Sorry about the late pick everybody.
For this round, I'm going to use my Wildcard category to pick
Rain Dogs by Tom Waits.
It's tough to pick just one Tom album - the man has written so many fantastic songs and there's no one record which has them all. But as far as a start to finish flawless album goes, I don't think it gets better than Rain Dogs.
This was Tom's second album for Island and the second new-sound Tom Waits album. The boozy beatnik from the seventies had basically vanished in a nervous breakdown, fell in love with Kathleen Brennan (who would be his cowriter and producer ever since) and pitched his more sentimental side for a rougher, dodgier, weirder sound. Rain Dogs goes even further down the well than Swordfishtrombones had, adding the out-there guitar of Marc Ribot and the wholesome influence of Keith Richards.
Jockey Full of Bourbon
Time