Swordfishtrombones

not my jam. I know he is respected, but didn't resonate with me.

Märkligt album. Men it's a vibe

4.7 - I really loved this, I enjoy that he's just a totally different mind and throws you into a different way of listening to music. He almost forces you to sit and experience it, and sometimes it's harder to listen to and other times it has tenderness. But most art forms that's what they are meant to do, why does music always have to be easy?

Second Tom Waits album of the list, much of the same sentiments. Favourite song was the vocal-less piano track at the end. 2.2/5

Blues, Rock, Sprechgesang, heisere Stimme, 1983 -> 1

Good voice but can’t take the music seriously.

Demasiado tranquilo y monótono. Un tanto melancólico. Voz profunda.

His gravely voice is a bit off putting at times, but there's some interesting story telling at play. The overall vibe is peculiar with some really weird moments, but as a whole it's not actually as bad as I thought it would be at the start. 3.5

Did not like

So while listening to this I had some crazy coincidence or whatever happen. First I delivered to McHenry Illinois which is mentioned in the song Johnsburg Illinois where we also have customers. Then back at base he mentions Birmingham at the exact moment one of our trucks from Birmingham Alabama pulls out it front of me. I have no idea why he was all the way up here in Northern Illinois but made for a great coincidence. Album was fine, once I get used to Waits voice I enjoy the stories and it's just weird allot too so there's that.

i'm surprised how much i actually liked this one. i was imagining that all the tracks would be either like track 1 or track 2, but he actually has more "range" (if you can call it that in this case) than i was giving him credit for. lyrically the themes and topics were about what i was expecting, but the album was pretty listenable.

Every single Tom waits song is simply wait(s)ing for the right scene in a movie or tv show of which to be a theme song. It all feels like it’s missing context when you’re just listening to the album.

I like Tom Waits in a lot of contexts. The Day After Tomorrow is a masterpiece. This isn't it for me. Too much marimba. Why does every album need a novelty track? And why did Tom Waits lead the album with his novelty song?

I’m trying to find one redeeming thing to say about this album: maybe the fact that it is over? Boring songs, a horrible, grating voice, bad lyrics, and too much spoken word. How is this guy’s music well-known?

I don't know if I would listen to this album again, but it was fascinating to listen to

I enjoyed the first track then got worried because I disliked 2-4, buy enjoyed 16 Shells and Town with No Cheer. I think I don't like the talky songs. I full-on skipped Frank's Wild Years. I liked Down, Down, Down as well. After that was meh.

Sad, disorienting, weird, pretty amazing. I still find a lot of the music dissonant and hard going (though there are some sweet hymns in there too) but the voice and the stories are incredible. Strikingly distinctive

have loved for so long...

The way i see it, there are people out there who look at abstract art and see a clear image. Then there are those who look at it and see random disconnected blobs and shapes. I’m the second type of person. I can see how this album could appeal to certain types, but it doesn’t make much sense to me. Not that that makes it bad, it just makes it not for me. 16 shells is a banger though. TL;DR: If the movie Pi (1998) had a soundtrack this is what I imagine it would sound like.

This album is the kind of music the Joker would listen to everyday

By turns weird, beautiful, off-putting, catchy. This was my first Tom Waits album, and while I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the artist or the album, it’s unique enough that I feel a score of 3 is unfair. I liked it more as it went on. It made for unconventional Christmas Eve listening, but I’ve felt out of sorts and a little down all day, and it ended up being strangely appropriate.

Pretty wacky but I liked it

Weird and quirky but I guess that's what he was gong for. Good? I don't think I would go that far.

It pains me to say this as someone who loves Tom Waits - I’ve always found this album impenetrable. I get what he’s doing here. And there’s no doubt that it’s great for what it is. But I’ve never been inspired to just throw this album on for some fun listening. Though I will say that I enjoyed this album more on this listening than I have previously. Maybe I’m finally old enough to appreciate how immature it is. I just don’t know how much xylophone I need in my life. I love the world that Tom Waits lives in. It’s as if everything around him is some demented adult cartoon. I hope there is more from him on this list. 3.5/5

Overall a nice album. I really liked a couple of songs -underground, swordfish trombone. Just a nice vibe in general. But if I’m completely honest with myself I’d probably not listen start to finish again. Solid 3.

Out of the trilogy Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs and Frank Wild's Years, I liked this album the least but still expected a five star. However, I would argue 8/10 is more appropriate, as some of the tracks are just quite a little irritating (whereas other ones are still great).

I quite enjoyed this album, but for me, it lacked a little bit in cohesiveness.

Very intriguing album, I love the weird sounds, the cracky voice, the gentle ballads. Falls only slightly short of full marks.

For a Waits album I enjoyed

I tried to like it - "Underground" is a strong way to start an album. It's just too experimental for me. One song was spoken word - I did not like that.

I have heard of Tom Waits before but never heard him. now that I've heard him my thoughts are... how was this ever popular?

The first time I listened to Tom Waits, I wondered, “where have you been all my life?” Swordfishtrombones is a weird album, full of characters, stories, and musical flourishes that reward me for giving it my time. It isn’t background music. I have to be in the right mood for it. I have to be interested in actively listening, as if I’m reading a book or poetry. But it’s also not *that* weird.

Just not really feeling it

4/5. A carnival of sadness and fear. Not sure where Waits is coming from but there seems to be something he should probably go to therapy, thankfully he at least is expressing it through music. He has such a unique voice that matches the minimalist and raw instrumentation, like I found myself in a Saw movie and this was playing over the speakers in the dungeon I was chained up in. I know I'm not lasting long if this was playing. The only downside is some of the spoken word tracks sound similar and have similar themes of death and depression.

