In addition to his long music career, singer-songwriter Tom Waits is also an actor. He plays Satan in the upcoming movie “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”

There is no shame in wondering why anyone would pay nearly $100 per ticket to hear Tom Waits play and sing. After all, Waits’ voice sounds as if his vocal cords have been hung out to dry in two lifetimes’ worth of cigarette smoke and cheap liquor, then cleaned up with a hint of Drano and gasoline. His vocal style is something akin to that of a melancholy drunk lost in an alley. And Waits does not exactly make up for it by being a sex symbol.

A self-proclaimed “Guy who’d sell you a rat’s (expletive) for a wedding ring,” he looks like the exact kind of man you would not buy a used car from - and if he gave it to you, you’d check the trunk for bodies.

But, when Waits croons out one of his melodies in that distinctive voice, he can reduce the stout-hearted to tears and raise all manner of goose bumps. His songs are some of the most enduring and beloved in modern music. Here’s a selected overview of Waits’ most essential work:

– “Closing Time” (1973) - Waits’ first album remains one of the most distinctive debuts of any singer-songwriter. The Eagles covered Waits’ “Ol’ 55.” Tim Buckley covered “Martha.” The disc remains Waits most melodic, romantic and most vocally accessible. Beware, though: Hardcore fans of later-era Waits find this early disc too sentimental and traditional.

– “Heart of a Saturday Night” (1974) and “Nighthawks at the Diner” (1975) - These discs established Waits as a modern-day hipster and storyteller. “Saturday Night” contains the oft-covered songs “San Diego Serenade,” “Shiver Me Timbers” and “Please Call Me, Baby,” and “Nighthawks” captures Waits in concert in an endearing and often funny performance. Although the rest of Waits’ discs in the 1970s include great songs, none delivers the track-by-track knockouts of these.

– “Heartattack and Vine” (1980) - Waits kicked off the 1980s with this overproduced effort. Despite its flaws, Waits recording of his now-classic “Jersey Girl” (accentuated by Waits’ increasingly harsh voice) is one of his greatest performances.

– “Swordfishtrombones” (1983) and “Rain Dogs” (1985) - This is where Waits found the style he still hones today. His voice is ragged. His lyrics are dark. He muddies up the music and utilizes raw sounding acoustic instrumentations. “Swordfishtrombones” includes the recitation “Frank’s Wild Years” in which the protagonist burns down his own home. “Rain Dogs” includes “Downtown Train,” which was later a hit for Rod Stewart.

– “Bone Machine” (1992) - Easily Waits’ most abrasive-sounding disc, “Bone Machine” is also one of his best. He opens with the frightening “Earth Died Screaming” and screams the lyrics through much of the rest of the disc. Yet there are sweet moments in the maelstrom, including the great “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up.”

– “Mule Variations” (1999) - Arguably the best overall representation of Waits’ talents, “Mule Variations” includes the tattered and crazed “Fillipino Box Spring Hog,” one of his sweetest songs, “Take It With Me,” and the humorous and unnerving “What’s He Building in There?”

– “Orphans: Brawler, Bawlers and Bastards” (2007) - This three-disc set of rarities and previously unreleased songs is like finding a box of dusty treasures at a great Waits yard sale. Dig around and you’ll find out more of why Waits is one of the great music artists of the past 50 years.

(c) Michael O’Brien

This entry was posted Sunday, June 29th, 2008 and was filed under Jungle News, Blues Artists, Rock Artists, Alternative Artists, Country Artists, Folk Artists, Music History. Both comments and pings are currently closed.