Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2016 5:04:06 GMT 10
The man in my profile picture and the writer of the lyrics in my signature is an artist who you are all sick and tired of hearing me mention by now. Yet you're all probably wondering by now why I'm such a huge fan of Tom Waits. Even if you like what you hear, you probably can't wrap your head around why I'm such a giant fan. So let's explore it a bit.
Waits is best known for the whiskey-soaked gravel in his voice which ranges from a gutturally grunting demon to a bluesy "Howlin' Wolf" menace to a saddened alcoholic version of Louis Armstrong, yet throughout all the different styles of harshness, it's always unmistakable as Tom Waits. Yet he wasn't always like this. He used to actually sing in quite a pure and traditional way. His earliest demos (which can be heard on the compilations The Early Years, Vol. 1 & 2) showcase Waits quite beautifully and quite melodically singing some gorgeous ballads with the occasional eccentric theme ("I'm Your Late Night Evening Prostitute" which has piano playing as incredible as the title is ridiculous). There are occasions when his voice hits a bit of a whine that reminds me of Bob Dylan who was a huge influence on Waits. Yet it still has its own sense of character and identity and is actually a lot easier to get into than Dylan. The smoothness of Waits voice in the early stuff was a huge shock to me, however I completely loved it. He really is a terrific singer.
In 1973 Waits released his debut album Closing Time. There's a vibe of Los Angeles and jazz clubs across the whole record which is extremely hard to resist, with Waits cutting out a lot of his Dylan-isms, maturing even more as a singer. Songs like "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You" and "Martha" discuss relationship matters in ways that could be seen as sappy but are just too passionate for it to matter, and "Ol' 55" and "Old Shoes" are more vague and open to interpretation but have similar elements. You also get some great jazz rockers but the album is at its best when Waits is serenading the listener with his eloquent words of heartbreak, love, and life. It enriches my soul every time I listen Tobit. One of the most comforting albums ever made.
The album that follows, The Heart of Saturday Night isn't one of his better records for me but is still early era Waits bringing to the forefront his skill for well-crafted vocal jazz. The album cover reminds me of "I'm The Wee Small Hours" by Frank Sinatra of "Kind of Blue" by Mikes Davis in that it drenched the atmosphere of late night coolness and the record reflects that. It does have some ballads though, most famously "Shiver Me Timbers", Waits' first foray into pirate music but there are some other string moments of beauty throughout. "Please Call Me Baby" is a favourite of mine and it's interesting to hear Waits talk about alcohol prior to opening up about his drinking problem, with "Drunk on the Moon". It's ultimately just a good jazz rock re odd though, which is more than okay with me even if isn't to the level that Waits had set.
The third album though sees a suddenly drastic change. Small Change is the introduction of Waits' iconic vocal style. This change was in my opinion a stylistic decision to accompany his new pessimistic outlook on heartbreak, alcoholism, and the tragic world around him. It has to be stated though that this has never been confirmed as Wairs was nearly drinking himself to death at this point, as well as enjoying his fair share of chain smoking and drug-taking. So it may have hardened his vocal chords and it's certain that even if it was an intentional choice it stuck to this day (you can't sing like that for years and expect to hum something smooth afterwards). However despite a lot of people hating his voice I find it's incredibly passionate,and his control over the notes is perfect.
Small Change could loosely be described as a concept album on the effects of alcoholism on an individual's mental health. Some songs directly refer to this, others are unrelated entirely. Yet the somber mood is rarely interrupted. It's raw and real and extremely honest. It is the album that puts Waits on the same level as Dylan, Cohen and Reed, actually even more so than Reed. It also shows his earliest attempts at experimental music. For my money it's one of the heartbreakingly powerful albums ever made. In the future Waits discovered Captain Beefheart and went in some pretty out there directions. Swordfishtrombones, Bone Machine, and Mule Variations are some of the most sonically fascinating albums ever made. However one album combines the absurdity of those releases with the heartbreak of Small Change, for something that is still entirely its own thing 1985's Rain Dogs.
Rain Dogs is haunting. Beautiful. Tragic. Hopeful. Everything in between. It's a masterpiece from start to finish. I will have to make another post about why I love that album specifically but this is about Waits in general right now.
I think the major reason I like Waits is that he sums up everything I love about the power of music. Even at his most odd and confronting, Waits and his albums have a huge amount of heart. I think the man is a genius and the greatest experimental artist of all time. He is up there with The Beatles and Dylan as artists who are just that astonishingly professional in their field. He's not for everyone but very few artists have me feel emotions as strong and as consistent as Tom Waits. The fact that he can put an album out like Blood Momey in 2002 that's as good as some of the things he was doing in the 70s and 80s goes to show that the man never half-arses anything, he always gives 110% effort.
Tom Traubert's Blues, Christmas Card From A Hooker in Minneapolis, In The Neighbourhood, Anywhere I Lay My Head, Dirt in The Ground, Poncho's Lament, his cover of Somewhere. These songs would be the highlight of anyone else's career.