Swordfishtrombones - 5 stars.

251120 15:03 4.5

Added Underground as a "liked song" - reminds me a lot of ManMan

Not a huge fan of the vocal style. Would put it slightly above the previous albums I rated as 2. In hindsight those were closer to 1s for me and this is more a 2.

Gave this a couple of listens, didn't really grab me, though I know there are tons of folks who love Tom Waits.

Such a good album. Waite brings his skills as a poet full force with the lyrics while the music is as chaotic and carnival as an he’s done.

Nope sorry. Just mumbling

Not the Tom Waits I was expecting.

I don’t understand the appeal of this guy. It’s too weird for me.

Good shit

How can there be this many of this guy's albums on this list? Even worse than the previous ones.

Bizarre. Very weird to listen to in places but innovative, poetic, bonkers and very interesting - never dull.

tom waits is definitely an acquired taste. his voice goes from that of a beat poet to smooth crooning to almost a primal howl. sometimes all within the same song. but one thing present is always the signature gravelly tone. some songs were a little too much for me, but i actually enjoyed others.

Rainbird was okay. There was one other song that was okay. That's it.

Gross. I can’t. The guy that runs this certainly has his favorites and every time one of these garbage albums comes up, I wonder why we give two flying fucks about what this fucking dude says.

I like Tom Waits, but I cannot get it out of my head how much he sounds like Mr. Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas. 3.5/5

This is like weird spoken word theater music. He should stick to acting imo.

I think this is my first review of an album that I currently own. It was a blind buy back in the day. My 2nd experience with Waits after Rain Dogs. Although I have a love hate relationship with Waits I do adore some bizarre creative nonsense. This jazzy bluesy beatnik circus vibe works for me. Mileage may vary.

Un album un peu étrange, jazz/folk mais très éclectique. Difficile d'approche

Nicely mellow

Un disco bastante consistente de música experimental. En ocasiones esquelético, en otras saturado y en otras simplemente ridículo, este trabajo de Waits es el puntapié inicial de su etapa de música "teatral" que mezcla diferentes estilos, siempre manteniendo una base de Jazz y un espíritu crooner. Personalmente, lo odio, pero no puedo negar su importancia.

No thanks

Might be the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my life

I get it artistically but it's hard to listen to it!

Love this album and all of its weirdness. Starting with carnival horror music and transitioning to soft piano jazz by end, with the full spectrum in between. I don't know wtf was going on in his head during writing/recording, but I love the ride.

I usually love Tom Waits. This was a bit too experimental for me.

I don’t like the sound of his voice.

Better than last tom waits album. Won't listen again but interesting, felt a little like a soundtrack or theatrical performance. Odd instruments and a self produced sound

Every song plays the same trick…oh this sounds good, oh tom waits has turned up to dive bomb it.

Every song featuring a new silly gimmick instrument, from bagpipes to glockenspiel to accordion. He sounds like he's in severe pain. If you had a pet that sounded like him you'd put it out of its misery

Jovars, det är väl hyggligt.

As always, Tom waits is amazing.

Jesus. That's 30 seconds of my life I won't get back. Just sounds like some old drunk guy. Utter shite.

Too slow for my tastes. Tried working out with it, instead blasted workout music and had a BLAST. Got me on a good track. Guess Tom helped.

Rainbirds is a gorgeous song. This album is very theatrical.

When Waits discovered Beefheart and made it signify. His most cohesive work and maybe my favorite album of 1983.

I'm ready to take my lumps if it's an unusual call but I'm getting to love Tom Waits. He's got a weird style but this album sums up to my how it works. I wouldn't call this the pinnacle of music or anything wild like that but this is a clear example of executing a vision on all fronts and deciding later if it'll be a hit or not. All of it plays so straight it almost feels tongue in cheek or skit like, but In The Neighborhood works even if it feels so over the top that it shouldn't. The album has ups and downs but I'm here for it.

Great album. Glad stuff like this exists.

I forgot 16 shells from this album. In my imagination, apparently, it was much more recent like mule variations recent. Anyway, classic album. Real gems. Listening with headphones I heard lyrics I'd never noticed before. Tom is a genius still but he was definitely a genius then

weird album

Once you get over the general weirdness of this album you'll realize how boring it is regardless. 2 stars because of the part where the guy burns his car

Awfulgarbage. I literally don't understand this in the slightest.

Tom Waits has never really been in my sphere of interest and as this record started I was pretty sure that was going to continue to be the case. Halfway through I was beginning to feel there is something to be found in the off-beat poetry of his lyrics. The instrumentation and vocalizations are quirky and unusual. "Shore Leave", "Frank's Wild Years", and "Soldier's Things" stood out to me.

Waits bins form and structure, throws instruments out of windows, records the sound they make as they smash on the ground, shambolically drawl- sings stories over the top. And it is brilliant.

Not for me, is dit piratenmuziek?

Reminded me of my aunt Lori, music was eclectic but some was groovy. YouTube started suggesting me some really good songs after this album was done.

It was not my cup of tea.

Outro disco com clima mais invernal que deixa a sensação que era para ter mais uma pegada de rock.

