|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Track Listings
| 1. Underground |
| 2. Shore Leave |
| 3. Dave The Butcher |
| 4. Johnsburg, Illinois |
| 5. 16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought Six |
| 6. Town With No Cheer |
| 7. In The Neighborhood |
| 8. Just Another Sucker On The Vine |
| 9. Frank's Wild Years |
| 10. Swordfishtrombone |
| 11. Down, Down, Down |
| 12. Soldier's Things |
| 13. Gin Soaked Boy |
| 14. Trouble's Braids |
| 15. Rainbirds |
Product Description
From Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com essential recording
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing and Uncompromizing,
By
This review is from: Swordfishtrombones (Audio CD)
By the early 1980's, Tom Waits had perfected his style. His beatnik-barroom persona was clearly defined, his throaty voice familiar to a very dependable, if not especially large, fan base. This is the point at which most popular musicians reach an apex, enter "legendary" status, and release a string of albums that often simply pastiche their earlier successes. But Tom Waits is not an ordinary "popular musician."Consequently, he re-invented himself in 1983 with Swordfishtrombones. Choosing to jettison his record label and produce the new album himself, he also left behind the combination of strings and piano that had backed so many of his previous songs, replacing them with scratchy electric guitars (often plucked), bizarre organs, glass harmonicas, and most of all, a huge variety of drums. The result is a CD full of arresting soundscapes in which his voice, always distinctive, becomes an instrument in its own right. The lyrics are different also. Though he is still most certainly singing about life's unfortunates, the typical references to hookers, bars, and closing time are replaced with mystifying, often nightmareish story-lyrics in which the listener more often gets the gist, rather than the details, of the circumstances described. Though "Frank's Wild Years" is a spoken song and might at first seem similar to the spoken-word masterpieces of, say, Nighthawks at the Diner, this song is not about your typical drunkard but rather a psychopath who, unable to stand his suburban existance, burns down his house and drives away laughing. In fact, discontent with the city is prevalent on the songs here; there's the unflatteringly depicted seaport in "Shore Leave," a "Town With No Cheer," and the suburban nightmare of "In The Neighborhood," which sounds like a Fourth-of-July anthem with a hangover. Of course, Waits himself would eventually move to the country, a move reflected in 1993's Bone Machine. All in all, this disc is unbeatable. Waits's voice, sounding amazingly young and cocky compared with his recent releases, is in top form. His poetry, though considerably more obscure than what he has written afterward -- sometimes to the point of complete mystification -- is evocative and startling, and as always, sounds great when sung with Tom's unusual phrasing. And the music itself, ranging from the brutally percussive opener "Underground" to the wild blues-rock of "16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought-Six," to the acerbic organ on "Frank's Wild Years," and the obligatory gorgeous ballads "Johnsburg, Illinois" and "Soldiers Things," is among the best Waits ever composed. Swordfishtrombones, which was both an important career move for Waits and an album on which every song matters and is well placed, should not be missed by anyone interested in some of the best American popular music of all time.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing collection of offbeat music, not for the timid,
By Milo "gjm" (Eastern Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Swordfishtrombones (Audio CD)
I have arrived at Tom Waites at the age of 52, and find myself wondering why the hell I never discovered his music before. This is not for the timid, it's a mixture of primal and raw music. Itis jarring, discordant, grainy and addicting. There is more than a hint of Kurt Weill to the whole album, and the ensuing mixture strikes a chord that sets my own soul buzzing with sympathetic vibrations. I think you have to have a dark and twisted streak to appreciate this album. You have to know the taste of too many cigarettes, the pounding of Scotch induced hangovers, and the scent of cheap perfume on a cold, empty pillow. I love it..................
5.0 out of 5 stars
The latest artist I am proud to find out about.,
By W.D. Mainer (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Swordfishtrombones (Audio CD)
Every time I get to in a stop in music ( When I think there is nothing left to discover except for overatted artists like Dylan), I find someone else. Well, Tom Waits is the latest in my evolution of music interest. I heard about him from the wierdest source, which would be... yes,, Primus of all bands. Tom appears in thier video "Over The Falls" and does the voice for "Tommy The Cat". I Downloaded a ton of Tom's songs and one stood out, "Swordfishtroubones". I traded in some cd's and got three Waits cds, "Small Changes", "Swordfishtrombones" and "Blood Money". I like all of them very much and this is just downright awesome
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
|
