frank's wild years...

tee dubya.

so, if you do not know who i am talking about, then you must have been under some sort of large rock for quite some years. or...you just were not introduced to his music. sadly.

i am of course talking about mister Tom Waits. yes, indeedy.
here's a little run-down of who he is, for those who have not had the listening pleasure of his music:

1) known for his voice, described as follows: "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."
2) also known for his theatrics - in a good way...not negatively speaking here.
3) (for those who have seen it) Coffee & Cigarettes: the scene with Iggy Pop. a classic. (for those who have not seen this...i do recommend renting/borrowing it)
4) his music: so unlike anything that is out there...even in his earlier hey-days, he would be making music that was drastically different from the mainstream.

lately, i've been listening to a lot of his music - re-acquainting myself, let's say, as i haven't listened to his music in quite a while. (i tend to go in phases. listen to a lot of one particular artist for a span of time, then go on to another...then go back to the other artist for another span of time)
then, from an encounter with a friend, who happened to mention him, i've just been listening to mister tee dubya practically everyday now.

got my hands on some of his earlier stuff - coincidentally, those albums are titled The Early Years.
i was quite surprised to find that in his early music, he doesn't have that gruff voice that he has come to be known for - not just yet anyways. it was surprising because the voice that i was hearing did not sound a thing like the tom waits that i was first introduced to...and it sounded rather pleasant.

so, if you like acoustic-mellow-sounding music, take a listen to his Early Years albums...bound to be pleasing.
and then if you are so bold, take a listen to these: Blood Money stands out, Frank's Wild Years, Swordfishtrombone, and of course the 3-disc Orphans, Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards.

these are just a few of the albums that i am recommending...i could even just go ahead and recommend all of his albums ! if someone were to have the time to go and listen to them from start to finish...if they wanted to. (i wonder...hmm...)

*another tid-bit: if you watch Shrek 2, listen in for his song "Little Drop Of Poison", played in the 'bar' scene with Captain Hook playing the piano part*