What a weird album! Interesting to read the wiki and Spotify bio on Tom Waits and this album, sounds like he was really influenced by the Beat Poet stuff and just making weird music. This album definitely did that with some strange instruments, nonsensical or just gonzo lyrics, and his strange gravely voice. I get the purpose and place of crazy, unconventional, or experimental music but it’s just hard to enjoy or listen to sometimes. This wasn’t totally offensive or unlistenable, so I’ll give it two stars.

About half the songs were interesting and I liked but the other half were so grating that it ruined the album for me. I know that its is jazz and a bit more experimental but some of the songs really missed the mark. My favorite song was Swordfishtrombone. Unfortunately 1 star

2.4/5, ogillar hans röst ibland

Is... is this actually happening? Tom Waits is growing on me?? After two pretty atrocious albums from the list, the most recent two have been pretty.. dare I say.. enjoyable. This one is just experimental enough to keep me intrigued but still has some really nice songwriting and jazz bits. 7/10

Desert island disc

O som desse álbum é incrivelmente baixo, ao ponto de ser irritante. Muitas músicas interessantes e experimentais mas também muita música bem qualquer coisa

bangers

His lyrics hit me like few others. And if this is the start of his weird cave marimba percussion then it’s my favourite era.

Couldn’t get into this one.

Ah, drucken sounds that are cool. Would drink again if I could

Mixed feelings about this one. I was invested enough in the stories Mr. Tom Waits was telling me, not so much on the music. An okay record I'll probably never listen to again but at least it was better than my current dull streak.

His best record after Rain Dogs, this feels like a template for it, with all the weird, one-eyed and fraying loveliness. "Town with No Cheer" and "Johnsburg, Illinois" and "In the Neighborhood" and "Rainbirds" are all very strong. Title cut is great, "Frank's Wild Years" is priceless (the small throat-clearings just spot on) and the rougher (if not quite raunchy) tunes also make a big impression.

Underground - 7/10 Shore Leave - 6/10 Dave the Butcher -6/10 Johnsburg, Illinois - 6/10 16 Shell from a 30.6 - 6/10 Town with no cheer - 6/10 In the Neighbourhood - 6/10 Just another sucker on the vine - 6/10 Frank's Wild Years - 6/10 Swordfishtrombone - 6/10 Down, Down, Down - 5/10 Soldier's Things - 6/10 Gin Soaked Boy - 6/10 Trouble's Braids - 6/10 Rainbirds - 6/10 TOTAL - 91/150

Lourdingue

dites moi que cest le dernier tom waits par pitié

66/100

Do people willingly seek out Tom Waits’ albums? I don’t get it. Can someone explain? Help a brother out. I couldn’t wait for this to finish.

Oh nah not this shit again

C- Underground 3 Shore Leave 2 Dave The Butcher 1 Johnsburg, Illinois 3 16 Shells From A 30.6 2 Town With No Cheer 2 In The Neighborhood 2 Just Another Sucker On The Vine 3 Frank's Wild Years 1 Swordfishtrombones 2 Down, Down, Down 2 Soldier's Things 3 Gin Soaked Boy 2 Trouble's Braids* 2 Rainbirds 3 This actually wasn't horrible. I expected MUCH worse from Tom Waits, but some of this was really interesting.

TWO Tom Waits albums in one month? Wow. Not even enough time to let that other one simmer. Anyway, it's kinda shocking how if I am focused enough on a task, this music just blends right into the background. Tom Waits is an acquired taste for sure. I think his vocals work for spooky season. Not that he needs my approval or anything, but yeah I liked this one quite a bit.

What a stunningly creative, immersive musical experience. So much of the music we hear on 1001 Albums is a piece of the time in which it was made. A lot of it is pretty forgettable, but this album is a creative masterpiece that manages to exist outside of time. I listen to a fair amount of Tom Waits, and no, it's not something most people would care to put on every day. But Waits is a truly unique artist in music, and this is just about as close to a perfect album as he ever made. Wildly entertaining front to back, this album feels cinematic in its scope, like an anthology of grimy tales about loneliness and desperation, with a stealth love story tucked in the middle. Lyrically vivid, with moments of both dark humor and surprise tenderness. Each of the seemingly unconnected vignettes is a carefully crafted universe on its own. Musically, the songs swing from percussively off-kilter to softly elegant, steeped in dusky blues, tin pan alley and jazz. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Swordfishtrombone; In the Neighborhood; Gin Soaked Boy; Just Another Sucker on the Vine; Rainbirds; Soldier's Things; 16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six; Down, Down, Down; Underground; Town with No Cheer; Johnsburg, Illinois; Shore Leave; Frank's Wild Years; Dave the Butcher; Trouble's Braids

Tom Waits is always good for something new. Soldier's Things is surprisingly heartfelt and straight down the middle. The instruments/sounds used throughout are interesting. Somehow the songs all hang together despite having the initial feeling of being tattered and threadbare.

Nobody does it like Mr Waits

i think i dont really get along with tom... there was maximum 2 songs that i kinda like would listen to

Tom Waits at his best!

Wacky like a Danny Elfman score with storytelling like Sufjan Stevens. This record has a lot of acclaim but I'm missing something because I find it interesting but not appealing.

Just outstanding. Best American lyricist. Love his gravel voice and that swing. Tom Waits is the king of his land.

Fake Charles Bukowski put to sounds masquerading as music.

Why did I do this to myself? I waited until our last Tom Waits album to go back and fill in my missing reviews for three other Waits albums. But I can’t take one full album of Waits, let alone four in a day! Why did I wait!? Album opener “Underground” feels like it reveals how Waits might have inspired Modest Mouse, who sped up that sound a bit and paired it with a slightly more palatable vocal. Then we get a lot of spoken word, macabre, carnivalesque weirdness. The Waits are all gonna be 2s for me, but I can differentiate even then - I like “Swordfishtrombones” less than “Rain Dogs” (which started today’s dark adventure).

