Tom Waits Mixtape (Mellow)

Here's one I've been meaning to do for a while, but as you'll know if you're even partially familiar with Tom Waits, he's not the easiest of characters to define.

And as with anyone of that ilk, I find myself going through phases related to individual clusters of his previous albums. Sometimes I'll like his early, croonish, folkier output with just him and a piano, and other times I'll be more drawn towards the insane stuff where it sounds instead like he's shouting into a megaphone while banging on a nearby pipe with a wrench. Of course, those are just the two most notable extremes of his remarkably unique body of work.

Judging from the shortlist of songs I made for this mix, it looks like I'm currently in the former of the two aforementioned phases. So this mix has a comparatively gentle feel to it, with the earlier blues-styles from Closing Time, The Heart Of Saturday Night, and Blue Valentine, and even the eerie, dour fairytales of Alice, pulling focus. Maybe when I'm feeling so-inclined, I'll come up with a less reserved selection of alternate Tom Waits songs from the raucous megaphone/wrench camp.

Without further stalling, here's the mellow Tom Waits tracklist:

1. New Coat Of Paint (The Heart Of Saturday Night)
2. Please Call Me, Baby (The Early Years Vol. 2)
3. Alice (Alice)
4. Time (Rain Dogs)
5. All The World Is Green (Blood Money)
6. I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You (Closing Time)
7. Gun Street Girl (Rain Dogs)
8. Blue Valentines (Blue Valentine)
9. The Part You Throw Away (Blood Money)
10. No One Knows I'm Gone (Alice)
11. I Want You (The Early Years Vol. 2)
12. Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis (Blue Valentine)