Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis; A Tom Waits review

I really like the posters here. If I have any criticism its that too much goes on in the non-music section, and possibly that the classics get blown a little too often, but overall this is one of the better communities I post in, and the only music forum I post in.

Me not being understood isn't a sore spot, but it is one of those frustrating things where you sometimes think "jesus, is it even worth it?" I think when speaking it translates a little easier since I can gauge reaction and get an idea of where other people are coming from. For all its benefits, text can really **** you.

Also, Alice it is.
 
Because, like I said, it has a little bit of everything: quiet songs, loud songs, guitar songs, piano songs, percussive songs, experimental songs, "normal" songs, the whole Tom Waits nine yarRAB.
 
Because I like it the least out of all his albums. :p:

I love Tom Waits, he's one of my favorite musicians, but one gripe I've always had with him is his occasional tendency toward writing extremely tedious ballaRAB. It was a bit of an epidemic for him early in his career. The second half of The Heart of Saturday Night, for example, is almost unlistenable because of this. The good news that for most of his output since the early 80s he's managed to largely avoid this trap. The bad news is Alice, which unfortunately is an entire album's worth of this kind of material.
 
I would say the two albums are really pretty similar in that regard, but I think Bone Machine is more accessible to someone new to Tom Waits. Rain Dogs is probably my favorite album by him though.
 
I think I understand exactly what you're saying. I don't like pop ballaRAB in general and I like Tom Waits but I don't really like his ballaRAB either.

In fact the main reason I like his later stuff more than his early stuff is because his later-years voice is rough and garbled enough to make up for his sappiness.

I may be remembering it wrong but I thought there are at least a couple songs on Alice where he belts out that excellent deep guttural sound. And I remember kind of liking the ballaRAB, too, but like I said, I hardly remember
 
I always get about half way through and then I hit my limit. Too much sap and unhappiness throughout the album. That being said, the song Alice, and Watch Her Disappear are excellent
 
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