Underground had a dark circus vibe that I kinda like. Ultimately, like other TW albums, this album is sunk by the voice that only partially works in a narrow set of circumstances (like on 16 Shells, a highlight of this album for me).

As an album this is difficult to get through. But I will say that Tom Waits has a niche. It is thin and particular, like the trajectory of spacecraft required to reenter earth’s atmosphere successfully. Not too steep an angle. Not too shallow. The available aperture is the thickness of a sheet of paper compared to a basketball. In those rare times a track is within that paper’s thickness, Tom sounds halfway decent, if still coming off as a corpse entertaining at a zombie piano bar. 16 Shells From A 30.6 falls into this category. Similar for Frank’s Wild Years which sounds like it’s straight off the five star Nighthawks At The Diner album.

A mixed bag this one. Tom Waits is known for his weirdness and his creativity. If you like songs written by a drunken carney then this is for you. For me it's just alright

Stupid clown music.

Not one of my favorite Tom waifs albums. There were a couple of songs that I enjoyed but overall the album fell short.

An absolutely seminal album. Waits' earlier offerings were fantastic, but were more standard singer-songwriter style with lots of blues, folk, and jazz influences. This album marks a deviation from that as Waits delves more into the experimental and proto-industrial. Echoing clangs of junkyards, haunting Vaudevillian melodies, and poetic musings all fill a rich and varied soundscape. Waits' ability to craft worlds and characters with his lyrics is second to none and ensures this album is truly memorable.

4.5

Found it very interesting

Not for me

Still better than Captain Beefheart. Maybe if I drink a full bottle of whisky I will like it...

Although, some songs are quite interesting and fun musically, I don't enjoy listening to Tom Waits voice. Also, at least half of the songs on this album suck.

Dunno what y’all are complaining about, this is good stuff.

Wouldn't have missed it if I hadn't heard

Some songs have this amazing ambiance, but it still is a bit too much for a whole album

Becomes too much of a concept with too little palletable music

I never got Tom Waits and this album didn't help.

This isn't the worst Tom Waits album I’ve heard, but that is very faint praise. If the Muppets got really into Charles Bukowski and recorded an album, it would sound like this. Pretty tiresome. Even the album’s best song (16 Shells…) wears out its welcome well before it’s over. I don’t know who this is for, but it definitely isn’t me.

Irritante stem, e nummers doen me niets.

Different album but not my thing

Interessanter Singer Song-Writer Instrumental Rock.

can appreciate the experimental aspects but the vocals on some songs were just genuinely annoying, songs also just didn't keep my interest if they weren't annoying

The voice ..the sound… just terrible!

Highlights: "A Soldier's Things," "Johnsburg, Illinois," "Swordfishtrombone," "Rainbirds" Not Waits' best pound for pound, but full of diverse little vignettes that get at one of his big strengths of theatrical moodsetting. The dramatic keel of "Trouble's Braids" into "Rainbirds" is stirring, "Johnsburg, Illinois" showcases how he can use ugliness intentionally for characterization, with that drunken rubato on piano following sour notes in the vocals, and "Soldier's Things" marries lyrical form and content perfectly -- as good of a song as he ever wrote.

Bawdy, jagged and engrossing. The entree to his classic Rain Dogs album.

Hrm hr grumble grr, 4th Tom Waits album hrrmgrr. Disney-ruffian-style cabaret grrr. Mmrrrmh. Grgrgrr smokey bar backrooms. Hrrrr grumble grumble.

Really intriguing parts. Other parts i simply could not get into. Would need more time with it.

mouais

Weird and wonderful. Tom waits for no man.

Tom Waits is an artist who is just greater than the sum of his parts. You look at him and her his voice and listen to the instrumentation and the lyrics and nothing stands out as astonishing but blended together they always make fascinating albums that are so diverse and interesting. I first listened to Bone Machine which is a weird album of his to start on cause it is sort of not like anything else he did imo. This album is sort of his classic sound and it is great. Tom Waits can always guarantee you a few things: interesting lyrics, interesting sounds, his unique voice and a creative aesthetic. This album hits on all those notes and if you like experimental rock I would definitely steer you towards this album. Personally though I don't think it's as good as some of his other work like Rain Dogs and I do think there are some songs that I would say sound fine but don't work as well on this album. Also "Underground" is in Robots so that automatically makes me like this album just a little bit more. 9-9.5/10 depending on how I feel that day.

6/10. I always like Tom Waits' stuff, but it's tough to love it.

Sounds like Tom Waits. 4/10

Tom Waits

too strange for me

Another eccentric Tom Waits album. It is similar to his other albums. It is not as long as his other albums so for that reason I will round up. No need to revisit.

Leuk, 4

😍

Underground // Shore Leave // Johnsburg, Illinois // 16 Shells From A 30.6 // Town With No Cheer // In The Neighbourhood // Just Another Sucker On The Vine // Pretty much every song… 5/5

It is certainly a Tom Waits album. I do love this album. I remember a cousin playing it to me when I was little and I didn't know what was happening - the cover is unmistakable which is why I know it was this particular album. Not that I listen to Waits much this is probably my favourite. He is like a disheveled Leonard Cohen soaked in cheap whiskey and stinking of cheaper cigars

shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaooooooooooooooooooööööööööööööööööööööööre leave

Interesting Production Heavy blues vocals Abstract Lots of good songs few skips

8th album from the prolific poet.

