Record Label: Anti Records
Genre: Bluesy Cabaret Folk Rock
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com link

I never really listened to Tom Waits until this summer. I’m not sure I would have appreciated his music in my earlier years but now I can’t stop listening to the man. It seems everyday I have to put on his “Rain Dogs” album and pretend to sing like him. Of course, I lose my voice in the process but it’s sure a lot of fun trying to sound like you have a groggily voice.

“Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards” is a 3-disc CD set featuring 54 songs from eclectic Tom Waits. Among the 54 tracks, are 30 new songs that you never heard of before and then there are some songs you’ve heard in a few movies. Regardless if you heard of some of these tracks before, you have over 3 hours of rare Tom Waits music, plus you get a 94-page booklet as well! The 3 discs are split up by genre, since Tom Waits has a wide range of musical styles. “Brawlers” is the bluesy jukebox rock music that sounds like it was recorded in the garage (which some songs were). “Bawlers” is the ballads, piano-driven music that will make you weep. “Bastards” is the weird side of Waits, containing unusual stories and cabaret, experimental music. Throughout each disc, you’ll still hear Waits’ signature gravely voice and brilliant instrumentation of different musical instruments. Hey Tom, I can play the knives really well..So can I be in your band please?

Opening the “Brawlers” disc is the song “Lie to Me.” The song makes me want to dance like Elvis in some old-fashion 50’s diner; where all the waitresses are on roller skates and have pens in their hair. The song “Low Down” must be a nice treat for Tom Waits since his 20 year old son plays drums on that track. I believe he also played with his father this summer for Waits’ rare concerts in the Midwest & South. “Bottom of the World” was the first song I heard from this album since Anti released it as a single on Myspace.com. It’s probably one of my favorite Waits’ songs that has been recorded in the last few years. To me, it sounds like a drunken pub song that would get the whole place singing along. “Road To Peace” is a blues rock song about all the crap going on with the Israeli-Palestinian confrontations, and the song also takes some nice digs at the US President. Tom Waits covers the Ramones’ song “The Return of Jackie and Judy.” The song sounds like it was recorded underwater, but it’s definitely an interesting cover to say the least. This first disc is probably my favorite out of the 3 because the songs are similar to “Gun Street Girl” and “16 Shells from 30.6.”

The “Bawlers” disc is just as brilliant as the “Brawlers” disc. It’s all the slow tempo stuff that Tom Waits loves to do, and is fantastic at, might I add. This music belongs in a dark smoky club or saloon; where every man sits by their drinks weeping over something. “Bend Down the Branches” starts off the second disc to a nice start, and then goes into the tune “You Can Never Hold Back Spring”. Tom’s voice sounds very raspy, but the songs are still sung beautifully. He sings into an old time microphone for the second track, and it also has that skipping/static record player sound to the song as well. It sounds like it was recorded in the 1940s and I love it! I first heard the song “Little Drop of Poison” in the movie Shrek 2. The song appears when Shrek, Puss in Boots and Donkey enter the pub, and a pirate with a hook is playing the song. Which to me, is very fitting since Tom Waits’ voice sounds like a pirate’s. I think he’d be perfect in Pirates of the Caribbean 3! Make it happen Johnny Depp! I know “Little Drop of Poison” appeared in another movie before but the title escapes me at the moment. The rest of the disc is filled with slow ballads, lullabies, waltzes, and other sad songs. It’s an excellent batch of songs!

Now we come to the portion of the Orphans boxset where we can listen to the weird, experimental songs & stories from Tom Waits. The “Bastards” disc starts with a pirate-sounding shanty called “What Keeps Mankind Alive.” I really love the accordion (or is the pump organ?) in the song. “What Keeps Mankind Alive” almost sounds like a B-side to the album “Blood Money.” The next track is “Children’s Story,” and its Waits telling some weird, dark bedtime story that would probably make me wet the bed if I was a kid! “Army Ants” is funny because it’s Waits discussing certain ants like it’s a educational nature video. Maybe if he did the nature videos in my school I would have paid more attention to them. The “Bastards” disc features Tom beat-boxing more like he did on his last album “Real Gone.” You can hear that in the tracks “Bone Chain,” and “Spidey’s Wild Ride,” and “King Kong.” The rest of the disc has more strange stories, and other hodge podge of different music styles.

I honestly don’t know which disc is my favorite because they all are fantastic! I like that all the discs are split into Waits’ styles because if I’m in a depressing mood, I’d put the “Bawlers” CD on. If I want to hear some good old blues rock, I’ll put the Brawlers CD on. If I was feeling goofy, I’d put the “Bastard” disc on. Orphans is a great follow-up to “Real Gone” and probably one of the best albums Tom Waits has done in awhile!

Bottom Line: This brilliant 3-disc collection of songs by Waits is perfect! You couldn’t ask for a better album!!
Notable Tracks: Lie To Me, 2:19, Bottom of the World, Road To Peace, Rains on Me, Long Way Home, Little Drop of Poison, What Keeps Mankind Alive, Home I’ll Never Be
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