A wish-wash of lost characters symbolize Tom Waits’ 1985 album “Rain Dogs.” The sound is of timeless character and would be hard to place in a specific genre, let alone a time period.
A surreal mix of tales and instrumentation relay the mix of Rain Dog- like characters. Waits has described a rain dog as something of a derailed being. A dog that has been out in the rain has lost his sense of scent and cannot find its way home.
Everybody from swashbucklers to vagabonds is discussed inside of the disc. Waits has the ability to take you from the swarthy shores of Singapore to the gritty street corner of “Ninth and Hennepin.” “It’s Ninth and Hennepin/ All the doughnuts have names that sound like prostitutes/ And the moon’s teeth marks are on the sky.” This song is unique on the disc because it is read in a straight-forward style. Music accompanies his voice on the song that helps further his concept, but he does not sing. He only tells you in his raw raspy voice the things he has seen. “And the bricks are all scarred with jailhouse tattoos/ And everyone is behaving like dogs/ And the horses are coming down Violin Road/ And Dutch is dead on his feet.”
The opening journey on the album is upon a ship out to Singapore, full of bandits, set off into the sea. The new recruit is getting schooled in the ways of a raider as Waits is explaining what to expect. The rhythmic yet staggering guitar play assists inventing the turbulent story.
Waits also leads you into a lazy bar in the early morning hours in the song “Tango ’till They’re Sore.” With a slurred piano ragtime, he compromises that he would tell all of his secrets, yet he lies about the past. Visions of an old black market roustabout are created as he sits at a barstool slowly gulping his liquor as a cloud of smoke appears overhead. “They take apart their nightmares, and they leave ’em by the door.”
The tales are fantastic yet the actual music is glorious on its own. There are various types of instruments played on this album that help create his scene of wonder, from the banjo slap of “Gun Street Girl” to the hypnotic marimba play of “Diamonds and Gold.” The marimba is somewhat like a big wooden xylophone.
Other instruments include trumpets and trombones, and listen for a slight blow of the saxophone on “Tango till They’re Sore” as it is capable of movement. Piano, upright bass and guitar finish the list. Out of all of these instruments, the one that adds the most color to all of the songs is Waits’ voice. Comparable to that of blues singer Howlin’ Wolf, Waits has a unique rasp that is jaw-clinching grit. A little demonic, yet sweet sounding at times, it commands over the over instruments with ease.