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Swordfishtrombones (1983)

Where the lyrics of Swordfishtrombones take you, and where it was really made.

Tom Waits made this album without saxophones, using instruments he had not used before, and it was the first album he produced himself.

Key places

Most songs recorded at Sunset Sound (1983)

Recording site Sunset Sound — Most songs were recorded at Sunset Sound in August 1982, and Biff Dawes mixed the album there. Waits produced the album himself at the same studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Swordfishtrombones: eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits
• Released in 1983 on Island Records
• The first of Waits's albums that he produced on his own
• Often considered the first in a loose trilogy with Rain Dogs and Franks Wild Years
• Moves away from conventional piano-based songwriting toward unusual instrumentation
• A more abstract and experimental rock approach than his earlier records

Background

• By the early 1980s, Waits had finished the One from the Heart soundtrack
• He parted ways with his long-time producer Bones Howe and manager Herb Cohen
• Determined to break from the sound of his earlier records
• His marriage to Kathleen Brennan proved pivotal
• Brennan introduced him to avant-garde influences such as Captain Beefheart and Harry Partch
• She encouraged a more radical approach to songwriting
• Waits wrote the material during a two-week trip to Ireland
• According to AllMusic, the lyrics moved from tales of the drunken and lovelorn to surreal accounts of people and towns

Recording

• Recorded by Tim Boyle and Biff Dawes
• Most songs recorded at Sunset Sound in August 1982
• 'Dave The Butcher' recorded at Leeds Instrument Rental
• Mixed by Dawes at Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood, CA
• Mastered at Kendun Recorders
• Waits uses banjo, accordion, bass marimba, metal aunglongs, African squeeze drum, calliope and harmonium

Cover

• The cover art is a TinTone photograph by Michael A. Russ
• It shows Waits with the actors Angelo Rossitto and Lee Kolima

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Tom Waits, born Thomas Alan Waits on 7 December 1949 in Pomona, California, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, music director and actor.
• Known for his gravelly voice, cynical texts and theatrical stage presence, he blends blues, jazz, bluegrass, vaudeville and country with rock.
• His lyrics portray the bizarre and overlooked people and places, while his work also shows romanticism and humour.
• Debuted in Los Angeles in 1971 after signing with manager Herb Cohen; the album Closing Time (1973) received good reviews, and the Eagles' cover of Ol' 55 brought success in 1974.
• Mid-1980s albums Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs and Frank's Wild Years featured eclectic instrumentation, marking a less conventional period after leaving Asylum for Island Records.
• Worked with his wife Kathleen Brennan on musicals such as The Black Rider with William S. Burroughs, and moved toward theatre alongside a parallel acting career.
• Acted in films by Francis Ford Coppola, Jim Jarmusch, Robert Altman and Terry Gilliam; composed the score for Coppola's Coup de cœur.
• Won Grammy Awards for Bone Machine (1993) and Mule Variations (2000); inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
• Has consistently refused to license his music for advertising and won lawsuits against several companies that ignored this.

Sources: fr.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• CMJ: called the album nothing short of an American masterpiece of modern music
• Billboard: called it Waits's most varied and eclectic album yet
• Billboard: said its 15 tracks may be a hard sell at radio, but aficionados will rejoice
• Cashbox: believed it could be considered his best and most accessible album since Small Change
• NME: ranked it the second best album of 1983

Reappraisal

• Spin: named it the second greatest album of all time in 1989
• Pitchfork: ranked it number 11 in its 2002 list of the best albums of the 1980s
• Q: listed it as the 36th best album of the 1980s in 2006
• Slant Magazine: listed it as the 26th best album of the 1980s in 2012
• Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums: voted it number 374 in 2000
• Elvis Costello included it on his list of essential albums
• The Guardian: described the records as startling in originality and playfulness

Records

• Peaked at No. 167 on the Billboard Pop Albums and 200 albums charts

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• In the 1993 Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode 'Alien from L.A.', Mike, Tom, and Crow sing 'Underground'.
• The song 'Underground' was used for the Chop Shop theme in the 2005 movie Robots.
• Waits said the instrumentation is all different and has no saxophones, and the album is more exotic in places.
• 'Soldier's Things' was covered by Paul Young on his 1985 album The Secret of Association.
• Elvis Costello highlighted '16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six' and 'In the Neighborhood' from the album.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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