i think i held off on orphans because it's the album that precedes bad as me, which i thought was dogshit when i heard it. i've been meaning to go through his entire discog though. even at his most grating, he's still at the very least interesting to listen to. perplexing is a good word to use

Album Rating: 4.0

Orphans is more of a compilation of unreleased stuff. One disc is more mellow songs, another is his crazier stuff and the third is just oddball shit that is out there. All are awesome.

This took my breath away...

Then you you should check Swordfish and Rain Dogs asap

I'll get right on that.

Blue Valentine too, if you want more of this style of Tom, but better.

Alright, I'll check all of them out. Martha is a beautiful song. So heartbreaking though..

Album Rating: 4.5

Fucking Ice Cream Man

overlooked

Maybe a little on this site, but not really overlooked overall.

some really good songs on this. such a different period for tom. i wonder what encouraged him to start making really abstract music

Idk, but I'm glad he did

yeah it's cool that he did but come on man, this sound rules. ol'55 and martha - songs like those are such fucking classics

No, don't get me wrong. My 3.5 is not a throwaway. This is a truly great album.

i just hope i enjoy his next 3-4 albums as much. based on what you and other people have said the sound is pretty much the same as this

"i wonder what encouraged him to start making really abstract music"

he discovered captain beefheart. seriously.

It's in the same vein, but it's got more instrumentation (especially Blue Valentine) and I think his songwriting improves

Album Rating: 4.5

Album gives me such a powerful sense of wanderlust every damn time.

Album Rating: 3.0

I love Tom Waits but this album literally put me to sleep. Ice cream Man was poor. Virginia Avenue and Midnight Lullaby were pretty memorable though. His next is much better.

Agreed, but "Ol' 55" is a jam