Thursday, December 21, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 12/19/06 - 12/21/06



Adds -

WAITS, TOM: Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards 3CD (Anti) - This massive 3-disc, 56 song release is a sprawling musical journey, which reflects almost every genre in the American musical tradition. Although Waits plays many instruments and is beautifully supported by an all-star cast (including Marc Ribot, Greg Cohen, and Karla Kihlstedt, among others!), at the center of this set is Waits’ incredible voice, as he delivers his trademark tales with growls, whispers, croons, scats, and screams.

This set is divided into three CDs, each of which is designed to broadly represent a particular style of music from Waits’ wide ranging sonic palette. So, “Brawlers”, as the title suggests, is packed with full throated juke joint stompers and blues tracks. “Bawlers”, by contrast, is the quietest (and, by far my least favorite) disc of the set , containing lonesome ballads, Celtic waltzes, and country tinged laments. The final (and best) disc in this set is, “Bastards”, in which Waits’ relates fantastic tales of the dark side over musical tracks informed by influences as diverse as experimental music, film noir, hip-hop, and so on. With a set this all encompassing, some lapses are inevitable, but, overall, the quality level is pretty high (especially on discs 1 and 3), making this ambitious release a solid achievement.

One last note: It may just be the time of year (as he died on December 22, 2000), but this album really made me think about my friend and former KFJC Music Director, Ken “Spiderman” Hamilton, as he would have really loved its brash, genre-busting style!


More archival additions from my recent numerous Amoeba used vinyl scores:

WAITS, TOM: Real Gone 2LP (Anti) - Waits’ new set impressed and interested me enough to motivate me check out some of his other recent releases. Musically, “Real Gone” covers similar territory as, “Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards”, but is actually an even stronger release as it’s more focused, in general, and, specifically, contains a higher ratio of stompers (like the “Brawlers” disc) and more experimental pieces (like the “Bastards” disc) to tear soaked ballads (like the “Bawlers” disc). Yeah, Tom Waits is “real gone” and, on this outing, that’s real good.


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Running Count For The Year

Adds 163/67%

Did Not Add 79/33%

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