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kenjariThis was originally a reply to epilimnion's guy D's request for more information on Tom Waits, but I thought I did a good job, so I'm posting it here.
Yeah, Tom Waits does pop up in the oddest places. He has a brief, uncredited role in "The Fisher King", playing a character that could have come out of one of his songs.
Tom Waits has had a pretty long career, and his work can be divided into two main stylistic periods. The first, which starts with his first album and goes up to Swordfishtrombones is a heavily jazz-influenced period. He uses mainly jazz combo instrumentation, although there is a lot of just him and the piano. The songs and his singing style show the same influence. A lot of bittersweet, down and out kind of stuff. The second period, which starts with Swordfishtrombones and continues to the present, is broader stylistically. The jazz influence is still there, but Waits is also heavily incorporating elements from just about every other genre of American popular music. The instrumentation is much more varied, with an emphasis on oddball percussion. The sound is a lot thicker. The songs are still bittersweet, down and out kind of things.
I think Tom Waits is probably the greatest living American songwriter. Throughout his career, he's been something of a storyteller. His songs usually have some sort of narrative element and very vivid characters. There's something very American about his work, too. Not only is the music drawn from a wide variety of American genres, but the stories his songs tell and the people he's talking about often seem very American. You just can't imagine his songs being about or taking place anywhere else. For the earlier jazz-influenced period, I would recommend Small Change, which has the first Tom Waits song I ever fell in love with, "The Piano Has Been Drinking". Nighthawks at the Diner is also highly recommended. For the later period, well, it's hard to pick just a few. Alice is brilliant, possibly his best album. I am, however, also quite fond of Frank's Wild Years. I used to listen to that while working at the Wesleyan music library on rainy Wednesday nights. It was also the first Tom Waits album I ever bought.
Yeah, Tom Waits does pop up in the oddest places. He has a brief, uncredited role in "The Fisher King", playing a character that could have come out of one of his songs.
Tom Waits has had a pretty long career, and his work can be divided into two main stylistic periods. The first, which starts with his first album and goes up to Swordfishtrombones is a heavily jazz-influenced period. He uses mainly jazz combo instrumentation, although there is a lot of just him and the piano. The songs and his singing style show the same influence. A lot of bittersweet, down and out kind of stuff. The second period, which starts with Swordfishtrombones and continues to the present, is broader stylistically. The jazz influence is still there, but Waits is also heavily incorporating elements from just about every other genre of American popular music. The instrumentation is much more varied, with an emphasis on oddball percussion. The sound is a lot thicker. The songs are still bittersweet, down and out kind of things.
I think Tom Waits is probably the greatest living American songwriter. Throughout his career, he's been something of a storyteller. His songs usually have some sort of narrative element and very vivid characters. There's something very American about his work, too. Not only is the music drawn from a wide variety of American genres, but the stories his songs tell and the people he's talking about often seem very American. You just can't imagine his songs being about or taking place anywhere else. For the earlier jazz-influenced period, I would recommend Small Change, which has the first Tom Waits song I ever fell in love with, "The Piano Has Been Drinking". Nighthawks at the Diner is also highly recommended. For the later period, well, it's hard to pick just a few. Alice is brilliant, possibly his best album. I am, however, also quite fond of Frank's Wild Years. I used to listen to that while working at the Wesleyan music library on rainy Wednesday nights. It was also the first Tom Waits album I ever bought.
