Tom Waits - The Early Years, Volume 2

I continue to be amazed by the number of times I loan this album out to friends who've never heard it and, in most cases, never heard of it. Tom Waits has been around long enough to be considered an icon in the music business, but despite all his success, still seems somehow relegated to a cult status among insiders and songwriters. What gives? Understandably, many listeners are turned off by the sheer gruffness of Waits' voice. Also understandably, many listeners are turned off by the often strange instrumentation, which Waits himself calls his "junkyard orchestra", and cacophonic arrangements. However, if you just drill down to the heart and soul of the matter, you'll quickly find that there's not a better songwriter alive today anywhere in the world, and The Early Years Volume 2 does all the work for you. On this album, Tom Waits has re-recorded many of his best songs for a stripped-down, acoustic sound that really allows his songwriting to shine. And with songs like "Diamond on My Windshield" and "Mockin' Bird", you get beyond your standard songwriter comfort zones, you get a little jazz, a little blues, and a lot of solid well-structured songs. In all honesty, this is the album that changed my life forever. There are plenty of albums that have blown me away over my lifetime, and more even before my lifetime, but Tom Waits' The Early Years Volume 2 opened up a world of "cool" that even the coolest cats I knew never knew about. This is the kind of music that requires you to swagger even when you're just sitting still; it's just that cool.

Highlights: "Blue Skies" and "I Want You"