Swordfishtrombones

Swordfishtrombones
Studio album by Tom Waits
Released September 1983
Recorded August 1982
Studio Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California
Genre Experimental rock[1]
Length 40:31
Label Island
Producer Tom Waits
Tom Waits chronology
One from the Heart
(1982)One from the Heart1982		 Swordfishtrombones
(1983)		 Rain Dogs
(1985)Rain Dogs1985
Singles from Swordfishtrombones
  1. "In the Neighborhood"
    Released: August 1983

Swordfishtrombones is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in September 1983. It was the first album that Waits produced himself. Stylistically different from his previous LPs, the album moves away from the piano and string orchestra arrangements of the late 1970s, replacing them instead with unusual instrumentation and a somewhat more abstract songwriting approach.

The cover art is a TinTone photograph by Michael A. Russ[2][3] showing Waits with the actors Angelo Rossitto and Lee Kolima.[4]

The album peaked at #164 on the Billboard Pop Albums and 200 albums charts. It was ranked at number 2 among the "Albums of the Year" for 1983 by NME.[5] In 1989, Spin named Swordfishtrombones the second greatest album of all time.[6] In 2006, Q placed the album at #36 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s."[7] Pitchfork listed Swordfishtrombones as 11th best album of the 1980s. Slant Magazine listed the album at #26 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980's".[8]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[10]
Mojo[11]
Q[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]
Select5/5[15]
Uncut[16]
The Village VoiceA−[17]

Track listing

All tracks written by Tom Waits. Arranger Frances Thumm. Recorded by Tim Boyle and Biff Dawes. Mixed by Dawes at Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood, CA.

Side one

  1. "Underground" – 1:58
  2. "Shore Leave" – 4:12
  3. "Dave the Butcher" (instrumental) – 2:15
  4. "Johnsburg, Illinois" – 1:30
  5. "16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six" – 4:30
  6. "Town with No Cheer" – 4:22
  7. "In the Neighborhood" – 3:04

Side two

  1. "Just Another Sucker on the Vine" (instrumental) – 1:42
  2. "Frank's Wild Years" – 1:50
  3. "Swordfishtrombone" – 3:00
  4. "Down, Down, Down" – 2:10
  5. "Soldier's Things" – 3:15
  6. "Gin Soaked Boy" – 2:20
  7. "Trouble's Braids" – 1:18
  8. "Rainbirds" (instrumental) – 3:05

Personnel

  • Tom Waits – vocals (1:1–2, 1:4–7, 2:2–7), chair (1:2), Hammond B-3 organ (1:3), piano (1:4, 2:5, 2:8), harmonium (1:6, 2:1), synthesizer (1:6), freedom bell (1:6)
  • Victor Feldman – bass marimba (1:1–2), marimba (1:2, 2:3), shaker (1:2), bass drum with rice (1:2), bass boo bams (1:3), Brake drum (1:5), bell plate (1:5), snare (1:5, 2:4), Hammond B-3 organ (1:7), snare drum (1:7), bells (1:7), conga (2:3), bass drum (2:3), Dabuki drum (2:3), tambourine (2:4), African talking drum (2:7)
  • Larry Taylor – acoustic bass (1:1–2, 1:5, 1:7, 2:2, 2:4, 2:6–7), electric bass (2:3)
  • Randy Aldcroft – baritone horn (1:1, 1:7), trombone (1:2)
  • Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges – drums (1:1–2, 1:5, 2:4, 2:6), parade drum (1:7), cymbals (1:7), parade bass drum (2:7), glass harmonica (2:8)
  • Fred Tackett – electric guitar (1:1, 1:2, 1:5, 2:6), banjo (1:2)
  • Francis Thumm – metal aunglongs (1:2), glass harmonica (2:8)
  • Greg Cohen – bass (1:4), acoustic bass (2:3, 2:5, 2:8)
  • Joe Romano – trombone (1:5), trumpet (2:1)
  • Anthony Clark Stewart – bagpipes (1:6)
  • Clark Spangler – synthesizer program (1:6)
  • Bill Reichenbach – trombone (1:7)
  • Dick "Slyde" Hyde – trombone (1:7)
  • Ronnie Barron – Hammond organ (2:2)
  • Eric Bikales – organ (2:4)
  • Carlos Guitarlos – electric guitar (2:4)
  • Richard Gibbs – glass harmonica (2:8)

Charts

Chart (1983) Peak
position
Dutch Top 100[18] 48
UK Albums Chart[19] 62
US Billboard 200[20] 167
Chart (1984) Peak
position
New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart[21] 45
Norwegian Albums Chart[22] 18

References

  1. ↑ Editors of Rolling Stone. "Tom Waits". Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Michael A. Russ' TinTone homepage". Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  3. ↑ "'TinTones – Rough Print' exhibition by Michael A. Russ". Retrieved 2012-11-14.
  4. ↑ Smay, David (2008). Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones. New York: Continuum. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-1-4411-7459-8.
  5. ↑ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time". Spin. 5 (1). April 1989. p. 46. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  7. ↑ Q August 2006, Issue 241
  8. ↑ "Best Albums of the 1980s | Music". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  9. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Swordfishtrombones – Tom Waits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  10. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  11. ↑ "Tom Waits: Swordfishtrombones". Mojo (200): 77. July 2010.
  12. ↑ "Tom Waits: Swordfishtrombones". Q (73): 100. October 1992.
  13. ↑ Shewey, Don (November 24, 1983). "Swordfishtrombones". Rolling Stone (409). Archived from the original on October 22, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  14. ↑ Coleman, Mark; Scoppa, Bud (2004). "Tom Waits". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 854–55. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  15. ↑ Collis, Andrew (March 1993). "Tom Waits: Rain Dogs/Swordfishtrombones". Select (33): 82.
  16. ↑ "What Is He Building In There..?". Uncut (175): 52–53. December 2011.
  17. ↑ Christgau, Robert (March 24, 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  18. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl – Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  19. ↑ "TOM WAITS | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  20. ↑ Swordfishtrombones – Tom Waits at AllMusic. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  21. ↑ "charts.org.nz – Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  22. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com – Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
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