Tom Waits...anyone?

sreno, from top to bottom, is that the order you would recommend tom waits to a newbie?! you dove hard core into this guy pretty quickly! i would suggest easing someone in with Blue valentine or heart of a sat night. and i agree, the early years stuff is great, raw and the sign of a budding genius. i would also put swordfishtrombone before mule variations and bone machine. good lord man, we dont want to scare people away from our guy.

anyone who 'gets' waits starting with the recordings you did has my respect...and fear.

I must confess that a few years ago I felt as Nrchy seems to feel. However, this year my brother made me listen to Alice, and I cannot believe how good it is! Needless to say, I am now a believer... and I now own both Alice and Blood Money. Now I'm trying to figure out where to go next... should Swordfishtrombone be next? Anyway, great thread on an amazing artist!

If you like Alice and BloodMoney then make the leap over to Bone Machine...go for the gristle!! Get into the real marbled meat of Waits. May be too chewy for beginners, but in a similar vein as the two new ones. Don't get me wrong, Swordfishtrombone is one of my favorites, just not in the same vein as Alice and Blood Money. Also try Mule Variations!

Marco

Bone Machine - scary good stuff, way out on the edge.

"And the earth died screaming
While I lay dreaming of you"

CD

...Gotta love it, Waits is just brilliant with language. I tend to love the more wicked and cutting wit:

'Cause there's nothin' strange
About an axe with bloodstains in the barn

There's always some killin'
You got to do around the farm

-Murder in the Red Barn / Bone Machine

I'll tell you one thing
He's not building a playhouse for
The children ....

-What's he Building? / Muel Variations

Never could stand that dog.

Frank's Wild Years / Swordfishtrombones

More great Waits quotes (on a broader spectrum) are here (click on "Famous and Infamous Quotes").

Marco