City Newspaper Archives - 1/2007
Tom Waits: "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards"
Published by Frank De Blase on Jan 16, 2007
With his reverence for the antiquated you would think Tom Waits would feel welcomed by any genre or period he visits; those often forgotten, neglected, misunderstood, maligned aspects of our culture. Waits gives a voice to it all. And yet he comes across as if he's rummaging or pillaging. The resulting loot --- a combo platter of previously unreleased tracks and new gems --- can be found on his new three-disc, 54-song CD, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards. For Waits fans this is a wet dream, a treasure trove of jazz, waltzes, gut-bucket blues, melodies, maladies, spoken-word, romance, and oddball ruminations rendered by Waits' highly unconventional marriage of cacophony and melody. There simply is no time period to pigeonhole this man into --- including today.
This album is textbook Waits, both sonically and philosophically. Orphans is like a musically subversive glimpse through a sepia-toned lamplight. It is romantic, ironic, contrary, and ferocious.
An impressive roster of Waits acolytes shows up for the affair, including Charlie Musselwhite, Dave Alvin, John Hammond, and Les Claypool. The pieces and contributions penned by Leadbelly, The Ramones, Charles Bukowski, and Jack Kerouac blend seamlessly with Waits' work, for he is a classic before, ahead, and of his time. Orphans is simply fantastic. Bury me with this record.
