Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (3 CDs) [Best of, Box set]

With these astounding 54 songs (plus two bonus tracks) Tom Waits has added a vital new work to his catalog. The title, Orphans, refers to the songs either being from a range of outside projects, various impulses, and whims, or simply not having found a place on the albums for which they were intended. While that scenario has constituted a stopgap measure for lesser artists, this set stands alongside Waits's finest work. He has shaped it into three separate discs, each one separately titled after the prevailing character of its tracks and playing with its own mood and dramatic arc. Brawlers favors raucousness and uptempo grinds and grooves, while Bawlers showcases balladry and the more overtly poetic. Bastards is a funhouse of angular characters, spiky anecdotes, shaggy dogs, and even a Kurt Weill cover. The set offers everything from the amped-up rockabilly hiccuping of "Lie to Me" to the breathtaking perfection of "Shiny Things," and from the outraged political reporting of "Road to Peace" to the closing-time lament of "Little Man." --David Greenberger

More from Tom Waits

Rain Dogs	Swordfishtrombones	Closing Time	Franks Wild Years	The Heart of Saturday Night
Small Change	Mule Variations	Nighthawks at the Diner	Bone Machine	Real Gone

Orphans has been a genuine phenomenon in the storied career of Tom Waits, a collection of "songs that fell behind the stove while making dinner," that has been greeted with open arms by thrilled Waits fans. The album quickly became his fastest-selling release ever, his first certified gold record, and a genuine classic in the Waits cannon. The collection goes far beyond a simple career retrospective, with over 30 newly recorded songs – from Waits' own versions of songs he gave to other artists to some "things I recorded in the garage with the kids". Over two-thirds of the material has never been heard before now. In addition to the new work, Orphans features a number of tracks finding a home on a Waits album for the first time. They include Waits' unique interpretations of songs by such diverse talents as The Ramones, Daniel Johnston, Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht, and Leadbelly. Now Waits is bringing Orphans to a glorious-sounding 7-LP box set, all pressed on 180 gram vinyl, and housed in a deluxe pull-out case. In addition, Waits has added six more tracks from the archives, including Tom's irreverent take on Fats Waller's "Crazy 'Bout My Baby". Longtime Waits fans and the newly converted will want to own this collector's edition of one of Waits' most important releases.

Extremely limited deluxe seven 180gm vinyl LP box set including six previously unreleased songs, a 32-page book featuring lyrics and insight, and a beautiful hardbound box. The collection goes far beyond a simple career retrospective, with over 30 newly recorded songs - from Wait's own versions of songs he gave to other artist to some "things I recorded in the garage with the kids". In addition to the new work, Orphans features a number of tracks finding a home on a Waits album for the first time. .