I really like this phase of Tom Waits’ music. I think I like the next couple of albums better- Rain Dogs and Franks Wild Years (always trips me out that the song with that name isn’t on the album) - but it’s still interesting to see him take the first steps in that direction.

Alsof je naar het circus gaat waar aan de rand van het terrein, net achter de reguliere artiestenverblijven, een klein verrot tentje staat waaruit de xylofoongeluiden van Aad Klaris naar buiten komen vanaf een rotte platenspeler die net niet het gewenste aantal toeren per minuut haalt, terwijl een afgegleden, aan diverse middelen verslaafde, naar een combinatie van urine en alcohol riekende Bassie z'n liedjes loopt uit te braken. Een Bassie waarbij de tand des tijds lichamelijk genadeloos hard heeft toegeslagen, maar hij in z'n hoofd nog altijd een kwieke legend ergens in de jaren '80 is. Misschien vergis ik me en is het niet Bassie, maar de Heath Ledger/Joaquin Phoenix versie van de Joker daar ginds in het tentje. Het zou zelfs Pennywise nog kunnen zijn... Het is in ieder geval absoluut geen fraai gezicht en no way dat je ook maar enigszins in de buurt wil komen van dat tentje, maar wat je er van ziet is wel rauw, eerlijk en op een bepaalde manier indrukwekkend. Dat indrukwekkende zorgt ervoor dat ik het er wel mee eens ben dat dit een album is wat je een keer geluisterd moet hebben.

Fifth Waits album. I'm SURE he was that important, and not - as I actually described him in an earlier review - a raspy old hack. Right? This shtick is painful. I didn't expect much from this, and I was *still* disappointed. 1/5.

Haha very funny, algorithm, giving me two Tom Waits albums in a row. Sigh. I just came off the first one thinking maybe I don’t dislike Tom Waits as much as I thought I did. My burgeoning neutrality was worn very thin with even more Tom Waits. I dunno…I don’t think I hate it but I don’t really like it.

This has to be a joke, right? The fact that this piece of trash ended up on a list with such legendary figures as The Beatles, Nas, Stevie Wonder, and Prince, just to name a few, is genuinely infuriating.

zach called this album experimental but i didn’t expect it to be That experimental. some cool songs but i listened to it a couple of days ago and don’t remember having much to say about any in particular. it sounds like it was a lot of fun to make.

Please stop with the Tom Waits. I think that's 5 you've given me now. To be fair this one I preferred to the others. But I'm still not converted

This was a bit strange but I like Tom Waits. Not sure I can listen to a whole album though.

Not my favourite Waits, but still Tom Waits.

I prefer "house singer in a seedy 70s coffee house" Tom Waits to "carnival barker at a freak show" Tom Waits. This is the last hurrah for the former, he would start leaning more toward the latter a couple of years later. A great entry point for someone looking to see what he's about. I wouldn't call it accessible, but it's as accessible as Waits gets.

Eurrrrrgh. No thanks Tom. Musically it's not too bad but the chanty, sneery vocals are just too annoying

by the liked songs this album should be 5 star but i dont know if i was entirely convinced by some parts of the it i absolutely loved the opening track underground and gave me the impression it would be all similar to this track but it turned out to be more experimental than i could have imagined i would definitely give this album 4.5 stars if i could because it appeals to me greatly there were a few tracks that were too spoken for my taste which is a shame because i wanted to rate the album higher but i just couldnt get on with it

A little too gravelly, and perhaps because I knew about him before I knew his music, it seemed a little cliched. It was ok, but won’t be seeking more education.

I'm frequently blown away by Tom Waits. I didn't used to find his music that listenable, but was still amazed by his song writing skills and his ability to add depth and texture to his music. The more I hear it the more I find new details. He's a once in a generation talent.

I liked it, poetry / free form without sounding too skronky to me

Il commento della nonna Fra: sta musica la ga da sentire solo chi che se ne intende😂 Io invece apprezzo molto

I literally don't know what to write here. There's some amazing moments in this album. I remember hearing In The Neighbourhood on 120 Minutes years ago and it's always stuck with me. I love it. The rest of the album... I mean, I did like it but I felt like I was having to make myself listen. It's weird, no doubt. It's brilliant, I'm sure. It's not going to get played on a regular basis. It would have got a 2 but it gets a 3 just for In The Neighbourhood.

Tom Waits channels a certain sound like no other. His voice, for one, is so grizzled and expressive that it delivers in spades. At it's core, Waits is making the rawest form of folk music, defying convention for a truly earnest expression through music. It is strange, and perhaps a bit puzzling, but I have a lot of respect for Waits' music. This is especially true for the some of the lyrics he's written, such as the beautiful Soldier's Things. I think Waits hit a better stride on his followup Rain Dogs, but this is still indicative of his quality work.

Tom Waits again. Such a weird album. I don't hate it. I don't like it either.

Trash

Another interesting album from Tom, very experimental and weird, I enjoyed it.

Big fan of Tom Waits. But this album is not on heavy rotation at my place. Experimentally it’s good. But regular listening it’s not

What kind of gravel is he chewing on for this one? Class A? Clear?

strange, intense and admittedly even cool at times, but not exactly my cup of whiskey. 2/5

help

I can't see myself listening to this album again, at least not anytime soon, but it's neat. I don't really have much to say about it. My favourite song was Underground.

