Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones
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Free Music Notes for Swordfishtrombones
Free Music Review: Smashingly successful experiments from a master of lyrics!
Hit: 5 Stars
This album represented a new chapter in Tom's career, and a stunning chapter it's been. This is the album to play for people who have never heard him before, because it showcases all of his talents: strong emotional lyrics that don't stoop to hackneyed sentimentalism and tired "heartland" images; sturdy, singable melodies with a voice that sounds the way the characters in the songs would most likely sound; and a willingness to experiment with new sounds, old sounds, weird sounds, and most of all...effective sounds. Here is a man who, like Kurt Vonnegut in literature, shows us the ugly side of man, and shows us how to love him anyway. I only wish I had made it myself! The criticism I hear most often of this artist is that the listener doesn't "like his voice". These are often the same people that would pan Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan. If you need proof that Tom can sing, listen to "Johnsburg, Illinois." He's got humor, he's got sensitivity, and he's got a vicious way of getting ride of Chihuahua's. Don't miss out.Free Music Review: Way up there on my list of all-time favorites
Hit: 5 Stars
I was fresh out of high school in the early 80s, and really focused on Jazz. One day I was listening to the album "you're under arrest" by Miles Davis, and my neighbor came over to ask about it. This being the era of cassette tapes, you would often loan records back and forth with people in order to make cassette copies of them. I loaned my neighbor my Miles record and she loaned me Swordfishtrombones . Well, she moved the next day or something , and I never saw that Miles Davis record again, but Swordfishtrombones opened up the world of Tom Waits for me. Thanks, neighbor...I hope you enjoyed the Miles record as much as I enjoy Tom Waits and Swordfishtrombones .
Almost thirty years later, I am still often moved almost to tears by this recording, and can't imagine my life without it . We all have music that has served as the soundtrack to our lives,and this record certainly qualifies for me, in that respect.
I can't imagine my life without it , either in days gone by or in the future. It's really that good ..... at least to me.
Free Music Review: Career Suicide Turned Pure Genius.
Hit: 5 Stars
I heard that in the early stages of recording this album someone in the background drug a metal chair across the floor while Tom was recording. Upon listening to the recording Tom decided to leave the chair in... and in my opinion, from this point a different way of thinking started to appear on Toms records. Another one I heard was that Tom had an old organ or something he wanted to use in a song except it had a loose wire or something and buzzed. His engineer got behind it and was toying with the wires until the buzz turned to a crackle. So he says, what do you want Tom, the crackle or the buzz? Anyway, my point is that this music is of a different breed. But don't get the wrong idea. Tom Waits is nowhere near low-fi... Swordfish sounds great and is recorded very well. Tom can get away with banging on a dumpster with a 2x4 for a really big bass drum sound because he knows what hes doing.
Swordfish is for me one of Tom's best, but It seems that the first one you hear ends up being your favorite. Four stars is not enough...
Free Music Review: A revolutionary record
Hit: 5 Stars
You've heard nothing like SWORDFISHTROMBONES, unless you've listened to other Waits records. This is the one that truly kicked off his evolution into "musical genius" territory. The lyrics are still similar to what came before, but the sonic landscape is brand new. Diverse instrumentation and melodic structure give way to an album that defies categorization.
From bluesy romps "Down, Down, Down", to country ballads "In the Neighborhood," to caberet maladies "Underground," SWORDFISHTROMBONES has it all. The title track is a disturbing ballad of a soldier returning from war (a similar theme reappears in other songs). "Frank's Wild Years" is a recitation about a young man apparently driven insane by his wife's Chihuahua." Overall, this album features a highly-disturbing lyric--yet the listern comes away with a sense of awe, even hope. Maybe it is a musical hope--hope that other artists will take a lesson or two from the Tom Waits handbook, and learn the value of being unique. Tom Waits certain has.
Free Music Review: A change in the winds....
Hit: 5 Stars
Tom Waits went changed his whole sound for this album, changing incredibly from his previous 1980 release "Heart Attack and Vine" (not including the soundtrack to "One from the Heart" which was released in 1982). This album marked a turning point in his career; he strayed from the piano a little, and focused a lot on percussion. This album marks the beginning of his famous trio of albums hailed by most Waits fans to be his best work (Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Franks Wild Years). This marked the first drastic change in style and even lyrics in his body of work thus far. With eerie carnival sounding instrumentals, to fast hard hitting percussion, to slow piano work, this album was one of his first to show how diverse his music is. It is also his first solo album released after marrying his wife Kathleen Brennan, and this changes many themes of his music, gearing less towards loneliness and more towards eccentric stories.
Overall this is a landmark in Tom Waits' career and an essential to any fan.