Swordfishtrombones

1 and 5 are equally valid ratings. Personally I have a lot of patience for goofy, borderline-unlistenable shit as long as it doesn't take itself too seriously. I like this halloween music.

You're walking through the fairground with your date. They're miserable as you couldn't even win them a prize goldfish at 'Toss the Ring'. You tried to tell them it's all a fix and the rings aren't big enough to fit over the bowls, but they wouldn't listen. They looked at you like this date was as poor as your excuse. It begins to drizzle and your candy floss droops. Who cares? The idea of candy floss was better than the actual thing anyway. Over the sounds of others laughing, talking and screaming, you glance over the top of your date's head and see a man made of right angles standing next to the waltzers. You catch his one good eye and realise it's too late; he's seen you. He starts barking at you and your date and beckoning with a twig like finger. His one milky eye seems to be like some hazy frayed rope that's been knotted around your neck and he draws you in. Over your date's protestations, he somehow convinces you both to sit inside a waltzer. No one else is here. The lights are flickering and the smell of sawdust and vomit become oppressive. He laughs like man gargling kitty litter and slams the safety bar down and spins the cab round as the ride starts up. You're stuck here with this awful date spinning round and round and round and round. You have the fear that you'll be here forever in some kind of carny limbo. This is the music that is playing over the speakers. The louder you scream the faster the ride. Remember: fun is the key but keep seated at all times or you may die. Best Tracks: 16 Shells from a 30.6; In The Neighbourhood; Down, Down Down

I really don’t like Tom Waits’ music and this album hasn’t changed my opinion.

You know what? I hate Tom Waits.

The amount of Tom Waits in this exercise is making me fucking hate Tom Waits

Tom waits is absolutely the worst. Nails on a chalkboard.

DON'T MIND IF I DO

Day 26 of Albums You Must Hear... Swordfishtrombones is an album released by one of the most interesting and abstract artists of the list thus far, Tom Waits. I first learned of Tom Waits several years ago while going down a YouTube rabbit hole. Heath Ledger largely took inspiration from Tom Waits for his role of The Joker in The Dark Knight. I will link the video that I watched below, the likeness is incredible. I must preface with this first, Tom Waits is not for everyone. He is abstract, off beat and, frankly, different. For those reasons, I really enjoy Tom Waits and Swordfishtrombone is a genius record. Waits is bound by no restraints, and the pace is up to him completely. In this album you get many sides of this mad genius. If I was to make a recipe for Tom Waits style, I’d say it’s 1 part jazz, 1 part circus clown, foaming from the mouth, 2 parts piss & vinegar, and 2 parts witty, spoken word poet. While having one of the most gravely voices in music, he can go rough and tough to sentimental and soft at the drop of a dime. My favorite song on Swordfishtrombone is In The Neighborhood, an almost national anthem version of Hometown, Anywhere. It’s nostalgic and melodic. On 16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought Six, I felt like a Hell’s Angel riding down a deserted highway with my grip tight on the ape-hangers handlebars. Vroom Vroom! I also love the use of non-traditional sounds in the instrumentation, like creaking of hinges or the steely slam of a sledgehammer knocking in railroad spikes. On Frank’s Wild Years, a spoken word piece, Waits tells a short story with words that slide out of his mouth with such ease and coolness that I totally didn’t expect the twist ending. I really love this cut from the album. Soldiers Things is sad and ironic, yet beautifully written. Tom Waits is a terrific pianist and brilliant songwriter. I look forward to delving deeper into his huge catalog. Please share your thoughts, opinions and memories!!

I really don't like Tom Waits.

Critics are just making up shit to like this album. Nirvana’s Nevermind before there was a Nirvana? Bullshit. This album may be deep, but it is unlistenable.

Now I know for sure I don't like Tom Waits at all.

A beautiful but dangerous circus run by ghosts of soldiers with broken hearts. Lovely lovely lovely.

