Swordfishtrombones

by

Tom Waits

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Few artists ever seek to completely re-invent themselves on record, and fewer still make the transformation as completely successfully as did Tom Waits. His 70's albums are revered for their delicate, string-landen piano work with Waits croaking out lyrical strands of barstool philosophizing in a pseudo-Louis Armstrong growl. These albums are good, strong efforts, but they had become somewhat predictable by the time of 1980's Heart Attack & Vine (although that album, and it's predecessor, Blue Valentine, had started to introduce new elements into Waits's music.) Swordfishtrombones, then, was a complete re-invention. Out go the strings and piano work (almost entirely in the case of the former, much less overt in the case of the latter), out go to late night bar-obsessed Beat poetry of the lyrics, out goes the Louis Armstrong growl. This album, instead, featured light, sparse, percussion-driven arrangements, with chugging basslines and occasional freakish burts of kaleidoscopic guitar. Lyrically, it was still drenched in weirdness, but moreso than ever - Waits's tales range from the insane poetry that would come to dominate his next album, Rain Dogs (Underground, Shore Leave), to his other typical 80's style song that he still leans on heavily in concert when he plays (16 Shells, Down, Down, Down), to the outright bizzarre and hilarous (Frank's Wild Years, In The Neighborhood.) We also see his vocals take on a more Howlin' Wolf-esque leaning - one critic described the album as sounding like "The Three Penny Opera as sung by Howlin' Wolf." Although this was the prototype for all the rest of his albums since it, it can be a bit hard to get used to (not that all of his albums aren't), if you are used to his earlier efforts. But, like any great album, it takes some time to grow on you. After several listens, you will come to appreciate that this is an album of unique genius. Rain Dogs would be the apex of this era of Tom's songwriting, and his masterpiece may indeed have come in 1992 with Bone Machine, but Swordfishtrombones is a brave, admirable total re-invention the likes of which we almost never see. It's an essential Waits album.

While there were hints of an experimental Tom Waits on "Blue Valentine," this was the first album where I found myself thinking that I was listening to a totally reinvented Tom Waits.

Nearly twenty years later, I still feel "hot & cold" when I listen to this release. I think the lyrical Waits reaches incredible new heights with tunes like "Frank's Wild Years" and "In the Neighborhood." Musically, the album lost me at times. There are brief pieces like "Johnsburg, Illinois," a haunting romantic bit with a ghostly chill to it, where Waits' new musical paint job works well. But much of the album drags with what sounds to me like too much experiment, too little music.

If you're one of those Tom Waits fans who likes both his pre and post 1970s sound, and want to grab one CD that captures both sides of Tom Waits, I would pass on Sworfishtrombones. His follow up, "Rain Dogs," captures the essence of all Tom Waits; eery artsy tunes with enough melody to still be music.

If it's vintage Tom Waits lyrics you're fishing for, Swordfishtrombones is well worth a listen. The music, to my ears, tends to drag. While I'm not close-minded to offbeat and experimental art, I'm not a passionate fan. Take this into account: if you are a bit more open-minded than I am, this CD might be just the pick for you!