BAND(WELL, ARTIST THIS TIME) OF THE WEEK #4: Tom Waits (Read 505 times)

[funhouse]

I don't know if this will be of intrest to anyone else, but since he's my favorite solo artist of all time(singwriter too, probably), I'm willing to take the risk. Tom Waits, here we go:

Let's just get one thing straight: There are many different sides to this guy. And since that makes it hard to know where to start I'll just start from the beginning. He started out pretty much as normal as you can start out with his debut in 1973, with folk, blues and jazz in a not too unconventional way. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but considering where he would take his music 10 years later(we'll come to that later) it seems a bit like 'the Bends' in Radiohead's discography. A good way to start:


Second album was definitely jazzier, and by the third he had reached his first real transformation; The voice was now really gravelly, and he started acting weird in interviews(if the music won't make you love him, many of his interviews should). While I find that album slighty overrated, it has this fantasic kind of spoken word jazz track on it, making fun of consumerism in the most hilarious way.


From his fifth album, which happens to be my favorite. (3 weeks late, but sounds good all year round)

Bluesy storytelling at its best:


(hearing this late at night made me realise I HAD to add this)
About 5 years later he reached his second phase, and he hasn't looked back sInce. While his lyrics and his persona had already went far past the conventional, 1983's 'Swordfishtrombones' was the first time that the music itself started sounding just as strange. For example the use of marimba in the brilliant title track:


2 years later he released 'Rain Dogs', and while just as weird as the previous release(as well as critically acclaimed), it contained a song that got as close to becoming a hit as he ever came close to.


A few more highlights from his carreer(in chronological order):
(probably his heaviest song up until that point)



(The weirdest track I've included. Spoken word with a haunting feel to it, and a great piece of social commentary if you ask me. Creepy and hilarious.)

(from his latest and perhaps last album, with Keith Richards)



It's hard to summarize a carreer of about 45 years, but I did my best. As my closing words I will say that no one makes me cry, laugh, and go "wtf?" in the same way as Tom Waits does. The man has it all and I can say that I love him without feeling one bit pretentious. Most of you might not, but that's ok too

[joladella]

I'm not really into him, but for me he is unseparable from this, still gives me goosebumps, every time I hear it in whatever version. But certainly his own is the best!

[funhouse]

Jan 13, 2019 6:57:03 GMT -5 joladella said:

I'm not really into him, but for me he is unseparable from this, still gives me goosebumps, every time I hear it in whatever version. But certainly his own is the best!

Maybe it's a bit strange, considering the Tom Waits connection, that I am yet to see The Wire, but I definitely will someday!

[Manualex]

The only song I know by Mr Waits is What's He Building?. I heard a snippet of it in the live Muse release Hullabaloo.

[joladella]

Jan 13, 2019 8:23:03 GMT -5 funhouse said:

Jan 13, 2019 6:57:03 GMT -5 joladella said:

I'm not really into him, but for me he is unseparable from this, still gives me goosebumps, every time I hear it in whatever version. But certainly his own is the best!

Maybe it's a bit strange, considering the Tom Waits connection, that I am yet to see The Wire, but I definitely will someday!

I bet you would not regret it! And it was one show where even binging I never fast-forwarded the intro. 😉

[funhouse]

Jan 13, 2019 9:09:50 GMT -5 Manualex said:

The only song I know by Mr Waits is What's He Building?. I heard a snippet of it in the live Muse release Hullabaloo.

That was unexpected, but honestly it makes me like Muse more! That is one weird, not to say absurd track, but fucking brilliant. I must include it in my original post.

[mossy]

Whenever I get caught out in pouring rain his “it’s raining hammers, it’s raining nails” line always comes to my mind. X

[Deleted]

I'm not a fan of his vocals. Most of the tracks you posted I didn't know. I might give one of his albums a try.

Who for band of the week #5 ?

If no one is up for it, I might do one tonight.

[funhouse]

Jan 28, 2019 6:46:07 GMT -5 lubeck said:

I'm not a fan of his vocals. Most of the tracks you posted I didn't know. I might give one of his albums a try.

Who for band of the week #5 ?

If no one is up for it, I might do one tonight.

If the voice bothers you, all you can listen to is his two first albums With that said he uses his "normal" voice at least once on every other record, although I am yet to count them...