Rain Dogs

For the television series, see Rain Dogs (TV series).
Rain Dogs
Studio album by
Tom Waits
ReleasedSeptember 30, 1985
StudioRCA 6th Ave, New York City
Genre
Length53:46
LabelIsland
ProducerTom Waits
Tom Waits chronology
Anthology of Tom Waits
(1985) 		Rain Dogs
(1985) 		Franks Wild Years
(1987)
Singles from Rain Dogs
  1. "Jockey Full of Bourbon"
    Released: 1985
  2. "Hang Down Your Head"
    Released: 1985
  3. "Downtown Train"
    Released: 1985

Rain Dogs is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in September 1985 on Island Records.[2] A loose concept album about "the urban dispossessed" of New York City, Rain Dogs is generally considered the middle album of a trilogy that includes Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years.[3]

The album, which features guitarists Keith Richards and Marc Ribot, is noted for its broad spectrum of musical styles and genres, described by Arion Berger as merging "outsider influences – socialist decadence by way of Kurt Weill, pre-rock integrity from old dirty blues, the elegiac melancholy of New Orleans funeral brass – into a singularly idiosyncratic American style."[4]

The album peaked at number 29 on the UK charts[5] and number 188 on the US Billboard Top 200. Rod Stewart had success with his cover of "Downtown Train", later included on some editions of his 1991 album Vagabond Heart.[6] In 1989, it was ranked number 21 on the Rolling Stone list of the "100 greatest albums of the 1980s." In 2012, the album was ranked number 399 on the magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time",[7] and at number 357 in 2020.[8]

  1. ^ Pitchfork Staff (September 10, 2018). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 25, 2023. ...but on these strange industrial Americana tunes, his husky voice is less of an affectation.
  2. ^ Paul Maher (August 1, 2011). Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters. Chicago Review Press. p. 151. ISBN 9781569769270. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  3. ^ Adams, Tim. "'All these bulletproof songs, one after another': remembering Tom Waits' extraordinary mid-career trilogy". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Berger was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100: 20 October 1985 – 26 October 1985". OfficialCharts.com.
  6. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 355.
  7. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 31, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  8. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2021.