An excellent album and important transition in his career as he started collaborating with and being influenced by his wife Kathleen. She introduced him to Captain Beefheart who became a major influence, and you can hear that in this album. He started developing more voices and characters that continue to show up in later albums. I am reminded why I like his music so much listening to the first couple tracks - he creates such vivid scenes, you can imagine the loneliness, seediness and darkness of the places he inhabits. Sweet to hear a song about Kathleen (Johnsburg, Illinois). I think there are a number of masterpieces on the album - 16 Shells, Frank's Wild Years included. Other standouts for me are Swordfishtrombone, Down Down Down, and Gin Soaked Boy. Ultimately I find Rain Dogs to be a better album - certainly my favorite of the 80's trilogy and probably of all his albums - but for me it still deserves 5 stars.

It's not true that Tom Waits' music before this album contained no musical invention or experimentation. But, it is true that this is the point where he really let rip. Underpinning the bizarre sounds and vocal affectations is the great melodies you can hear on his earlier records. For such a wierd and wonderful collection, it ends up sounding and feeling really cohesive. I don't think it is quite his best work (that's Mule Variations, I think) but it is still a classic.

He sucks bad. Like anyone could do this shit

Good grief... I've already commented that I don't like Tom Waits's voice, but this album is labeled as "experimental rock." If you have to put it in a genre, I suppose that's as good as any, but there's quite a lot of this album that sounds like "drunken instrumentation." Imagine going to a carnival and hearing the background music played badly -- that's what the first three tracks sound like. Then at some point mid album bagpipes come in for a second? I felt slightly detached from reality after listening to this album, and not in a good way. I'm giving it a solid 1 star.

Listening to Tom Waits is like a reverse date rape - he'll drug you just to take you back to the bar.

Arty music I don't understand or enjoy. Tom Waits sounds like he's doing a sarcastic impression of himself.

damn this was a really cool album the more I listen to Tom Waits the more I can appreciate his style and the way he grows in his discography can’t decide what my favorite song is, I’m just gonna give this a 10/10, awesome album, please listen to it

Thought I was out but he pulled me back in

Heard through the blue funk which has descended on every blue blooded Englishman and, I expect, all in their charge across the waves patrolled by those in service to the glory of crown and country since the crippling disappointment of the Euros 2020 final, this was a tonic. Capturing the spirit of jug bands - assembling new achievements from the scraps of whatever is lying around - and celebrating the once-fallen as heroes, it offers glints of hope glimmering at the end of dark alleys. Perhaps there is a way out. Perhaps it isn't interminable. And not just for the rogues and waifs here. I am talking also, of course, about our fallen heroes Bukayo, Kalvin, Kyle, the Harrys, et al. As for Waits' hoarse bark - 'tis surely the noise issuing forth from every true Three Lions fan's throat this week, after hours - nay, days - nay, weeks - of singing Three Lions, Sweet Caroline, and bellowing their support for our freedom-fighting soldiers of the football field. A real touch of class from Waits to record this tribute to the England team merely a day after their defeat.

It’s funny to me that the dislike of The Residents’ record on this site doesn’t get transferred over to Tom Waits’ music. The degree of separation between the two artists is minuscule. Sorry, but it’s about time some hear that hard truth.

Just dire

This is where Tom Waits started to become a WEIRDO

Like a drunk grizzly bear in depression era New York trying to sing to you about its broken heart.

the sound of a cookie crumbling

Favourite album from a favourite artist. Like the Ramones, who I listened to a few albums ago, he polarises listeners, and that's OK. You either buy into the world he has created over the decades, or you don't.

This is a pretty good album to encapsulate a lot of styles of Tom Waits. You got your bastards, your brawlers, and your bawlers. This is definitely an album that keeps you thinking "What could be next?". I had not listened to the entire album for probably at least 7 years, but I had fav'd at least half the tracks, but discovered some new ones that I really like to add. The only duds for me are "Town With No Cheer", I don't think it adds anything to the album nor the Tom Waits catalog. Frank's Wild Years in isolation is just a little dumb-fun story, but if I recall Frank is a character throughout Wait's career, so there might be something more interesting there chronologically. I was thinking this would be a 4, but I am thinking it's probably a 5 actually. Not something I want to always throw on, but I can't deny it's a great album.