Interesting. Lyrics invoke emotions. Musically, nothing to bop your head to. Would listen again

5 Tom Waits albums in the list? The dude wasn't that good, for fuck's sake.

The fifth album so far on this list by Tom Waits... not a single one has been even close to a must listen.

Strange

A bizarre album that you simply can’t stop listening to.

Just not for me, hard to call it music

Top three Tom Waits album. The best of his Sturm Und Klang era.

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

I’m reviewing this midway through the album, because idk if I’ll make it all the way through. But I would like to talk to the people who like this. I can get behind some weird music, but I can’t get sold on this. Someone enlighten me pls. It’s like a sad old man group right before they walk into a retirement center and never make music again. Frank’s Wild Years is something. Lol. He mentions Mickey! Omg he burnt the house down! I’m live reviewing this song. He killed the dog?!? I do like swordfishtrombone. Wait do I like this now?

A wild ride.

Definitely not for me, music doesn't make sense for me

Shit I feel like I don't know enough about music to give this a proper review. I'll admit I thought it started out quite wanky, thinking it was just a talented dude flexing his musical muscle, putting together songs with random sounds and instruments, making what should be unlistenable music quite palatable. But then a few songs deeps that feeling left, and I was in a moderate state of awe. It's a cohesive and entirely new listening experience, which feels quite amazing to say 40 years after its release. Fav track: soldiers things

A wholly unique listening experience, unlike anything we've really had so far. Need to give it a much closer listen, but I'm all aboard the Waits train from this. Fave track: Underground

This was a funny one for sure - hard to simplify my thoughts into a couple sentences. To start, it's pretty challenging. I wouldn't say I'm a complete stranger to experimental rock and roll, but that doesn't mean that things can't be surprising or grating. This album kind of has this strange pattern of whacking you over the head with a frying pan, then immediately laying you onto a bed of feathers. I'll be unsettled by one song, then charmed by the next. The instrumentation and production is pretty enjoyable regardless of anything else. Some of the heavy percussive/dirty guitar/melodic bass line combinations are impossible to not enjoy. And some of the slower piano ballads can be fairly moving. The beat poetry's content I sometimes found off-putting (and if I'm taking points off, it's here) but ultimately enjoyed its rhythm and griminess more than I condemned its shortcomings. Maybe this is one of those ones that comes down to when/where/how you listen to it. First casual listen I thought maybe I'd rate this pretty low down - a light three or even less. But the more I listen to it I see it more like an arthouse film, and it's pretty perfectly beated out. This might be crap, but I think it's probably genius. Four and a half. Fave track is Town With No Cheer

Just a little too dreary for my taste.

I just don't get Tom Waits. Carny music...1.5/5

Might come back to this in a few years with a more mature ear because I think I’m missing something with this. Just wasn’t for me atm.

Another personal favorite. Tom Waits was able to create something unique and entertaining with this album, and it marked a new direction for his music that went on into weirder and wilder years.

Dette var rart, nesten umusikalsk. Hvertfall manglende rytme til tider. Funker ikke helt for meg

This was a weird album. I loved it. Really fun, interesting music the whole way through.

Song from the hit 2005 animated film Robots and fourteen other hits! Pretty good, love the piano in here.

Couldn't get it into this.

Can't do it

Great voice, weird music. A bit too weird for that fourth star.

The beginning of Tom's "pots and pans" era (this album - death). Fifty percent gloom and pain bangers, fifty percent just binks and bonks. The Rain Dogs follow-up album figured out how to make it all work much better.

Cohesive in idiosyncrasy, this is just Waits dialed way up. The songs hardly cover every angle, but they are windows on a world. The details of what exactly it is are less important: Beefheart-style vocals are first and only about the sound. Waits works and aspires to more, trading sound world for another half-dimension.

While Tom's never really been my flavor, I completely get his appeal. I just find a lot of his music lacking in...SOMETHING, but I can never put my finger on it. On paper, he has all the ingredients I want in an artist, but the execution always leaves me somewhat disappointed. I do really appreciate the dynamics throughout this one, with strange rhythmic pulses on tracks like 16 Shells from A 30.6, followed by melodic piano work on Rainbirds and Soldier's Things. This album has some definite highlights, but I wouldn't say I'm a full convert after listening closely.

A swampy slide down the depths of a subterranean circus led luridly by a raucous ringmaster.

Since I listened to a previous Waits album some months ago, this was very unexpected. I was ready for classic bluesy rock and got industrial-like sounds that looked like music. I'll rate it with a 4 for the surprise. Give me more.

I'm not a Tom Waits fan, but it wasn't bad.

Best Tom Waits album! 4/5

Gave it a second listen and enjoyed it more but still no more than a high 2 star.

Some great tracks here, just not enough to justify a 4

Couple of decent tunes on here

Bit dull

eh, fint nok

Like watching a child throw spaghetti at a refrigerator.

A masterpiece!

tom waits invents a unique soundscape and becomes himself in this album - however his magnetising persona does not save this album from its basic lacking in tunes nor does the amusing ditty about obliterating a chihuahua 'shore leave' does sound like banjo-kazooie music though

This sounds likr a movie soundtrack about some cowboys and pirates all sitting in a bar woeing over their life's troubles. I feel like that makes it so hard to rate this album. Some of it is very groovy being almost impossible not to stamp a foot over, some of it also feels quite like Waits is really trying to make sure the listener "gets" the sound he's trying to make, as if it's not so obvious somehow... Is it a good thing to male bad music if you mean to make it bad? Is it even bad if that's the case? I think abrasive is a good word to describe the sound better than bad, which in turn helps to set the scene even more. Between the unique orchestration, and the album being unapologetically itself, I think this album merits it's 4 stars

Really gorgeous vocals. Don't feel like listening to it once did it justice and so its an album I'll definitely revisit.

