Tom Waits, according to the esteemed American critic Robert Hilburn, is "clearly one of the most important figures of the modern pop era". It's been just over 30 years since Tom Waits made his recording debut. In that time his music has taken adventurous twists and turns, from confessional country-blues and jazz-flavored lounge to primal rock and avant-garde musical theatre.
In 1999 Tom Waits returned to the limelight with 'Mule Variations', his first album in six years and his debut for the independent American label, Anti/Epitaph. The album, which synthesized Waits' affinity for the American song tradition with his love of naturalistic sound worlds, was arguably the most direct and intimate recording of his career. It was certainly the most successful, selling over a million copies around the world and winning a Grammy into the bargain.
As the follow-up Waits released two separate and distinct albums "Alice" and "Blood Money" on the same day in May 2002. The albums were as original as they were different from each other, with "Alice" chronicling the songs Waits and Brennan had written for Robert Wilson's 1992 theatrical production and "Blood Money" containing the music commissioned for 2000's "Woyzeck". "Alice's songs are a school of fish that lead the listener into the rapture of the deep. Blood Money's songs are musical dispatches from the dark, human carnival of life," said Waits, explaining how the two albums differed.
His rich vein of creativity continued with "Real Gone", Waits' 2004 album which featured primal blues, rock-steady grooves and Latin rhythms, all mixed and stirred with what Waits called "cubist funk" and "vocal mouth percussion" , the latter unveiling his unique approach to hip-hop "human beat boxing". For the first time in Waits' career, there was no piano on the record.
"Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards" adds further weight to that stellar reputation. The 3CD set is a wide-ranging collection of 54 songs - including 30 new recordings equaling over three hours of rare and never-before heard music. "Brawlers" is chock full of raucous blues and full-throated juke joint stomp; "Bawlers" comprises Celtic and country ballads, waltzes, lullabies, piano and classic lyrical Waits' songs while "Bastards" is filled with experimental music and strange tales. The set comes complete with a 94-page booklet.
Glitter and Doom is a 2 disc collection of the best of the best tracks from Tom Waits' sold out, highly acclaimed Glitter and Doom tour of the US and Europe in the summer of 2008.
In 2011 Tom Waits was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame by Neil Young at a ceremony honoring his vast and storied musical career spanning four decades. Tom Waits released his first studio album of all new music in seven years. This pivotal work, "Bad As Me", refines the music that has come before and signals a new direction. Waits, in possible his finest voice of his career, worked with a veteran team of gifted musicians and longtime co-writer/producer Kathleen Brennan. This album may wind down the clock with his best-selling album to date, no mean task for an artist in these tough times.
This biography was provided by the artist or their representative.
