If Tom Waits had been from the North of England, he would probably have called this album Bubble and Squeak. As it is, the title Orphans relates to songs that either didn't survive the first cut on various recent albums, or didn't fit in on others. And boy there's a lot of them - 54 in fact, spanning three albums. To be honest, I've been burned by this kind of failure to kill your darlings before, the most recent experience being Sufjan Stevens' album Avalanche (an album of scraps and titbits that were in the most part wisely left off his stunning masterpiece, Illinois). So I was, to say the least, hesitant about buying this mammoth outing, even if it was by Waits.
It's not easy getting an overview of the album. To start with the 3 cds are so crammed full of music that it demands the kind of listening time that, frankly, I no longer have. Second, Tom has never been precisely easy on the ear, and after a few songs of rasping, banging and scratching, even the best of fans can start developing a headache. Still Tom and his wife Ms Brennan (how much influence does she have by the way?) have done a good job of making this Herculean task a little easier. The songs are basically split into three types, Brawlers (a raw and bluesy kind of mix between the Waits of Mule Variations and Heart Attack and Vine), Bawlers (ballad country), and Bastards (a storytelling, broken patchwork of songs and my personal favourite of the three). Like the man said in an interview, each CD is a door, and what you open tells you something about what you'll find on the other side. Nice. And as you'd expect, all of these songs have that by now familiar mix of American Vaudeville and the Dark Cabaret of Kurt Weill (and yes, we do finally get a cover on one of his songs here). At the centre of all the music, grunts, and whip cracks is the linchpin that is Waits' voice - the unstoppable force that holds everything together. For me, this album is not about the songs or even the stories (although there are some stand out tracks), so much as what Swedes would call the ljudbild (or sound picture) that gets you in the end. The one track that doesn't fit into all this is the track Road to Peace, when Waits lets his mask slip to deliver a diatribe against the war in Iraq (does the world need yet another artist going on about this?). Pity that one didn't make the cutting room floor this time round too.
Overall, stunning. 9/10. Keep 'em coming Tom!
If you like Tom, why not try the Tiger Lillies - similar but with a voice at the opposite end of the spectrum!
It's not easy getting an overview of the album. To start with the 3 cds are so crammed full of music that it demands the kind of listening time that, frankly, I no longer have. Second, Tom has never been precisely easy on the ear, and after a few songs of rasping, banging and scratching, even the best of fans can start developing a headache. Still Tom and his wife Ms Brennan (how much influence does she have by the way?) have done a good job of making this Herculean task a little easier. The songs are basically split into three types, Brawlers (a raw and bluesy kind of mix between the Waits of Mule Variations and Heart Attack and Vine), Bawlers (ballad country), and Bastards (a storytelling, broken patchwork of songs and my personal favourite of the three). Like the man said in an interview, each CD is a door, and what you open tells you something about what you'll find on the other side. Nice. And as you'd expect, all of these songs have that by now familiar mix of American Vaudeville and the Dark Cabaret of Kurt Weill (and yes, we do finally get a cover on one of his songs here). At the centre of all the music, grunts, and whip cracks is the linchpin that is Waits' voice - the unstoppable force that holds everything together. For me, this album is not about the songs or even the stories (although there are some stand out tracks), so much as what Swedes would call the ljudbild (or sound picture) that gets you in the end. The one track that doesn't fit into all this is the track Road to Peace, when Waits lets his mask slip to deliver a diatribe against the war in Iraq (does the world need yet another artist going on about this?). Pity that one didn't make the cutting room floor this time round too.
Overall, stunning. 9/10. Keep 'em coming Tom!
If you like Tom, why not try the Tiger Lillies - similar but with a voice at the opposite end of the spectrum!
Suggested Wines to Accompany your Listening Pleasure
OK, given the three different flavours of the three cds, I'll have to go with three suggestions.
In the company of Bastards, I'm tempted to suggest the Australian Shiraz of the same name (Old Bastard Shiraz), except that I've never tried it and it is hugely expensive, so why not go for a cheaper version of the same, in other words a Barossa Shiraz from Peter ("Bishop of Barossa") Lehmann, who is, after all, a bit of a cantankerous and jolly old git himself.
Bawlers, demands something a little more relaxed and complex, so go for a refined Bourgogne, say a Sylvain Cathiard.
For Brawlers forget wine, it's beer you're after, and a cheep lager at that, preferably in a can and a bit too warm!
OK, given the three different flavours of the three cds, I'll have to go with three suggestions.In the company of Bastards, I'm tempted to suggest the Australian Shiraz of the same name (Old Bastard Shiraz), except that I've never tried it and it is hugely expensive, so why not go for a cheaper version of the same, in other words a Barossa Shiraz from Peter ("Bishop of Barossa") Lehmann, who is, after all, a bit of a cantankerous and jolly old git himself.
Bawlers, demands something a little more relaxed and complex, so go for a refined Bourgogne, say a Sylvain Cathiard.
For Brawlers forget wine, it's beer you're after, and a cheep lager at that, preferably in a can and a bit too warm!
Bottoms Up!
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