Tommy boy. Some would say his finest hour (depends on who you ask), but this is when he started to get really weird, which I dig. His voice is a point of contention for a lot of people but I really like it. This album has everything that Tom had done until that point: sultry ballads, driving blues, poetry, strange, world-influences and weirdo lyrics. I like this album a lot but I think Rain Dogs just edges it out for this era of Tom. Favorite track: 16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought Six Least favorite track: Trouble’s Braids

Tom Waits’s voice in “The Neighborhood” is my new favorite thing.

My third album by this pretentious dude. Can’t believe there are FIVE Tom Waits albums on this list! They truly haven’t been that different from each other, which is ironic given how impressed he seems to be with his own “uniqueness”. Johnson Illinois is playing as I write this review. Ouch on some of those attempts at the high notes there Tom. Maybe stick to the talking-singing.

Grandpa got drunk and is doing Spooky Scary Skeletons on Karaoke again...

The instrumentation on this album is so good. The groove, the melodies, the music is absolutely fantastic. Moments of pure enjoyment and appreciation for how well the band plays each song, only to get interrupted by Tom Waits. Tom Waits is the villain in this album.

Was intrigued with this one as I know how much Waits is revered by true music lovers. Underground was not a good start - not sure what the allure is of angry Slipknot-like growling with Big Top circus musical accompaniment. I'd say one or the other but tracks 3 and 8 were the latter and I hated it. So need the right music with his voice - I quite liked 16 Shells from a 30.6 and Gin Soaked Boy so its doable. Shore Leave wasn't bad - still eclectic music but vocals not so off-putting (even the end of song warbling). In the Neighbourhood had some cool lyrics, Rainbirds was pretty, and the title track was alright. But his voice is just awful (it's like listening to the Cookie Monster) and there's way too much weird stuff and not enough good stuff that I'd want to listen to more than once (if that) or listen hard for the lyrics.

Two songs in and I already hate it. I just don't have the patience for this kind of auditory nonsense at 2pm on a workday. It's not helping that this is my second Tom Waits album this week. The first one was much better, which isn't saying much considering the low bar set by this one. The last track was a quiet instrumental and that was rather nice. Not enough for this album to get an additional star though.

Goofy ahh music

Oh nah not this shit again

Don't get it, not an enjoyable listen

Das ist gute Musik!

"He's got his piano in the kitchen, and he only uses the kitchen range to light his cigarettes, and then there's this refrigerator where he keeps his hammers and wrenches and nuts and bolts and stuff like that. He opened the fridge door and with an absolute poker face he said, 'I got some cool tools in here.'" - Bette Midler on Tom Waits There's no other artist out there that makes me want to hop a train in the middle of the night to join a circus, drink whiskey, and eat cigarettes for breakfast. Seriously, though, Swordfishtrombones is already one of my all-time favourite albums. This is the album that really shifted him towards his junkyard persona and I love everything about it from his gravelly, whiskey-soaked, smoke-filled voice to the experimental sounds and song structures.

I remember being disappointed the first time I heard this. I was a fan of his earlier work and this was not that. Fast forward 25 years and I am able to appreciate this a lot more. I enjoy just about everything he's done. Tom Waits is a national treasure in my book.

251120 15:03 4.5

I love the man. He has a carny appeal that really strikes me as folksy, authentic, and fun while still being grounded and deep at points.

Tom Waits is Tom Waits! He's an aquired taste, but i really like this album. He masterfully blends multible genres.

