Way down in a POLL: ILM's top 50 Tom Waits tracks

40. Invitation to the Blues
39. Ol' 55
38. In the Neighborhood
37= Hang on St Christopher
37= Shore Leave
35. What's He Building in There
34. Yesterday is Here
33. Telephone Call From Istanbul
32. Kentucky Avenue
31. Hang Down Your Head

http://open.spotify.com/user/joe2goo/playlist/39FGIPX9whrzf9CxzxvxnQ

Hasta manana! Feel free to like and comment.

Glad to see "Closing Time" getting some love around here. "Martha" might have been my number one if I had voted (i've been moving and everything has been out of sorts so I'm totally bummed I missed this). Not sure about "What's He Building In There", even though I enjoy the track as a goof. If there had to be a talking one, I would've preferred "9th and Hennepin".

I voted for 9th and hennepin.

if i had been around for the noms bit, i would've repped hard for "Hoist that Rag"

Yesterday Is Here was close to the top of my Poll, it has it's own particular sound that is almost as lovely as something like I Only Have Eyes For You.

I voted for "Martha". I'll be interested to see if it places.

Glad to see "Kentucky Avenue" made it, I had that high on my list. I love his ballads. That one always feels a little rougher than some but there's something especially stunning about it, especially what it builds to near the end.

I wonder which album will end up with the most songs on the list. Already a lot from Swordfishtrombones and Frank's Wild Years.

i like seeing all the swordfishtrombone love altho i didnt vote for any of those tracks

'invitation to the blues' was v high on my ballot

What only three votes for 'All the world is green'!? That's one of his most beautiful instrumentations post-00s.

Also 'in the neighborhood' is a bit low considering how well it did on the album poll, it beated 16 shells which just has to feature somewhere in the following days.

Early prediction for top five (heavy on the rain dogs):

1. Jockey Full of Bourbon
2. Clap Hands
3. Cold Cold Ground
4. Downtown Train
5. Time /or Martha

I was the #1 voter for Hang Down Your Head. Thought that would be way higher.

Foreign Affairs got shut out of the album poll - it's not a favourite, but it's weird to see a studio album in the first five years of a career not receive any votes at all. I think the only other studio album that missed out was Bad As Me?

I must have missed the albums vote part. I would have had Orphans at number 2 behind Rain Dogs

Thought 'in the neighbourhood' would get a few more votes. 'Invitation to the Blues' and 'I'll Be Gone' too. Altogether a rather random, but nevertheless decent, selection from Waits' catalogue.

I hhope neither 'Jockey' nor 'Shells' win. Both are boring

"Yesterday Is Here was close to the top of my Poll, it has it's own particular sound that is almost as lovely as something like I Only Have Eyes For You."

qft

30. Dirt in the Ground (Bone Machine, 1992)
57 points, 6 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyXdj-CUvW0

29. Johnsburg, Illinois (Swordfishtrombones, 1983)
60 points, 5 votes, 1 first place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEI-UCU-BM0

28. Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen) (Small Change, 1976)
61 points, 5 votes, 1 first place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkOMiA_uGso

Yay to the person that voted Johnsburg, Illinois as their Number One

Looking through my spreadsheet I see that one person voted for 'Waltzing Matilda' - didn't occur to me till just now that they almost certainly meant Tom Traubert. So that vote wasn't counted in its final position, apologies. It made the top 50 anyway.

xp

Me! I love it so much, think it's his single sweetest moment. So small.

like i am really fond of the big ballads or heartbreakers but J, I is something else.

Was listening to Telephone Call From Istanbul this morning and that fucking organ(?) towards the end is just such an amazing piece of late-breaking instrumentation. TOO LOW.

"Johnsburg, Illinois" was the last song cut from my ballot. Happy as hell to see it on here. Good taste, woof!

JI breaks my heart, kinda like Come On Up To The House does, but from a different angle.

27. Temptation (Frank's Wild Years, 1987)
62 points, 5 votes, 1 first place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjW1ppfQECc

Great double bass solo in the live version of Telephone Call, which is from Big Time

The first Waits record I bought was Frank's Wild Years, off the back of a review in the press, I was only dimly aware of his music, but looking back I reckon Island records must have shilled his ass like crazy to make it work. I must have only been 15 or something and I was initially not at home to dissonant Optigan explorations, Rhumba and the megaphone wailing in Temptation. I was only willing to commit to the less demanding songs.
Naturally I came around when my tastes eventually caught up and now every note of Temptation is perfect.

The contributions of Greg Cohen, Marc Ribot, Ralph Carney et al to these songs cannot be understated, although I was never keen on Keith Richards when he turned up.

26. Cemetery Polka (Rain Dogs, 1985)
64 points, 4 votes, 1 first place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9bfsT3AvLU

How completely odd is this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdLyt2EsQ0Q

25. Picture in a Frame (Mule Variations, 1999)
65 points, 4 votes, 1 first place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pwxD8quPCg

24. Downtown Train (Rain Dogs, 1985)
65 points, 7 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZhW76LAnTY

I really thought that'd be top 10, maybe the Rod Stewart factor went against it.

It's a decent song, but there are like ten better tracks on Rain Dogs alone!

I'm waiting to see where "Cold Water," from Mule Variations, pops up (if it does). I was just listening to that song last night - really great stuff.

A really fun one I didn't know before coming up next.

23. Step Right Up (Small Change, 1976)
65 points, 8 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URp-Dbhr7EU&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DURp-Dbhr7EU&has_verified=1

22. Soldier's Things (Swordfishtrombones, 1983)
67 points, 7 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNwC8ETa0pg

Also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcsi5Cd4XrE

Surprised and delighted to see "Soldier's Things" here at all! I figured it would be outside the top 50.

yesss my high placing for Step Right Up has paid off. That song has so many great lines, but "the large print giveth and the small print taketh away" is all-time.

Paul Young didn't lack chutzpah when it came to covers did he? (Some lovely sounds in that version mind you!)

21. Alice (Alice, 2002)
68 points, 6 votes, 2 first place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEj-mrwwaxo

30. Dirt in the Ground
29. Johnsburg, Illinois
28. Tom Traubert's Blues
27. Temptation
26. Cemetery Polka
25. Picture in a Frame
24. Downtown Train
23. Step Right Up
22. Soldier's Things
21. Alice

http://open.spotify.com/user/joe2goo/playlist/39FGIPX9whrzf9CxzxvxnQ

I voted for "Alice", but the version I love is the one from the demos. The re-recordings that made up the Alice album was what made me stop buying his records on day of release. Utterly disappointing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr7J2GS3ar4

That demo is lovely, but I really like the woozy instrumentation on the album version as well.

Are the Alice and Blood Money albums generally disliked? I really enjoy both of them and probably would have voted for a bunch of tunes off of them, but I completely missed that this poll was happening.

That demo is really nice too, are there other demo tracks from those albums available?

Still think these are very random selections from the back catalogue. Not a complaint. Love Johnsburg, one of those Waits songs that makes me feel ever so slightly weepy. Surprised Downtown Train isn't higher. I know it's a very obvious song but the lyrics are fantastic and for me it's the archetypal Waits song.

I like a lot of Blood Money and Alice has great moments (as well as horrible moments too)