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Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards

Fifty-six songs on three discs: rock and blues, ballads, and spoken word.
Tom Waits, 2006

Released
17 November 2006
Label
Anti-
Type
compilation

The set gathers what Waits called songs that fell behind the stove while making dinner. Some come from films and compilations, some were recorded in the garage with his children, and some are new. The liner notes claim 56 songs, of which 30 are new. The three discs are Brawlers, built on blues and rock, Bawlers, centered on melancholy ballads, and Bastards, with spoken word and experimental pieces. Waits compared the pile of songs to a lot of footage for a film, which needs arranging in a meaningful way to make a balanced listening experience.

Sea of Love and the Ramones' The Return of Jackie and Judy are covers. Down There by the Train was written for Johnny Cash and Long Way Home for Norah Jones. Bastards opens with What Keeps Mankind Alive? by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht and includes two Jack Kerouac texts, a Charles Bukowski poem, King Kong by Daniel Johnston and Dog Door, written with Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse. Altar Boy, from Wilson's Alice, and Shiny Things, from Woyzeck, are both here, and If I Have to Go was written for the Franks Wild Years musical.

Metacritic scored it 92, the second highest of 2006, and it was nominated for the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. The RIAA certified it Gold, and it sold more than a million copies worldwide, making it his best-selling album to that point. Christgau gave it an A. A seven-disc vinyl box set followed on 8 December 2009.

Track listing

  1. Lie to Me2:10
  2. LowDown4:15
  3. 2:195:02
  4. Fish in the Jailhouse4:22
  5. Bottom of the World5:42
  6. Lucinda4:52
  7. Ain't Goin' Down to the Well2:28
  8. Lord I've Been Changed2:28
  9. Puttin' on the Dog3:39
  10. Road to Peace7:17
  11. All the Time4:33
  12. The Return of Jackie and Judy3:28
  13. Walk Away2:43
  14. Sea of Love3:43
  15. Buzz Fledderjohn4:12
  16. Rains on Me3:20
  17. Bend Down the Branches1:06
  18. You Can Never Hold Back Spring2:26
  19. Long Way Home3:10
  20. Widow's Grove4:58
  21. Little Drop of Poison3:09
  22. Shiny Things2:20
  23. World Keeps Turning4:16
  24. Tell It to Me3:08
  25. Never Let Go3:13
  26. Fannin Street5:01
  27. Little Man4:33
  28. It's Over4:40
  29. If I Have to Go2:15
  30. Goodnight Irene4:47
  31. The Fall of Troy3:01
  32. Take Care of All My Children2:31
  33. Down There by the Train5:39
  34. Danny Says3:05
  35. Jayne's Blue Wish2:29
  36. Young at Heart3:41
  37. What Keeps Mankind Alive?2:09
  38. Children's Story1:42
  39. Heigh Ho3:32
  40. Army Ants3:25
  41. Books of Moses2:49
  42. Bone Chain1:03
  43. Two Sisters4:55
  44. First Kiss2:40
  45. Dog Door2:43
  46. Redrum1:12
  47. Nirvana2:12
  48. Home I'll Never Be2:28
  49. Poor Little Lamb1:43
  50. Altar Boy2:48
  51. The Pontiac1:54
  52. Spidey's Wild Ride2:03
  53. King Kong5:29
  54. On the Road4:14
  55. Dog Treat2:56
  56. Missing My Son3:38

More from Tom Waits

Closing Time (1973), The Heart of Saturday Night (1974), Nighthawks at the Diner (1975), Small Change (1976), Foreign Affairs (1977), Blue Valentine (1978), Heartattack and Vine (1980), Swordfishtrombones (1983), Rain Dogs (1985), Franks Wild Years (1987), Bone Machine (1992), The Black Rider (1993), Mule Variations (1999), Alice (2002), Blood Money (2002), Real Gone (2004), Bad as Me (2011)

Sources

  1. Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, Wikipedia
  2. Tom Waits, Wikipedia