Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
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Free Music Notes for Rain Dogs
Free Music Review: The sucessor to the beat generation
Hit: 5 Stars
Tom Waits was the true heir to the beat generation. His poetry (and beleive me, the songs are very poetic) is witty, surreal, and at times touching, making Kerouac, Burroughs, and Ginsberg proud. While he never hit the mainstream, most people are at least familiar with his name or some songs of his that were covered (most notably the horrific Rod Stewart rendition of "Downtown Train"), and he has a cult following possibly more-so than any other singer-songwriter out there. Even though he has produced many great albums, his masterpeice is "Rain Dogs". I know its a cliched choice, but sometimes the hype is right. The album isn't as much of an innovation in Waits' style as "Swordfishtrombone" was, but its a better and more consistent work than the previous album. There are two main reasons why Wait's compositions work so well. One is the instrumentation is unique, as Waits employs a wide range of objects and obscure instuments to be used for making music. The second reason is the lyrics. Waits can be surreal ("Singapore"), humorous ("Anywhere I Lay My Head"), aggresive ("Big Black Mariah"), and even romantic ("Downtown Train"). He may be acquired taste, but those who get him love him.Free Music Review: "Rain Dogs" is brilliant.
Hit: 5 Stars
Tom Waits is brilliant. "Rain Dogs" is brilliant. Looking through these reviews, it's very obvious that the record is acknowledged by many as a success of rare proportions. That's a safe statement. After all who can listen to these songs - "Time", "Diamonds & Gold", "Blind Love", "Anywhere I Lay My Head", "Singapore" and the rest - and not be touched by them? I first heard this album in 1985, or possibly 1986, and it caught me in a real big way. Actually, I've been a confessed Waits fan ever since I first heard him sing his GUTS OUT in Jersey Girl. I remember I was blow away by a concert on TV in 1984, the day before I saw Bob Dylan for the first time. Don't know how many times I've put "Rain Dogs" on over the years and found myself taken by his sensitivity. The feelings in a song like "Time" or "Blind Love" will always be precious to me.
This is an adventure. In fact from the time you go onboard the ship sailing for Singapore to the time you close up the experience Tom Waits give you with "Anywhere I Lay My Head" you'll be quite impressed.
Free Music Review: Strange but Wonderful
Hit: 5 Stars
This album has been overlooked. How, I don't know. It has everything to make it a bona-fide classic: it rocks, it lulls, it jars you out of your complacent little world for the hour that it is in rotation. Tom Waits is one of the best songwriters ever to put words on a tape, he's up there with Dylan,Springsteen,as well as Lou Reed, but he isn't ever accounted for.This album is just a way to show that an amazing mind is capable of any type of musical expression. Beat Poetry, blues, rock..its all here in this amazing melting pot of music. In my opinion, this is the best of all his albums, with apologies to Closing Time. I understand that people get turned off because of his "Cookie-Monster" voice, but all it took for me to get used to it was a couple of listens, and then when he started singing in his "normal" voice, I just wanted him to let it rip again.
At some point, everyone has heard at least one song from this album--"Downtown Train"--as covered by Rod Stewart. Don't do yourself an injustice by settling for that poorly done version. Get the real thing.
Free Music Review: Waits at his best!
Hit: 5 Stars
If there was ever a person in musical history to join the ranks of only a few musicians desrving of the title "Excentric,Eclectic, Poetic, Musical Genuis", certainly Tom Waits is one of them. On Rain Dogs(which bridges the gap between other classics such as Swordfishtrombones and my personal favorite Bone Machine)the listener is propelled into a whirlwind of junkyard accesories, found objects, the pulse of dark streets and thier affairs with lonely alleys and the cries of its desperate characters. It reaks of the muse in drunken visions and provides hallucanagenic insight into the ever evolving soundtracks of our unconscience.Not many people can make a hubcap, a tin cup and a railroad rail function as an accompaniment to ironically beautiful lyrics sung by the king of all gut buckets;Tom Waits. Unfortunatly Tom Waits and Roland Kirk never collaborated but if they had I imagine some of it might have sounded like this album.
This album will always accompany your wildest dreams lingering at the bottom of a whiskey bottle and that is a great thing.
Free Music Review: If six stars was available
Hit: 5 Stars
I own many albums. Around 400 just on CD. This is one I'm proud to say is timeless. I can not say anything about this album that hasn't been said before. It changes just about anyones life who listens to it. It has perfect range and songwriting. This is Tom at his peak. Well I suppose all the 80's albums were his peak. Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years are dynamic, but not as eclectic as this peice of work. This is an album that can appeal to everyone. The gothic fans, the beatnik fans, the ballad fans, the country fans, the jazz/blues enthusiasts. Tom even dabbles in straight up pop (Downtown Train). I can't stress the need to buy this album. Own it. Hold it. Kiss it and cuddle it while you sleep. Tom is twice the lyricist that Dylan was and twice the songwriter of anyone he's ever influenced. He's without a doubt one of the great american poets and singers. He has a place made and ready for him in Rock and Roll Heaven. Thank you, Tom, for everything this album has meant to anyone who's ever been gripped in its infinite power.