I thought for a long time that Tom Waits was not the artist for me and that I would not enjoy any of his works, but that was before I heard this album. Unlike the problems I had with Heartattack and Vine, this album I believe showcases where Waits' voice really shines. Abstract and weird in the best ways, this album was a colossal, strange, wondrous ride through Waits' mind. He doesn't let himself get shoehorned into that deep gravely voice that he is known for, and there are some quieter, smoother songs that showcase a range I didn't know he had. Sometimes you just get some quiet instrumentals or tracks where he just speaks, which is a nice palate cleanser between songs. Overall, an album that shocked me with how great it was.

Fuck yea

Swordfishtrombones was the beginning of Tom Waits' evolution into the figure he is today. Kathleen Brennan, Waits' most important collaborator (and wife) egged him into produce his own recordings and lean fully into his demented carny persona. Swordfishtrombones is the transitional album between the bar-room balladry of his early albums, with elements of the creepy circus, rubbish-bin-crashing production of his 90s albums. She describes Waits' songs as being either "grim reapers" (Underground, Swordfishtrombones, 16 Shells from a 30.6, Down Down Down) or "grand weepers" (In the Neighborhood, Soldier's Things, Gin Soaked Boy). I really dig Tom Waits' 'late' career, which starts here. Later albums are stronger (Rain Dogs, Bone Machine), but it all starts here. Many people under-estimate Ms Brennan's profound influence on Waits' songwriting and production. She exposed him to a range of new influences and possibilities, encouraged him to take control of his own production, and later became a powerful songwriting partner. Without her, it is hard to imagine that we ever would have heard this distinctive oeuvre. I think we have to understand Tom Waits' later career as the career of Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan in partnership. Credit where credit is due, Ms Brennan, I doff my hat to you.

Круто. Чувак знает что делает.

It was good. Different but not unpleasant. I was entertained.

it's different and weird but not in an insufferable way

Intriguing oddball music.

Charming and unusual journey into strange piano bars that still somehow existed in 1983 having presumably been transplanted from 1920s Vienna.

What.

Nr. 174/1001 Underground 2/5 Shore Leave 1/5 Dave the Butcher 2/5 Johnsburg, Illinois 2/5 16 Shells from a 30.6 3/5 Tom With No Cheer 3/5 In the Neighborhood 3/5 Just Another Sucker on the Vine 3/5 Frank's Wild Years 2/5 Swordfishtrombone 3/5 Done, down, down 3/5 Soldier's Things 3/5 Gin Soaked Boy 2/5 Trouble's Braids 2/5 Rainbirds 3/5 Average: 2,47 This is not really for me.

FUCK Tom Waits.

Tom Waits has the voice of an angel — if that angel had spent a lifetime gargling gravel and whiskey. I really find him hard to listen to, and Swordfishtrombones didn’t change that. He seems to have so many albums on this 1001 list, and I honestly have no idea why. This album is a tough listen. I can see that it’s trying to be quirky, experimental, and different, but for me, it just doesn’t work. The songs feel chaotic and unpleasant, and I won’t be listening to it again. It’s definitely one of those love-it-or-hate-it records — and I’m firmly in the latter camp. Favourite track: “Dave the Butcher” – it has zero vocals, which is probably why it’s the most tolerable track for me. Least favourite track: “In the Neighbourhood” – it sounds like something straight out of a Christmas Disney film, and not in a good way. Honestly, I could have picked almost any track here. Album artwork: A very cool cover, at least that’s something.

Tom Waits fucking blows!

No just not for me, sounds like the local drunk in the pub on Friday night karaoke

I hate Tom waits.

Please dear lord, even beheaded this music is too much.

Experimental is one thing. Abysmal is another.

I didn't enjoy this. Not sure I understand what makes this popular.

I have no musical ability whatsoever. This sounds like I walked into a recording studio with instruments around and banged on them for a while. With the record button pushed, and some idiot actually released it. 1.0 Because there is no option for negative numbers.

I honestly hate it

Nope nope nope. Whats with this guy. Why is he on here so much

What a shit show of an album! My ears bleed from the start of the first track to when I turned it off halfway thru! Hopefully no more Tom Waits albums.

