Another Tom Waits thread - Best of 90s and 00s

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There are loads of Waits comps out there but they tend to concentrate on his 70s and 80s output. Since the advent of "Real Gone" it's become quite apparent that since moving to Epitaph Tom has gone under as much of a style revival as he did in 1983 with Swordfishtrombones. Albums like Bone Machine, Mule Variations and of course Real Gone show big influences from the Blues and HipHop while albums like The Black Rider, Blood Money and Alice (all soundtracks for stage shows) display a more European-Gothic bent.

What would you put on an official 90s onwards Waits best-of?

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 16:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Bone Machine and half of Black Rider. That's it.

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 20 October 2004 16:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Awww! Don't you like Real Gone?

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 17:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Here's mine then:

Black Rider
Lucky Day
That Feel
Earth Died Screaming
Starving In The Belly Of A Whale
Hoist That Rag
Fish And Bird
Eyeball Kid
In The Colosseum
Alice
God's Away On Business
A Little Rain
Poor Edward
House Where Nobody Lives
Good Old World (Waltz)
Who Are You
I Don't Wanna Grow Up
Misery Is The River Of The World
Come On Up To The House

That'll do I guess. Did I miss any?

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 17:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Shit - I forgot "Don't Go Into That Barn"! Plus loads of others off of Real Gone. D'oH!

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 17:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd fit Georgia Lee and Cold Water and Just the Right Bullets in there and maybe a spoken word and instrumental, but that's pretty close to what I'd have, if we're being representative

― tremendoidmandel, Wednesday, 20 October 2004 17:40 (twenty-one years ago)

"Such a Scream" and "Watch Her Disappear" are personal faves.

― Sympatico (shmuel), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 17:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Though as much as I like what I've heard of Real Gone, I'd agree with the conventional wisdom that his best work was in the 80s.

― Sympatico (shmuel), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 17:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Any Waits comp covering his best of the 90s to the present ought to have "Take It With Me" from Mule Variations, IMO.

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 17:51 (twenty-one years ago)

how could you leave out "Black Wings", "Goin' Out West", and "Just the Right Bullets"?

Give me some time to compile my own and do this thing right.

― bill neil (inabillity), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 20:04 (twenty-one years ago)

side 1 - bone machine
side 2 - black rider
they go together as well as rain dogs and franks wild years.

-heard mule variations, kinda meh. few great songs (come on up to the house, and big in japan spring to mind) mostly middling late period rehashing of his past themes.

-haven't heard alice, blood money, or the new one basically becuz i was so disappointed in mule variations, so i can't comment on those releases.

― j.m. lockery (j.m. lockery), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 20:31 (twenty-one years ago)

they are all better than mule variations. blood money and alice were written before mule variations though.

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 20:48 (twenty-one years ago)

blood money and alice were written before mule variations though.

Didn't know that. It makes a lot of sense though.

I've been trying to get into Bone Machine and Mule Variations now that I "get" Real Gone. I never really got into those two albums despite both having a couple of excellent tracks. I rather like "Big In Japan". And sorry for leaving out "Just The Right Bullets" - what a track!

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 23:32 (twenty-one years ago)

they are all better than mule variations. blood money and alice were written before mule variations though.
-- kyle (akmonda...), October 20th, 2004.

i didnt know this either, thanks for the note.

― j.m. lockery (j.m. lockery), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 23:56 (twenty-one years ago)

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