The second disc or “Bawlers” of Tom Waits’ extraordinary compilation, Orphans, stands out even amongst the excellence of the other two parts.
First of all, this record reveals Waits at his most introspective, touching, and thus most arresting. No one can write a sad song like him, and here the album opens with two beautifully melancholy tracks.
The songwriter’s signature voice features prominently in “Bend Down the Branches” and “You Can Never Hold Back Spring.” Gravelly and full of emotion, Waits rekindles the barroom act of his early albums, creating a truly moving balance between despair and hope.
Luckily, this segment of the trilogy is not all doom and gloom. Okay, well, the gloom always finds a way into a good Tom Waits song, but at his best, he manages to balance it with a sense of humor.
Take, for example, “Long Way Home.” A jaunty, bouncing beat forms the foundation of this backhanded love song. With his wife and writing partner, Kathleen Brennan, he creates a surprisingly poignant plead from the song’s speaker to his “woman,” asking her to understand and accept his wanderlust.
There is also the demented tango about mass murder called “A Little Drop of Poison” that will have listeners shaking their hips to an addictive melody while a Theremin whines in the background. Like many of the tracks on this record, this song embodies Waits uncanny ability to not only create alternate universes, but also people them with unforgettable characters. More so than even Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen, his songs tend to be like short stories—tiny anecdotes that contain a complete rise and fall of a plot.
Finally, this is the disc that is most likely to appeal to folk music fans who are not diehard Waits admirers. His rendition of Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene” is one of the finest vocal performances of his legendary career. Ghostly, maniacal harmonies buttress a version of this famous melody that sounds, at times, like bagpipes tuning up.
From this track, it’s evident that his voice still has that ability to first take the tarnish off your good silver and then spit-polish them up until you can see your reflection.
Orphans as a whole, but especially “Bawlers” individually, demands to be considered amongst Waits’ very best work. There is no other songwriter who can invoke such a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, images, and sounds, and somehow mold them into music that will stand the test of time.
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