Sou fa de Tom Waits.

Love it, still the goat. This is such a great album

should have done a tom waits deep dive years ago, amazing lyrics and super interesting arrangements

I do like me some Tom Waits in the morning

Tremendous. Can't believe I've never listened to it before. Think I prefer it to Rain Dogs.

I love that all the reviews of this album are either 1 or 5, kind of reminds me of a certain record with a fish on the cover... I love pretty much everything I've heard from Tom Waits but he was never someone I really tried to seek out so I don't think I've ever heard this one before. And a new album by someone you really like is always a fun adventure. It is weird, as expected. But it's a different kind of weird that I really like. I got this album on a rainy day right before Halloween (not sure why that date makes a difference but it kind of does?) and it seemed to fit the vibe of the day perfectly. I mean, throw on Tom Waits any time it rains and you basically have a soundtrack to the day. This album is a little different from his prior stuff but it's still unmistakably Tom Waits. It's kind of hard to put your finger on it, obviously his voice is very unique but that's not really it. There's something about the music and the way he delivers the lyrics that is sort of a signature sound and it's just fantastic. I really enjoyed this album and would recommend it to anyone maybe looking to find something a little different than what they normally listen to. 5/5

Impossible not to love the genius that is Tom Waits.

Better than Coldplay

Today I learned I love Tom Waits

One of the most unique voices in music.

Reminds me of a night on the playa at burning man. A voice for all seasons.

Blew my mind. What did I listen to?

Although not quite as good as Rain Dogs, still an easy 5 stars.

Kunnon sirkusmatskuu! Hieno levy joka on ollut meikälle aina niitä kovinpia Waits-levyjä. 5/5

Pure brilliance

Love Tom waits not quite as good as rain dogs but still amazing

it's a fall listen. but a great one. my fav waits so far

Rough and classy at the same time. I love it.

Ah, the sounds of my childhood ❤️

Some hate Tom Waits, some love him. I just get a kick out of this music and his totally unique creations.

Fave songs Frank's Wild years and In the Neighbourhood .Such an original sound, although I am not a big fan of his voice,I appreciate the overall 'fairground' vibe and percussion throughout.

It's like goofy cabaret punk. Wouldn't surprise if this was one of the influences behind the Tiger Lilies. Great album for weeding out the cool and the uncool.

Man I just really like Tom Waits. I could completely understand if someone hated him but this just does it for me. Kinda weird, super talented and unapologetically himself.

A friend introduced me to Tom Waits in the 90s. I believe we started with “pasties and a g-string” and then “diamonds on my windshield”. Because of that I’m already digging this album and the grooves. I absolutely love “shore leave”. This album has such a great jazz feel but also incorporates the best things I like about John Cage. “In the neighborhood” just grabs me. Like we should be singing it as a group at a bar toasting each other at closing time. This album is amazing.

Wonderfully weird album. I don't know it as well as Rain Dogs, but I want to know it better. The second half is especially good, from Frank's Wild Years On. Very interesting storytelling in the lyrics and the production and instrumentation are excellent.

Tom Waits will always get 5 stars from me. I realize he’s not for everyone, and for most folks there are too many of his albums on this list. I don’t know how many there are yet, but it’s all of them, that’s fine by me. Swordfishtrombones isn’t even my favorite of his albums, but it still has his quirky style of storytelling and some fantastic songs (I’m partial to Gin Soaked Boy and Soldier’s Things). And one thing that can definitely be said about this album that cannot be said of a great many others on this list, it’s not boring at any point. He mixes up styles almost as much as instruments. Classic album, and I’m glad people are getting exposed to this genius, even if they don’t see it.