An American legend. This album straddles his tendencies for rambling stories, grumbling growls, and catchy melodies. Like this one a lot and missing it on my shelf.

I think it's time to give Mr. Waits the rating he deserves. This is probably the last album from him that I'll get from this generator, which is sad considering he's one of the artists that I look forward to. Anyway, "Swordfishtrombones" is notably Tom Waits. Weird, full of gravel, and hard to digest. So to avoid another regretful rating, I digested this one slowly. And hell it's quite good. Brings me to places I never knew I'd enjoy being in. Perhaps not as good as "Rain Dogs" or not as inventive as "Bone Machine", but it still has all the surprises and tricks one would expect from Tom Waits. Arguably the most interesting artist on this list.

You know, if Tom Waits filmed himself taking a dump, I wouldn't want to watch it. Listening to part of this album feels like the auditory parallel of what I just described. Too much of this album sounds like Tom figuring out how the rest of it is going to sound and when he does figure it out we're served songs that might be a 3.5 at best.

Not really a fan

Can’t say I loved it.

Typische stem van Waits op iets aparte muziek, matig enthousiast over

balls

Me ha gustado mucho, pero es que Tom Waits es imposible que me defraude(PSP)

Very nice song on it (not all though)

I loved most of the album. Added a few to the playlist

Becoming pretty convinced that Tom Waits just is not for me. Favorite track: Gin Soaked Boy

I find Tom Waits hit or miss, but when he hits the songs are so uniquely weird and wonderful that no one else could have done them; Shore Leave, 16 Shells from A 30.6, Frank's Wild Years are just cool and dark and, well, special. To me Underground overshoots the mark, and although I like Down, Down, Down and Gin Soaked Boy, they are a bit shy of that sweet spot of where attitude, gravel, and weirdness make magic. This album is, overall, completely interesting and I think deserves to be on this list. 3.5 rounding up despite the album art which skeezes me out.

Honestly, thought it was gonna be worse.

Not quite the full blown Tom Waits experience, but getting there

Pretty much what you'd expect from a Tom Waits album.

A significant improvement on the 2 other Tom Waits albums I've had to suffer through so far on this project. 2*

Huh. So I hate Tom Waits? Didn’t know that.

He is kind of crazy. What is this? Vampire music?

bof

I get that this is notable for being a big shift from the artist's previous work but it didn't make for a good listening experience and I don't think it has a place on the list.

Un poco rollo. Aún así,, me han gustado mucho 3 canciones.

Found this unlistenable. Get it might be ,really innovative, creative etc but not for me.

Very strange, very experimental, it's a vibe. 7.5/10

какой-то он совсем не мой

- Cool voice - Varied tracks - Feels minimalist but well executed - 7.5/10

Best Song: 16 Shells From a 30.6. The vocals here are absolutely perfect: energetic and dragged across a backcountry gravel road. Worst Song: Dave the Butcher. The insistence of placing instrumental tracks on a Tom Waits album never ceases to astound me. Overall: More expected excellence from this period of Tom Wait's career. The mix of often gentle music and Wait's unique grit, all around compelling lyrics, makes this work.

Muy hombre pero igual está bueno

Tom Waits is a one-of-a-kind artist and a favorite of mine who I don't listen to enough. I wasn't very familiar with this album but it's excellent. There's a lot of different blues, folk and jazz styles here, all played exceptionally well and infused with his unique style. The music is full of minor chords and off-kilter rhythms to match the odd, disturbed lyrics. And his vocal performance is always bold. He has an incredible range. All the songs are great but here's a handful of favorites: - "16 Shells from a 30.6" (Awesome stripped down blues rock) - "In the Neighborhood" (What kind of style is this? A march? I love his singing here. It's rough but also triumphant and beautiful.) - "Frank's Wild Years" (Hilarious and bizarre spoken word story) - "Swordfishtrombones" (So many interesting lyrics here) - "Trouble's Braids" (Whoa! What even is this? Amazing energy) - "Rainbirds" (A stunning, jazzy finale)

So unique and still listenable, so experimental and still conventional. I love Tom Waits, I don't listen to him enough, and this is a solid release by him. On top of his amazing music, I often think about funny quotes from him like this one: TV Network Presenter Host Person: "It's kind of strange to have a guy sitting here with a bottle in front of him." Tom Waits: "Well, I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy"

The album cover is more interesting than the music, but that is not to say that the music is bad. Tom Waits is fine in homeopathic doses, one or two tracks at a time. Listening to an entire album at once is overdosing. Perhaps this is an effect of streaming rather than buying records, but it holds true today.

This is where Tom Waits started to become a WEIRDO

Another person in the list I’ve heard their name for many years and yet had not heard anything from them. I was certainly missing out. I really enjoyed this Tom Waits album and it’s different than so much other music.

Another Tom Waits album? Seriously? I simply don't like his voice. It's so grating. Still not as bad as the first album but this was a struggle to listen to. Still sucks though. 1.5/5

Not my favorite. Too jammy jazzy. I’m not smart enough it feels.

Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: Yeah, it had a nice Belen of everything and was entertaining for a decent length album Favourite song: Track 5 - 16 Shells From A 30.6

Didn't hate this, but didn't really like it.

