Track Listing

1. Singapore
2. Clap Hands
3. Cemetery Polka
4. Jockey Full of Bourbon
5. Tango Till They're Sore
6. Big Black Mariah
7. Diamonds & Gold
8. Hang Down Your Head
9. Time
10. Rain Dogs
11. Midtown [Instrumental]
12. 9th & Hennepin
13. Gun Street Girl
14. Union Square
15. Blind Love
16. Walking Spanish
17. Downtown Train
18. Bride of Rain Dog [Instrumental]
19. Anywhere I Lay My Head

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1978 in Music
• Brand: Tom
• Released on: 1990-06-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com essential recording
The middle album of the trilogy that includes Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years, Rain Dogs is Waits's best overall effort. The songs are first-rate, and there are a lot of them--19 in all, ranging from grim nightlife memoirs ("9th and Hennepin," "Singapore") to portraits of small-time hustlers ("Gun Street Girl," "Union Square") to bursts of street-corner philosophy ("Blind Love," "Time"). The album also contains the original version of "Downtown Train," which Rod Stewart turned into a smash hit. The image of "rain dogs"--animals who've lost their way home because the rain has washed away their scent--is an appropriate symbol for the entire cast of characters Waits has brought to life over the years, and this album has thus far proved to be his most enduring effort. --Daniel Durchholz

Customer Reviews

Probably goes without saying
Maybe this guy is just an acquired taste. Regardless, for those who like him, this is probably his best album (although Alice certainly gave it a run for its money).

What seems to make this album so successful, oddly enough, is its surprising balance - certainly an odd thing to say about any Tom Waits album. However, this album contains everything. It has its ballads (Time, Hang Down Your Head) - in fact, "Time" may be the best ballad he's written (quite a statement). On top of that, it has his more abrasive (yet fascinating) music, such as "Singapore" and "Anywhere I Lay My Head"; it even has a grandious, borderline pop tune "Downtown Train."

Waits' voice is...well...unique as always. However, it also seems to be at its strongest. As we hear in later albums he's definitely aged and it took its toll on his voice. However, here he's able to milk it for everything it's worth, and he does that - Hang Down Your Head hits with incredible impact.

Finally, the musicians playing with Waits are amazing. The guitar solos on Clap Hands and Downtown Train are absolutely incredible, and the whole ensemble is as tight as you could ever hope.

I'm probably not saying anything here that other Waits fans haven't already said. But the point remains: if eclectic, occasionally insane music is your cup of tea, this is the Earl Gray of your music.

One of my desert islands discs
I have long loved Tom Waits, and have a host of his albums, but this gem of a record remains by far his best effort. It isn't just that many of his best songs are on this album, but that virtually all of the songs are at least highly listenable. The quality of RAIN DOGS can be seen in the fact that a large number of artists have recorded this album's songs.

Musically, the amazing arrangements sound like Kurt Weill meets Captain Beefheart meets a carnival barker meets a bottle of bourbon. As the album begins and moves from "Singapore" to "Clap Hands," you know that you are not dealing with a three-chords-and-a-cloud-of-dust performer. What is stunning after the album's first few songs, however, is how lyrical Waits becomes as the album goes on. For all the raucousness of some of the numbers, it is easily balanced by the beauty of songs like "Downtown Train," the gorgeous "Time," or the mournfully drunken "Blind Love." Waits employs a crack back up band, with significant guess appearances with performers like Keith Richards. The star back up musician is, however, Marc Ribot, who as he so often does provides stunningly original guitar lines that embellish every song upon which he appears.

Lyrically, Waits has never been better, turning out one superb line after another. Several of the songs read as more than decent poetry, and many individual lines pop out, such as (from "Time") "The things you can't remember tell the thing you can't forget" or, in the best line about being down, down and out I have heard, "When you're east of East St. Louis" (with apologies to East St. Louis). Or what about this great line from "Blind Love": "They say if you get far enough away/You'll be on your way back home." Even some of the less well-known songs on the album, like "Tango Till They're Sore," are lyrically stunning.

I'm a big fan of Tom Waits, but while in his other albums I always find him at least interesting, I still find there are a lot of individual songs that aren't up to the level of his best work. RAIN DOGS is Tom's best album partly because it contains many of his best songs, but partly because it contains absolutely none of his worse. This is all the more remarkable given the fact that RAIN DOGS was one of the first albums to take advantage of the greater capacity of CDs to expand the number of cuts. Despite the larger number of songs, there are no weak cuts and no filler.

ah yes, sometimes you need 6 stars...
It's 1:30 AM. You're alone and it's hot, and ALL your sheets are firmly to the wind. Rain Dogs [and another drink] is all you need.

Waits' style is a personal one, distinct and poetic, so trying to convince me he's got a best album is like trying to convice someone they like filet mignon more than grilled salmon! All his albums are great meals, so just because you're bound to prefer one to another doesn't mean your tastebuds are better than anyone else's -- the only way to know which you like best is to sample them for yourself.

Because if you like Blues and standard arrangements, try Heartattack and Vine or Blue Valentine. If you like softer stuff or jazz hipsterism, try Heart of Saturday Night or Nighthawks. And if you like it more deviant, try Swordfish or Bone Machine. Waits's got something for everyone.

And yet in answer to all the critics, if you want them all on one plate -- if you want pop and jazz, blues and acoustic, raveups and hoedowns, and lyrics you actually want to read like a book -- there's no way you can go wrong with Rain Dogs. I don't doubt this is the one album that would make ALL Waits fans' top 5.

From there, you're on your own. Because like all great experiences in life, one person's worst might just be your best.