This is going to sound like heresy to some people, but I've had a sense that Tom Waits spent a lot of this decade treading water. Blood Money, Alice and Real Gone are fine albums, but how much they really add to Waits' repertoire is debatable. I can say I haven't dug them out all that often since I first bought them. But as soon as I heard about Orphans, this inveterate Waits bootleg collector was intrigued. Collecting the stray tracks from compilations and soundtracks and adding leftover songs from previous albums in one three-disc set, Waits is creating an alternate history of his post-Island career. And while the results might make for a collection too rich to take in all at once, it's great fun to dip into.For a while there, it seemed that no tribute albums could be released without Waits contributing a track. Orphans offers his take on acts as diverse as Kurt Weill and the Ramones, plus songs that appeared on the soundtrack to everything from Dead Man Walking to Shrek 2.
The set is divided between Brawlers (tougher, bluesier numbers), Bawlers (tender ballads) and Bastards (selections from Waits' own cavalcade of human oddities). You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll probably also get a little creeped out. Regardless of which Waits you're in the mood for. Sometimes it takes a good closet cleaning to get the inspiration flowing again. Orphans has me looking forward to wherever Waits' muse takes him next.
16 Take Care of All My Children.wma
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