Tom Waits
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards

THE REVIEW

Orphans: brawlers, bawlers, and bastards...

"Well, songs... let's just say there will be rumbas on sirens, tarantellas on insects, madrigals on drowning: songs of dubious origins saved from a cruel fate and taken care of... take care of them, they won't eat you!"
Thus the brilliant Californian singer-songwriter (now almost 57) spoke about his latest effort: "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards", a true deep dive into his indolent and magical world, encapsulated in 3 CDs of over 3 hours of music, produced again by Waits with his wife Brennan and featuring the well-tested Les Claypool from Primis, Dave Alvin, and Marc Ribot on guitars.
Among the never-released tracks are Waits' covers of songs by various artists that somehow sparked a flame in his whimsical imagination, so we can browse here and there through tracks by the Ramones, Daniel Johnston, Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, Leadbelly, Kerouac, Bukowski, and others...
Songs originally recorded for various projects: readings, film soundtracks, and theatrical soundtracks whose tracks had been lost and that are finally contained for the first time in an original and coherent context (the cover, by the way, is a masterpiece with all those disturbing and elusive presences that perfectly convey the sense of bewilderment in facing such peculiar and elusive sound material!).
Each CD has a title that encapsulates its soul and its "mission": in the first one titled "Brawlers", there are raw, uneven blues and "stomp" with titles like "Lie To Me", "Fish In The Jailhouse", "Lucinda", "Road To Peace" and the poignant "The Return Of Jackie and Judy" (among the tracks heard online...).
In the second CD "Bawlers" we find ballads, country pieces, Irish and Celtic airs, strange waltzes, lullabies, and classic "Waitsian" songs played on the piano in memory of the first part of his "crooner" career, with titles like "Bend Down The Branches", "Long Way Home", "Little Drop Of Poison", "Little Man" and the Waits-through-and-through "Down There By The Train".
In the last "Bastards" (a title that says it all), we find eccentric tracks, off-kilter humor, and strange stories that defy classification; interludes that generally "color" his records but had never found their "dignity" for release as they do now: among the titles "Children's Story", the funny "Army Ants", the very sweet "First Kiss", "Poor Little Lamb" or the noisy "King Kong" with the slow ballad of "On The Road" closing the circle.

An unmissable box set for the "hardcore" and pure fans of this tireless artist who greatly improves with age and makes us hope for a maturity full of enlightening poetry and candor for a world of "losers and dreamers" from which he has always drawn inspiration (a bit like our De André...). Hang in there and mark November 20th (scheduled release date in stores): the time of "waits" and "delays" is over!!!
Bau Bye!