Red Mosquito

Yeah, Real Gone could easily go above Alice and Blood Money. I realize now I probably should have just done that so that my ranking wouldn't just be chronological

Why not?

Bone Machine
Blood Money
Mule Variations
Real Gone
SwordfishTrombines
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards
Rain Dogs
Heartattack and Vine
Alice
The Heart of Saturday Night
Bad As Me
Blue Valentine
Franks Wild Years
Small Change
Closing Time
Foreign Affairs
The Black Rider

It's been a long, long time since I hung out with those Asylum years albums.
From memory, my ranking is:

The Heart of Saturday Night
Foreign Affairs
Blue Valentine
Small Change
Heartattack and Vine
Closing Time

I really don't think I like Closing Time at all.
Anyway, I'll start listening through these tonight and see how my opinions have changed.

The bottom three on my list are probably interchangable and the only Waits albums that I don't reach for or think about. Certainly some highpoints on each but not albums I get excited about.

Everything else is wonderful.

I hate it so much when artist replace their albums on Spotify with remastered versions. Even worse when they're completely different and worse like Real Gone. Why??? People getting to know Tom Waits now will most likely never know how Real Gone is supposed to sound.

Yeah, I do really wish the original version was still available on Spotify. No reason why both can't be on there.

I like Closing Time quite a bit, personally. Here's my Asylum ranking:

Blue Valentine
Small Change
Closing Time
Heartattack and Vine
Heart of Saturday Night
Foreign Affairs

With the last two being albums I rarely feel drawn to re-visit and I honestly don't know Nighthawks very well. I'll give it a listen soon

I like jazzy TW much more than folky TW

Island
Asylum
ANTI

Listening to Real Gone now. i love this one....ill try to do a ranking later..but it will be hard. Im a huge fan of the first era.

theplatypus wrote:It's been a long, long time since I hung out with those Asylum years albums.
From memory, my ranking is:

The Heart of Saturday Night
Foreign Affairs
Blue Valentine
Small Change
Heartattack and Vine
Closing Time

I really don't think I like Closing Time at all.
Anyway, I'll start listening through these tonight and see how my opinions have changed.

I don't like Foreign Affairs at all. At the absolute bottom of my tom waits list.

Not a huge fan of Small Change but Tom Taubert's Blues is incredible.

Heart of Saturday Night is a solid listen from start to finish, and San Diego Serenade is Beautiful.

Closing time has Martha and Old Shoes and Picture Postcards, and a few other decent songs, but Heart is the better listen.

I do like Blue Valentines from start to finish, and Romeo is Bleeding is an all timer.

Heartattack and vine never feels like a complete album to me, for some reason,but lots of really good songs on there. And Mr. Siegal is probably a top 10er.

Dead And Lovely is such a cool song.

And yes, Day After Tomorrow is top ten.

stip wrote:Heartattack and vine never feels like a complete album to me, for some reason,but lots of really good songs on there.

I agree with this

VinylGuy wrote:And yes, Day After Tomorrow is top ten.

for anti war songs from the era I actually prefer road to peace. there are a few stunning moments in Day After Tomorrow but it drags in places for me.

How’s it gonna end is my top real gone moment

Just listened to Closing Time and Heartattack And Vine back to back.

I love both of them so much....this era is wonderful.

VinylGuy wrote:Just listened to Closing Time and Heartattack And Vine back to back.

I love both of them so much....this era is wonderful.

I'm glad Closing Time was the first Waits record I ever heard and I still adore it to this day.

My first one was Bone Machine, and i got to listen around the time it was released. I was mostly confused by it, but songs like Going Out West, That Feel and Jesus Gonna Be Here got stuck in my mind since.

Its just a wonderful album...and yes, Closing Time its one of my favs. Its beautiful, quiet, sad and happy, it got all.

I enjoy the Asylum stuff just as much as I enjoy the Island and ANTI- albums, it's all great to me.

What's the better run...?

Heartattack and Vine - Bone Machine

Or

Mule Variations - Bad As Me