Orphans Shows Waits’ Range

By I Oct. 30, 2006

Anti Records will release Tom Waits’ new album Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers And Bastards, a three-disc set featuring 54 songs, on Nov. 21.

The album, which is split into three separately grouped and subtitled discs, features a range of Waits’ musical styles: “Brawlers” is full of blues and juke joint stomp; “Bawlers” features Celtic and country ballads, waltzes, lullabies, piano and lyrical songs; and “Bastards” is filled with experimental music and strange tales.

While the album features 30 new recordings, it also includes a number of songs originally recorded for cinema, theatre and other projects Waits has worked on. They works include Waits’ interpretations of songs by The Ramones, Daniel Johnston, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, Leadbelly, Sparklehorse, Charles Bukowski and Jack Kerouac.

Orphans marks the first release from Waits since his 2004 disc. Real Gone.

For more information, go to anti.com.