Rain Dogs Tom Waits

Tom Waits undeniably has one of the coolest voices in music - his unique delivery will always catch a listener’s attention. I feel that in the case of Rain Dogs, the distinctive nature of Waits’ vocals can often carry a song. Is this a testament to such a strong voice, or an indication that some of the songwriting itself is, at times, a little lackluster? It’s an enjoyable album, but one that can feel like a jumbled selection of tracks rather than a complete, cohesive work.

It’s down, dirty, and very, very human; an album that gets under your skin and taps your toes for you. Rain Dogs isn’t for everyone, but if you want to hear what the roots of an urban jungle sound like — in all their sad and messy madness — it’s well worth a listen.

It’s a really interesting album, and it achieved it’s loose aim of providing a flavour of a city. In having so many different genres and styles of music, it did sometimes feel a bit incoherent, and that didn’t work for me 100% of the time.