So there you have it. Why I'm a huge fan of Tom Waits
Waits is best known for the whiskey-soaked gravel in his voice which ranges from a gutturally grunting demon to a bluesy "Howlin' Wolf" menace to a saddened alcoholic version of Louis Armstrong, yet throughout all the different styles of harshness, it's always unmistakable as Tom Waits. Yet he wasn't always like this. He used to actually sing in quite a pure and traditional way. His earliest demos (which can be heard on the compilations The Early Years, Vol. 1 & 2) showcase Waits quite beautifully and quite melodically singing some gorgeous ballads with the occasional eccentric theme ("I'm Your Late Night Evening Prostitute" which has piano playing as incredible as the title is ridiculous). There are occasions when his voice hits a bit of a whine that reminds me of Bob Dylan who was a huge influence on Waits. Yet it still has its own sense of character and identity and is actually a lot easier to get into than Dylan. The smoothness of Waits voice in the early stuff was a huge shock to me, however I completely loved it. He really is a terrific singer.
In 1973 Waits released his debut album Closing Time. There's a vibe of Los Angeles and jazz clubs across the whole record which is extremely hard to resist, with Waits cutting out a lot of his Dylan-isms, maturing even more as a singer. Songs like "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You" and "Martha" discuss relationship matters in ways that could be seen as sappy but are just too passionate for it to matter, and "Ol' 55" and "Old Shoes" are more vague and open to interpretation but have similar elements. You also get some great jazz rockers but the album is at its best when Waits is serenading the listener with his eloquent words of heartbreak, love, and life. It enriches my soul every time I listen Tobit. One of the most comforting albums ever made.
The album that follows, The Heart of Saturday Night isn't one of his better records for me but is still early era Waits bringing to the forefront his skill for well-crafted vocal jazz. The album cover reminds me of "I'm The Wee Small Hours" by Frank Sinatra of "Kind of Blue" by Mikes Davis in that it drenched the atmosphere of late night coolness and the record reflects that. It does have some ballads though, most famously "Shiver Me Timbers", Waits' first foray into pirate music but there are some other string moments of beauty throughout. "Please Call Me Baby" is a favourite of mine and it's interesting to hear Waits talk about alcohol prior to opening up about his drinking problem, with "Drunk on the Moon". It's ultimately just a good jazz rock re odd though, which is more than okay with me even if isn't to the level that Waits had set.
The third album though sees a suddenly drastic change. Small Change is the introduction of Waits' iconic vocal style. This change was in my opinion a stylistic decision to accompany his new pessimistic outlook on heartbreak, alcoholism, and the tragic world around him. It has to be stated though that this has never been confirmed as Wairs was nearly drinking himself to death at this point, as well as enjoying his fair share of chain smoking and drug-taking. So it may have hardened his vocal chords and it's certain that even if it was an intentional choice it stuck to this day (you can't sing like that for years and expect to hum something smooth afterwards). However despite a lot of people hating his voice I find it's incredibly passionate,and his control over the notes is perfect.
Small Change could loosely be described as a concept album on the effects of alcoholism on an individual's mental health. Some songs directly refer to this, others are unrelated entirely. Yet the somber mood is rarely interrupted. It's raw and real and extremely honest. It is the album that puts Waits on the same level as Dylan, Cohen and Reed, actually even more so than Reed. It also shows his earliest attempts at experimental music. For my money it's one of the heartbreakingly powerful albums ever made. In the future Waits discovered Captain Beefheart and went in some pretty out there directions. Swordfishtrombones, Bone Machine, and Mule Variations are some of the most sonically fascinating albums ever made. However one album combines the absurdity of those releases with the heartbreak of Small Change, for something that is still entirely its own thing 1985's Rain Dogs.
Rain Dogs is haunting. Beautiful. Tragic. Hopeful. Everything in between. It's a masterpiece from start to finish. I will have to make another post about why I love that album specifically but this is about Waits in general right now.
I think the major reason I like Waits is that he sums up everything I love about the power of music. Even at his most odd and confronting, Waits and his albums have a huge amount of heart. I think the man is a genius and the greatest experimental artist of all time. He is up there with The Beatles and Dylan as artists who are just that astonishingly professional in their field. He's not for everyone but very few artists have me feel emotions as strong and as consistent as Tom Waits. The fact that he can put an album out like Blood Momey in 2002 that's as good as some of the things he was doing in the 70s and 80s goes to show that the man never half-arses anything, he always gives 110% effort.
Tom Traubert's Blues, Christmas Card From A Hooker in Minneapolis, In The Neighbourhood, Anywhere I Lay My Head, Dirt in The Ground, Poncho's Lament, his cover of Somewhere. These songs would be the highlight of anyone else's career.
So there you have it. Why I'm a huge fan of Tom Waits
Currently on the radio: "The Unforgiven"