Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
by Tom Waits
  • Record Label: Anti
  • Release Date: Nov 21, 2006
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 170 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 149 out of 170
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 170
  3. Negative: 15 out of 170

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  1. julianne
    Nov 20, 2006
    10
    amazing....scalding...something for every mood...an education.... eradication...rejuvenation..stupefication....
  2. ScottM
    Dec 3, 2006
    3
    The songs themselves are very good, but the vocals are so rough that it makes listening to it unpleasant. Its like a nice looking sweater that itches too much when you try to wear it. Waits should stick to writing songs, in my opinion.
  3. madsl
    Dec 4, 2006
    8
    Ok - so maybe this is a bit much to take in one sitting but Brawlers in particular is well worth your money...it is simply a stunning piece of work! Bawlers gets a bit tiresome because Waits´ ballads have a tendency to sound very much alike. Bastards is a fascinating glimpse inside the mind and working process of a singular talent.
  4. TheDudeVG
    Dec 20, 2007
    10
    Mark L., I believe you have a rather big cd collection of Britney Spears and Mariah Carey... I ain't going to explain the difference between them and the likes of Tom Waits and Bob Dylan, because I think everybody listens to what they like. About the album... If I could keep my breath for more then 3 hours I would... indescribable
  5. Matt
    Jan 31, 2007
    10
    Album of the year.
  6. j
    Feb 8, 2007
    9
    I just HAD to comment in reply to someone else's comment. Tom Waits, a Springsteen rip off??? Are you kidding me? Never talk about music again. You didn't even spell Springsteen correctly. Just stay away from anything related to music.
  7. James
    Mar 5, 2007
    10
    Absolutely brilliant.
  8. ChrisV.
    Jul 31, 2008
    10
    This album is truly a work of art. I pity those on here who don't get Mr. Waits but in a way I'm glad he divides opinion. He's almost a yardstick of musical taste. If you love him, you have it, If you don't, you don't!
  9. IanB.
    Oct 3, 2009
    10
    Quite easily my favorite artist of all time (or maybe Leonard Cohen ). No he does not have a very nice singing voice, but the emotion that he conveys in his songs is better and more important than a person who can hold a note. Though not his best album it is still amazing...fine Disk 3 is pretty difficult even for me, a Waits fanboy, to swallow but at the price it sells with the number of Quite easily my favorite artist of all time (or maybe Leonard Cohen ). No he does not have a very nice singing voice, but the emotion that he conveys in his songs is better and more important than a person who can hold a note. Though not his best album it is still amazing...fine Disk 3 is pretty difficult even for me, a Waits fanboy, to swallow but at the price it sells with the number of great songs on it Disk 1 and 2 more than make up for 3 (any why not get some weirder stuff as an added bonus?). It won't beat Blood Money or Rain Dogs or Mule Variations but it will beat pretty much everything else out there.… Expand
  10. TimothyA
    Sep 26, 2009
    9
    Life in all its raw woodbine broken doll glory.
  11. EdgewaysS
    Nov 21, 2006
    10
    It is good to have all the varrious things in one spot, and there is onely one Tom waits
  12. PROCK
    Nov 22, 2006
    10
    Even if you don't find a song or two to your liking, the breadth of this thing is enough for anyone (other than an out and out Waits-hater) to find an album's worth (15 or so) gems. There is also no denying that Brawlers is one of the best single discs that Tom has produced.
  13. DrAwesome
    Nov 30, 2006
    9
    A landmark work. Runs the gamut of emotions and conveys all of them well. Tom Waits is truly a musical genius to be reckoned with and should take is his place beside Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan in the triumvirate of the worlds greatest song writers.
  14. BasB
    Dec 13, 2006
    9
    I am really surprized he still is able to create a stunning album like this. It really moves me.
  15. janv
    Dec 2, 2006
    10
    This is the best album of the year! Waits at his best.
  16. ottoh
    Dec 3, 2006
    10
    brillant
  17. T.S.
    Dec 3, 2006
    10
    Nothing less than a Masterpiece. Where are the votes from Uncut and Q???
  18. EricW
    Dec 4, 2006
    7
    Tom Wait's leftovers are better than anything put out by any other American artist? Really?! Waits was one of the best 20 years ago, but if you are a music critic and think either Waits or Dylan released the best album of the year, retire. Please. Now.
  19. R
    Jan 15, 2007
    2
    Totally overrated record
  20. JerryJ.
    Dec 6, 2007
    10
    Best release of 2006. By miles.
  21. AlbertP
    Feb 12, 2007
    10
    At first, listening to the three cds was a daunting task. I've since loaded the entire collection into my iTunes library and when a song comes up unexpectedley in a shuffle I realise that each of them is a masterpiece.
  22. Judy
    Feb 9, 2007
    10
    Tom Waits has created a 3-CD journey into his psyche. Over the past 10 years Mr. Waits has made some of the most consistent records around. His songwriting has been great, but I kept getting the feeling that I was listening to a parody of Tom Waits. It's hard to say what was missing, but whatever the hell it was, is pleasantly absent on Orphans. If you are a Waits lifer, you gotta Tom Waits has created a 3-CD journey into his psyche. Over the past 10 years Mr. Waits has made some of the most consistent records around. His songwriting has been great, but I kept getting the feeling that I was listening to a parody of Tom Waits. It's hard to say what was missing, but whatever the hell it was, is pleasantly absent on Orphans. If you are a Waits lifer, you gotta have this one.… Expand
  23. PaulW
    Jul 28, 2007
    10
    What can we say? This is another incredible offering from one of the most prodigious, influential and talented songwriters to grace the latter half of the 20th or early 21st century.
  24. BrandonL
    Nov 21, 2006
    10
    Will this man ever do a regular cross-country tour for the love of god?!!
  25. lujob
    Nov 21, 2006
    10
    the jewel in the mine the teardrop that fires the sky i´m happy ... and for a long time
  26. KurtD
    Nov 20, 2006
    9
    mmmm... I like this a lot
  27. Matchman
    Nov 21, 2006
    10
    An artist's artist. Always full of soul and only better with age.
  28. shelly
    Nov 20, 2006
    10
    tom waits is beautiful...so is this incredible album.
  29. AndrewCa
    Nov 22, 2006
    10
    He's just getting better and better! It's actually ridiculous.
  30. WaltS
    Nov 27, 2006
    10
    Tom Waits is a rarity in that he gets better as he gets older. He doesn't go out of style, because he was never actually in style, he's just always had a timeless quality about him. After 2004's "Real Gone", which was a slight decline in quality, I thought that maybe Tom had given us all of his best stuff. Then Orphans comes out, a collection that is consistently amazing Tom Waits is a rarity in that he gets better as he gets older. He doesn't go out of style, because he was never actually in style, he's just always had a timeless quality about him. After 2004's "Real Gone", which was a slight decline in quality, I thought that maybe Tom had given us all of his best stuff. Then Orphans comes out, a collection that is consistently amazing and among his best work. Tom is easily the coolest man alive.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best Album of 2006
26
#26 Most Discussed Album of 2006

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
92

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. AllMusic
    90
    Orphans is a major work that goes beyond the origins of the material and drags everything past and present with sound and texture into a present to be presented as something utterly new, beyond anything he has previously issued.
    Read full review
  2. Amazon.com
    90
    This set stands alongside Waits's finest work.
    Read full review
  3. Observer Music Monthly
    100
    An outstanding musical creation... that nods to almost every known genre of American music, and some that have yet to be named.
    Read full review
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