darqleo

In other words, what album would be a good starting point for someone interested in checking him out?

Thanks!

Etrigan

Greetings!
I would suggest "Nighthawks at the Diner" It's a "Live" album w/a good mix of tunes-plus you get to experience Tom's interaction w/the crowd and get a taste of his sense of humor.

For studio I would say "Rain dogs" You really can't go wrong w/Tom-Pick at random.
CHEERS! jefff

Scorpio

My first Tom album was Heart Attack and Vine. The song Ruby's Arms is one of the saddest songs ever penned.

foofighters7

Getting actual albums is good, if your new to Waits I would get the Best of Island Years Beautiful Malidies, Used Songs, and The Early Years Vol 2. Thats just me.

Mule Variations and Blood Money and his newest Real Gone are all great for new picks.

Get anything and you should be giddy.

If you hardly know anything from Waits, and want only 1 cd, Beautiful Malidies should make you want to buy more.

Great set of tunes

auto

Rain dogs
Swordfishtrombones

darqleo

Thanks everyone!

Jepthah

REAL Early period = Heart Of Saturday Night

Early period = Small Change

80s = Rain Dogs

Recent = Alice or Bone Machine if you're a daring listener willing to do some work.

scarredgod

because hes gone thru some pretty big changes musically thruout his career, its kinda hard to choose. you may pick up the wrong one with a style you dont like and decide you dont like him.

the ones i can strongly recommend are swordfishtrombones, rain dogs, and bone machine. mule variations might catch your interest as well with a nice mix of styles.

the ones i can advise against are "foreign affairs" (hate it), "nighthawks at the diner" (i know its a classic to some but theres too much schtick and not enough solid songs), "black rider" (more like a side project), "early years 1 and 2" (waits never wanted these versions released).

custom001

Beat me to it.

If you don't like those two, I don't think you'll get into his music.

Lokimok

70's drunken jazzy beatnik sound: Small Change

80's junkyard carnival sound: Rain Dogs

bardevious

Start with:

Used Songs- songs culled from Waits' early albums. Gives you a sense of where he began.

Swordfishtrombones- Tom's first foray into the eccentricities that would carry through the '80's.

Bone Machine- IMO, Tom's most accessible recording. Actually, this might be a good starting point.

Mule Variations- My first exposure to Waits was with this album. It's got a nice variety of styles, and I think it's pretty accessible. Some great ballads (Hold On) and some great...um, weird stuff (Chocolate Jesus, Eyeball Kid).



These four albums will give you a rough overview of Mr. Waits. If you like what you hear, go back and fill in the blanks (Rain Dogs, Frank's Wild years, Blood Money, Alice, Real Gone, etc).

foofighters7

the early years albums give you basically demo versions, stripped down. This is great. You can really picture a smoky bar atmosphere in each song. I love Vol 2. I think they are great in this format.

conscience

Start at the beginning with Closing Time. Then go in chronological order from there. You get to see how he evolved over time.

Jepthah

Ummm...are you pulling his leg?

Your definition of 'accessible' is pretty different than most if you're not.

I would only recommend Bone Machine or the latest album for more adventurous listeners. Even some of his 80s stuff would turn off a lot of people if they don't have some familiarity with REAL alternative music--stuff that almost never sees the light of day on the FM dial.

bardevious

Perhaps my perception of "accessible" is warped from overexposure to Senior Waits?

Still, I do think Bone Machine's not as out there as some of his other stuff, but I'll admit it's hard to glean a fresh perspective when you're up to your eyeballs in Waits ephemera.

Besides, if you're curious about Tom Waits, why take baby steps? Jump headlong into the abyss and stew your brain from the get-go! If you don't like what you hear, retreat to the safety of light FM or Linkin Park or whatever other apple scab crap is fobbed off as cutting edge muzac.

Screw the baby steps, man. Damn the torpedos and ride that torrent down to the core!

cfloyd3

I happen to be a pretty large Tom Waits fan (putting it mildly perhaps), anyhow here is my advice on where to start...

No one else seems to be recommending this but I recommend Frank's Wild Years.. It has some pretty accessible songs (Yesterday is Here, Way Down in the Hole, Cold Cold Ground, Train Song, and the amazing versions of Innocent When You Dream). It is a pretty underrated album I think since everyone discusses Rain Dogs which might just be a better start but I've been listening to Frank's Wild Years alot lately and it seems more accessible perhaps to a first time listener (Maybe not a couple songs like I'll Take New York), but the rest I believe is a good middle ground. My personal favorite album is probably Bone Machine but I recommend in order Frank's Wild Years, Rain Dogs, Swordfishtrombones to start out then go from there because I believe it is a decent cross section of his material. Good luck, he is the greatest.

foofighters7

I need a ticket to the Seattle Show, and these bastards on ebay wont respond to emails, bunch of jackasses.

Anyone have 1 ticket in a reasonable good seat for around 100 bucks or so.

I would be flying from Indiana, and I need it asap.