Good grief, no. Just no. Tom Waits is just the damn worst. He tries SO HARD to be "creepy" and just manages "cringey." He just... talks nonsense and calls it art. And people buy his crap for some reason? On top of the usual Waits nonsense, "Swordfishtrombones" gets an added dose of nope from old Tom's utterly crap production. It's poorly recorded, poorly produced, and poorly performed. I was going to give this my (now standard) Tom Waits 2-Stars but, as the album went on I realized that it's just utter garbage and doesn't even deserve a "there's good music in here somewhere" extra star.

Very Tom Waits, he's got better albums

I enjoyed it for what it was, but didn’t love it. It’s unique, lots of “genre-blending” going on that works cohesively, but only six of the fifteen tracks did it for me.

21st December 2022 Listened mainly in the evening getting ready for dinner. Day 2 of skiing! Felt in sync with the run up to Christmas. If the guy from the Pogues and Nick Cave had a child, it’d be this album. 3.5 if I could.

Very weird and interesting. In The Neighbourhood sounds sonically like a Christmas song. Inoffensive and some of it was nice and relaxing to work to, but not something I’d return to.

Local drunk man with access to a marimba records album in secret. It's fun, very weird, almost vaudevillian, jumping genres between songs. It's quick and fun enough, but I think "vibe" alone is not enough for me to give this higher than, say, a 3.5. Favorite tracks: "Franks Wild Years", "16 Shells From A 30.6"

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

Chulo

I spent half the album waiting for it to actually start, it never does, so I just gave up

It was good. I like the horns.

Solid

Love the variety, the energy, and of course the grittiness.

I noticed and appreciated the songwriting most on this one. Didn't seem to suit his delivery mostly, except "16 Shells" and "Soldier's Things" worked very well.

4.5 Superb album, always interesting

A fascinating and colourful album full of interesting instrumentation accompanying Waits' distinctive voice and compelling lyrics. 4.5/5

Tom Waits is a longtime favorite and this is one of his best. I love his early records, but this record moving away from piano driven songs to more abstract and experimental song structures is a high point. One of his best.

Yo, wtf? All this time I thought Tom Waits was well-respected for his serious, somewhat brooding folk rock songs. Turns out he makes carnival music that sometimes sounds like it's being sung by Louis Armstrong? It's confusing and impressive at the same time. I don't think I can ever listen to this record again but man, mad respect for the audacity that this man displayed here.

I like Tom Waits and even I think 3 albums on this list is too many for him. I'd for sure pick the other two over this one.

Tom Waits is different. Sometimes I like him, other times not so much. In this album, I like him. In The Neighborhood is great. Standouts: In the Neighborhood, Underground, Johnsburg Illinois, 16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought-Six, Soldier's Things Others: Shore Leave, Town With No Cheer, Swordfishtrombone, Rainbirds Rating: 3.5/5 (Excellent)

Very cool album artwork! I get to listen to this on vinyl!! Exciting! Absolutely love the variety, experimentation with sound, unusual but warm yet gritty vocals. Gorgeous sounds and one of the greats in the singer song writer category.

I'm sure there is something deeper I am missing about Tom Waits. There were a few of these I enjoyed but then some that absolutely riled me. Grizzly and strange.

Enjoyed this a look. A classic but not one that I can imagine popping on when chilling. Regardless it's very interesting musically and fun to listen to properly like this

Waits' first "weird" record (and my first introduction to his work) remains my favorite for all of its diverse voices and wide ideas. Favorite track: 'Soldier's Things'

Rock de Tom Waits. Un 4.

Loved

Not my favourite but giving it a 4. It is exactly what this list is about for me. Confirming great albums and stretching your mindset and appreciation for albums you might not have purchased but should try.

Dirty singing done right

Classic Waits. And you won't find many better Side 1's than this. Amazing how Tom re-invented himself. A rare and very special talent.

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.

Don’t understand

Better than any other of his albums I’ve heard

Tom Waits always gets 1/5 from me because it's not music, it's fucking awful.

I like Tom Waits when he does his spoken word stuff, I like him when he sings properly, I really really don't like where he does something in the middle. The first track on this is exactly what I don't like. I love his lyrical style, and when he describes these almost film noir scenes it works beautifully with his gravel voice, but the faster and more upbeat stuff just doesn't do it for me. I'll be generous and give it a 3, because when it hits it hits really well, but there's a couple of tracks on there that I'd barely give a 1.

The best

Not bad

Not my favorite Tom Waits album but contains one of my favorite TW songs, Frank’s Wild Years

Tom Waits a le don de faire des albums incroyablement bizarre. Celui-ci n'en échappe pas.. Cependant, c'est un bijou a l'oreille car il y a cohésion dans tout cela et l'écoute est très bonne. 5

I just can't with tom waits. Not terrible, but i just can't.

OK, he's definitely piss taking bit there is some fun poetry hidden in there

оч крутой альбом! какой-то arthur shelby energy

не сразу поняла тома уэйтса, но прониклась благодаря джармушу и фильму «вне закона» уэйтс крутой музыкант, но мне пока нужно очень особое настроение, чтобы его слушать (так, конечно, про всех можно сказать, но уэйтс один из тех, кто плохо вписывается в повседневность)

It was interesting but I didn't particularly enjoy it all that much.

Weirdddd

I enjoy Tom Waits more when I consider his albums less of "music" and more as musical stories/poems. The imagery, the instrumentation, the narration are superb. I can close my eyes listening to a Tom Waits album and feel as if I'm swept away to somewhere else.