Tom Waits, name your favourite

[Woodface]

In the spirit of the recent Bowie thread I would be interested to hear submissions on this one.

I came to Tom Waits rather late, I never really saw him as ‘my thing’ but a chance hearing of ‘Blue Valentine’ lead me up a rather twisting trail.

I always struggle to pick one of his albums off the rack, almost paralysed by choice. ‘Heart of Saturday night’ was another early favourite but I keep getting sucked in to his more ornery offerings.

With a gun to my head I may go for ‘Real Gone’ but...

 

[snowflake]

Blue valentine is my favourite album, followed by swordfish trombones........

My favourite track of the moment is 'Gods away on business' - seems somewhat appropriate for the current times!

S

 

[david ellwood]

Swordfish trombones followed by blue valentines followed by heart attack and vine.

Alice is my favourite new one

 

[Woodface]

I really like The Orphans box set, a rather big slice though.

 

[Tony L]

I never really explored further than Swordfishtrombones & Rain Dogs! I like both of those, but everything else I’ve heard has just seemed to be a dilution in one way or another. I just got the impression that was the high watermark and stuck there.

 

[blossomchris]

bone Machine only one i play now, primarily to annoy devotees

 

[Woodface]

I never really explored further than Swordfishtrombones & Rain Dogs! I like both of those, but everything else I’ve heard has just seemed to be a dilution in one way or another. I just got the impression that was the high watermark and stuck there.

Blue Valentine is an amazing record, plenty of others from his later period like Mule variations, Alice & Real Gone.

I put him alongside the real greats.

 

[misterc6]

Tom would probably have five albums in my top ten, but every track on Heartattack And Vine is a winner and it has to be my favourite closely followed by:

Small Change
Mule Variations
Blue Valentine

 

[gavreid]

I always liked the early stuff, The Heart of Saturday Night, Small Change, Blue Valentine, as has been said, but there're so many. Love Rain Dogs too. Like the best, he reinvented himself so many times. Brilliant.

 

[david ellwood]

Katherine had a big hand in reinventing him.

 

[gavreid]

Katherine had a big hand in reinventing him.

Absolutely! He is one of the greats though, dare I say it, like the Beatles, Bowie, Weller etc

 

[david ellwood]

He’s much better than Bowie or Weller.

 

[Woodface]

He’s much better than Bowie or Weller.

I agree, even though I still like the other two.

 

[gavreid]

He’s much better than Bowie or Weller.

I agree but I was giving examples of people who weren't afraid to reinvent themselves at the peak of their fame.

 

[Bob McC]

Tom Waits - Under The Influence is a superb documentary on Amazon Prime.
Two hours plus about the man and his musical influences.

 

[gavreid]

Holly Cole's Temptation is a masterpiece too

 

[david ellwood]

I really like cheese!

 

[gavreid]

I really like cheese!

Glad to hear it!

 

[sq225917]

You're all wrong. Its Franks Wild Years. Obs.

 

[Colonel_Mad]

In no particular order

Small Change
Blue Valentine
Rain Dogs
Frank’s Wild Years
and the live (pseudo live?) Nighthawks at the Diner