Tom Waits - Small Change

Unquestionably the definitive recording of Waits' early period, Small Change brings his beatnik/grifter/gruff, poetic piano man persona into sharp, defining focus. Waits' blues/jazz/'40s pop amalgam is at its most cohesive here, as he's backed by three West Coast jazz vets and an occasional (never overweening) string section. "Tom Traubert's Blues," later covered by Rod Stewart, is a milestone and one of the greatest cry-in-your-beer tunes of all time. Waits plays the down-and-out, alcohol-ravaged troubadour to perfection here as well as on "Invitation To The Blues" and the devastating "Bad Liver And A Broken Heart," where one can almost smell the cheap whiskey on his breath.