POLL Change: Tom Waits- the Beat Crooner years best album POLL

I have a real soft spot for the debut - I still have my original vinyl copy, bought in the late 80s and beat-up even then. Songs like "Martha" simultaneously laid the groundwork for the characters who inhabit/narrate a lot of his more respected work and possess a lot more heart-on-sleeve quality than we expect from this typically arm's-length songwriter. Kind of like John Prine at around the same time, he's writing from the perspective of someone much older than he was at the time.

Then again, Small Change is a real breakthrough, the songwriting equivalent of the sonic bricolage he's working towards in the next few years.

But when I was a 19-year-old cab driver there was no beating "Romeo is Bleeding" for the soundtrack to a rainy night in a three-taxi town like the seedy burg I was living in.

Tough one. May have to break them all out and do a marathon listening session.

'Small Change' wins this one for me although I love the vibe of 'Nighthawks'. I always found 'Foreign Affairs' and 'Blue Valentine' difficult to get into. Still, both records shit all over the best works of some other artists.

I have a real soft spot for the debut

^^^^^^

those early years comps shouldn't be slept on -- really wonderful versions of those early songs. Maybe a tad less schtick-y sounding than the official studio records. I like those records fine, but I usually reach for the Early Years when I want to listen to this era of Waits.

Small Change >>>>>>>> Heart of Saturday Night >> Nighthawks > Foreign Affairs > all the rest.

Small Change is the most fully formed, most downtrodden, least hammy yet most dramatic of all these albums.

If we're going to do a middle years poll, it should include Black Rider, Night On Earth and possibly even Alice and Blood Money as they were possibly conceived in this era.

His third period starts with Bone Machine, then a huge gap, then Mule Variations, Real Gone and Orphans.

Small Change for me too, though I've only heard a couple of those other ones once or twice.

Nighthawks. Sold the rest, too cheesy. But live boots from this era (search - Surfin' Minneapolis) are freakin' genius.

^^^yes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSCIAlyZtso

::obligatory post where i rep for Blue Valentine::

This is tricky. It's between Blue Valentine and Heart of Saturday Night for me. The latter has Drunk on the Moon, the former Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis. I love his sentimental alcoholic stuff.

I haven't got into this era yet, I'm more naturally drawn to his clanky wheezy mumbly stuff. I'll check out the album that wins this poll for sure.

The only problem with doing that would be that you wouldn't be checking out ALL of it!

One of my local college radio stations will be playing an all-day orgy of Tom Waits on May 20 starting at 10 am EST and they usually take an encyclopedic/cataloging approach to this type of project, so tuning into whrb.org in the early hours of the orgy will likely be a good way to catch up with this era.

Listened to Closing Time recently and was struck how much of a part of the whole early 70's California singer-songwriter continuum it was, not really that removed from Jackson Browne and Warren Zevon. Love "Ol' 55" - has The Eagles singing and playing on it!

that's prob why i don't like it very much. in an alternative universe, tom waits could have become a neil diamond-style cabaret cheeser following "closing time".

all eras of tom waits have an element of cheese to 'em, to me "ol' 55" is kinda less cheesy than him singing about one-armed dwarfs

nighthawks just edging out small change.

xxpost that's why 'Heart of Saturday Night' is my fave early album, he's right on the edge of boho singer-songwriter and the Tom Waits schtick of Nighthawks

small change just edging out nighthawks

Nighthawks is the best album to drink along with. the goal is to get as drunk as Tom sounds, I usually hit equilibrium around 'Warm Beer and Cold Women' then pass out to 'Big Joe and Phantom 309'

Sung by Crystal Gayle on One from the Heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHKTE-OzMQ4

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Voted "Closing Time" but the real answer is "Small Change".

should have called it POLLing Time or Poll From the Heart.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

this is about right. small change is undoubtedly incredible. my copy of heart of saturday night has the orchestral version slapped on the end, which might be my favourtie tom waits moment ever. ever. ever! but is very rare. but try to find it - it's worth it.

never heard that! sounds intriguing

the version i have sounds like it's been recorded off crackly vinyl. but the orchestration... i found it by accident and then burnt my own copy ages ago. i will do a search

no sorry, google says no. but if anyone can find this - it's infinity times better than the original.

Didn't see this thread, but would have voted Heartattack and Vine for sentimental reasons - my first Waits record.

that's a hard one for me to love. i may try it again one of these days.

foreign affairs is really not a bad album too.

No, Foreign Affairs is not the best album of this set by any stretch, but it didn't deserve to be skunked beside "One From The Heart" (which is not at all great and deserved a skunking).

I love "Jack and Neal" unreservedly.