Got this from Santa. 3 disks; One word--Excellent.

The disks are divided by style and are titled 'Brawlers' , 'Bawlers', and 'Orphans' respectively.

Orphans is dedicated to the odd. Not very cohesive as an album but there are some gems there. Some spoken word stories, etc. Brawlers is harder, Bawlers is sentimental.

Brawlers and Bawlers are both fantastic. They each hang together as an album better than much of his later works (Bone Machine, Mule Variations, Real Gone). However, because the odditities are all on the third disk, I miss the 'charm' of hearing them sprinkeled here and there in a good album. Either of the two disks (brawlers and bawlers) would be a worthy purchase on its own.

The music sounds very much like the Tom Waits you've heard (if you listen to TW) but all the songs still have a fresh inventive feel. He's still pushing and keeping brilliant. This is a must have for the Waits fan and a strong recommendation for anyone.