. I enjoyed most of the songs and will probably listen to this album for a long time! I'd give it a solid 8.5/10

This was an 8.5/10 for me-- it would have been higher if not for the second half of the album. I know Waits' vocal style isn't for everyone, but I had a lot of fun hearing his weirdly phrased anecdotes and strangely lyrics. It felt like being transported into old New York. The highlights for me were "Emotional Weather Report" "Eggs and Sausage" and "Better Off Without a Wife." I've heard Tom Waits a bit before, but this encouraged me to go deeper into his catalog!