Rain Dogs represents what is arguably the distilled essence of the Tom Waits aesthetic — the sound of a junk car being pushed through Tin Pan Alley by an over-the-hill beatnik singer with an unparalleled sense of melody. Don’t be fooled: as brutal and sonically chaotic as numbers like “Big Black Mariah” and “Tango Till They’re Sore” may seem on the surface, they’re in fact strictly and carefully constructed compositions, and there’s simply no arguing with the melodies of “Hang Down Your Head” and “Anywhere I Lay My Head,” no matter what you think of his voice. Recognize “Downtown Train”? Yes you do — it was a big hit for Rod Stewart. And Waits’ version crushes Stewart’s like a bug.