The Ghosts Of Saturday Night (After Hours At Napoleone's Pizza House) (3:11)
Review: This classic Tom Waits album showcases an intimate quality while delving into a traditional jazzy sound. Each track features his brilliant bluesy vocals, complemented by silky smooth instrumentals. The horn and string arrangements enhance his intricate lyrics, painting a vivid picture of the lonely streets of New York City at night. While 'Closing Time' captures solitude, The Heart Of Saturday Night reveals the broader landscape of the city, where Waits evokes relatable emotions that resonate deeply with listeners.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Hang On St Christopher (2:44)
Straight To The Top (Rhumba) (2:25)
Blow Wind Blow (3:32)
Temptation (3:33)
Innocent When You Dream (Barroom) (4:12)
I'll Be Gone (3:03)
Yesterday Is Here (2:27)
Please Wake Me Up (3:06)
Frank's Theme (2:46)
More Than Rain (3:51)
Way Down In The Hole (2:48)
Straight To The Top (Vegas) (0:43)
I'll Take New York (7:21)
Telephone Call From Istanbul (3:11)
Cold Cold Ground (4:05)
Train Song (3:19)
Innocent When You Dream (78) (3:11)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
The tenth studio album from Tom Waits, released in 1987 via Island Records, was yet another landmark in a career which, by this point, had already given us a raft of stone cold classics. The last two of those LPs, Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs, certainly swerved expectations, marking a new period in the life and times of an acclaimed jazz and blues man. Taking its name from a track on Swordfish, Frank's Wild Years is actually "Un Operachi Romantico in Two Acts" according to the subtitle, with several songs here taken from a play of the same name which premiered in Chicago a year prior. In many ways, the theatrical side story was an inevitability, with the previous records all pointing in the direction of a gravelly blues-jazz-rock core with a vaudeville, spoken word, and narrative disposition.
B-STOCK: Sleeve slightly damaged, slight surface marks on record
Underground (2:01)
Shore Leave (4:05)
Dave The Butcher (2:28)
Johnsburg, Illinois (1:23)
16 Shells From A 30.6 (4:24)
Town With No Cheer (4:12)
In The Neighbourhood (3:16)
Just Another Sucker On The Vine (1:43)
Frank's Wild Years (1:49)
Swordfishtrombone (3:03)
Down, Down, Down (2:13)
Solder's Things (3:13)
Gin Soaked Boy (2:24)
Trouble's Braids (1:17)
Rainbirds (3:03)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve slightly damaged, slight surface marks on record***
To say that Tom Waits' eighth studio album marked a stylistic shift would be like saying winter is markedly different to summer. Having established himself as one of the finest piano-based songwriters of his generation - or any other for that matter - Swordfishtrombones was the first LP from the artist to lay out what was to come. Something very, very unusual, as visionary as it is bizarre, a celebration of the beauty of surrealism and the joy of having fun with music. Whether it's the opening number, 'Underground', and its strange, almost cartoonish chain gang jazz-blues stomp, the quiet keys and solitary vocals of 'Johnsburg, Illinois', or the distorted, compressed electronic jangling and organ riffs of 'Dave The Butcher', within the first few tracks alone you're presented with a vast and varied universe of ideas.
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