I got my fourth Tom Waits album after nearly 550 albums with Nighthawks At The Diner in April 2023, and it was a weird one!!! I say this with affection because I absolutely love weird Tom Waits. And it was so weird--I mean, there were bagpipes! I unironically loved it all. Swordfishtrombones marks Waits' first self-produced album and I hear the differences and similarities. Waits is his usual self: strong lyricist, blues musician, and piano player. He displays his usual repertoire of bangers, soft songs, spoken word, instrumental blues, all backed with his gravelly voice. But he uses a variety instruments you don't typically hear in Western music, like ever, which allow for a more experimental, unpolished tone. "Trouble's Braids" uses an African talking drum and is full of tension. "Dave the Butcher" is so, so unnerving without lyrics: the muted and coarse tempo, the beat slowly increasing and destroying any semblance of normalcy. "Just Another Sucker On The Vine" uses a charming harmonium in Waits' blues standard. Since I know a good amount of Waits' musical career, I can hear exactly where Swordfishtrombones fits in his discography; its release in 1983 makes sense as he experimented more while still incorporating the blues. In fact, the only single for this album was a blues-filled song, "In The Neighborhood." Waits is political in subtle ways, and he spoke about soldiers multiple times on this album. "Soldier's Things" is simple yet powerful in a somber tone. A soldier fights a war for their country, only to be summed up by material items they own, all sold for a dollar. "And this one is for bravery." The title song metaphorically describes a soldier's PTSD: "he came home from the war with a party in his head." "Shore Leave" depicts the isolation felt by soldiers in a foreign port. With these three songs, I'm left wondering, what is it all for? If the album has one flaw, it would be that some songs are too short. I mean, "Rainbirds" breaks me inside, and I don't need that song lengthened, but the love letter to Waits' wife, "Johnsburg, Illinois", is beautiful and deserves to be longer. Then again, a song doesn't need to be long to be great. As with all Waits songs, less is more. Still, I loved "Underground" with the jarring, pounding beat and harsh vocals, and I wanted more than a two minute song. I must mention Waits' bangers. Though this album is the most experimental up to this point, he doesn't shirk his duty to create certifiable bangers. "16 Shells From A Thirty Ought Six" absolutely slaps and must be played at full volume. My online searching tells me this is often a favorite song of Waits listeners. The album contains several other bangers balanced between instrumentals and softer songs. Waits' tender songs affect me so much, but his bangers lift me up back again every time. Never could stand that dog.

Love the world-weary charisma of Waits here. It's an eclectic album, and not really for everyone. I put this on not expecting a flawless, perfect poppy album, but a human album that felt personal and beautiful.

While not as good as my introduction to Waits (that would be Rain Dogs), this has become one of the fundamental albums of my life.

I love Tom Waits but I'd only ever dug into this record once or twice before. This is really an incredible work of art.

First Tom Waits album I owned and loved then but had not listened in at least 3 decades… still wonderful and now I can understand how it prepared me for enjoying Captain Beefheart, the Fiery Furnaces, Minutemen and other bands that played by their own rules yet still were musically beautiful. My favorite album by him too.

The short interlude-like tracks prevent this being a perfect album for me, but it is so SO close. I love this project. The musicians are locked-in, grooving and elastic. Tom is sinister, vulnerable; and sharp-tongued as ever.

This album holds a dirty twisted mirror up to the dark underbelly of civilisation and kinda likes what it sees. One of the best ever recorded and my favourite Tom Waits album. Favourite tracks: Town Without Cheer, 16 Shells From A 30.6, Rainbirds, Frank's Wild Years, basically all of it

Like a second debut. I hadn't listened to it in a while. It's just incredible and might be my favourite of his 80s Island Records trilogy, although maybe if I'd just listened to either of the other two I'd pick one of those. I enjoyed reading some of the musicians bios off the Wikipedia page. I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised how accomplished a group of session musicians it is but it almost seems at odds with how otherworldly the music often is. You've got the bass player from Canned Heat and a guitarist from Little Feat here! It's easy to forget how just a little bit of grit or discordancy upsets people. These 1 star reviews read like slugs doused in salt.