Tom Waits has graced my record collection dating back to the 70's - Closing Time (1973), The Heart of Saturday Night (1974), the two-LP live set Nighthawks at the Diner (1975), Small Change (1976), Foreign Affairs (1977), Blue Valentine (1978), and Heart Attack and Vine (1980). I would torture guests at our home with his gravel-voiced blues that some thought were strange Louis Armstrong recordings. Then he lost me as he went experimental/theatrical. His Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis (lyrics) was the signoff cut on 2001's Johnny K has the blues this Christmas CD. Marsha V burned me a copy of his Real Gone (2004); I'm going to find it to give another listen. Here's what the man has been up to lately:By Jonathan Cohen (Billboard) - Tom Waits opens his vaults for the first time on the three-disc collection "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards." Of the 54 tracks, 30 are new recordings. The set, due November 21 via Anti-, also will feature a 94-page booklet. The "Brawlers" disc is dominated by Waits' more blues-leaning material and boasts contributions from Primus' Les Claypool, guitarists Dave Alvin and Marc Ribot, saxophonist Ralph Carney, harmonica virtuoso Charlie Musselwhite and drummer Brain. "Bawlers" features ballads, waltzes and Celtic tunes, including "Goodnight Irene," "Little Drop of Poison" and "Bend Down the Branches." The "Bastards" disc loads up on Waits' experimental side via such songs as "King Kong," "Spidey's Wild Ride," "Army Ants" and "Book of Moses." Waits says the album is full of "songs of dubious origin rescued from cruel fate and now left wanting only to be cared for. Show that you are not afraid and take them home. They don't bite, they just need attention."
The artist just completed a rare, short tour that featured a midnight show at Cleveland's House of Blues, Waits' first club date in 30 years.
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