Bounced Checks is the first compilation of Tom Waits recordings, including album, live and alternate versions of songs from six of his seven albums for Asylum Records, excepting his debut, Closing Time. The collection includes several previously unreleased tracks. "Mr. Henry" is an outtake from Heartattack and Vine, "The Piano Has Been Drinking" is a live rendition of the track from Small Change, and "Jersey Girl" and "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard" are alternate takes from Heartattack and Vine and Blue Valentine.