Swordfishtrombones
by Tom Waits
- Type: Album
- Released: September 1, 1983
- Label: Island
- Country: United States
- Length: 41:37
- Community rating: 4.46/5 from 14 ratings
Album Notes & Community Reviews
As Tom Waits's first self-produced effort, 'Swordfishtrombones' marks a definitive artistic pivot away from the piano-based balladry of his early work toward a more abstract, experimental sound. [2, 4] The album is defined by its eclectic and unconventional "junkyard orchestra" instrumentation鈥攅mploying marimbas, bagpipes, brake drums, and glass harmonicas鈥攖o create primitive, often cacophonous arrangements that blend influences from Kurt Weill and Captain Beefheart. [2, 3, 4] This sonic departure is matched by a lyrical shift from drunken laments to surreal, character-driven vignettes about societal misfits, all delivered in a gravelly voice that ranges from a sideshow bark to a strained croon. [2, 4, 9]
Genres
Descriptors: theatrical, experimental, bizarre, atmospheric, eccentric, folk, storytelling, percussive, bluesy, avant-garde, diverse
Tracklist
- Underground (02:00)
- Shore Leave (04:16)
- Dave The Butcher (02:19)
- Johnsburg, Illinois (01:33)
- 16 Shells From A 30.6 (04:31)
- Town With No Cheer (04:26)
- In The Neighborhood (03:06)
- Just Another Sucker On The Vine (01:48)
- Frank's Wild Years (01:53)
- Swordfishtrombone (03:08)
- Down, Down, Down (02:15)
- Soldier's Things (03:22)
- Gin Soaked Boy (02:23)
- Trouble's Braids (01:21)
- Rainbirds (03:16)
Credits
- Tom Waits - vocals, chair, hammond b-3 organ, piano, harmonium, synthesizer, freedom bell, producer, album cover concept, design
- Victor Feldman - bass marimba, marimba, shaker, bass drum with rice, bass boo bams, brake drum, bell plate, snare, hammond b-3 organ, snare drum, bells, conga, bass drum, dabuki drum, tambourine, african talking drum
- Larry Taylor - acoustic bass, electric bass
- Randy Aldcroft - baritone horn, trombone
- Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges - drums, parade drum, cymbals, parade bass drum, glass harmonica
- Fred Tackett - electric guitar, banjo
- Francis Thumm - metal aunglongs, glass harmonica, arranged by
- Greg Cohen - bass, acoustic bass
- Joe Romano - trombone, trumpet
- Anthony Clark Stewart - bagpipes
- Clark Spangler - synthesizer program
- Bill Reichenbach Jr. - trombone
- Dick Hyde - trombone
- Ronnie Barron - hammond organ
- Eric Bikales - organ
- Carlos Guitarlos - electric guitar
- Richard Gibbs - glass harmonica
- Michael A. Russ - album cover concept, design
- Tim Boyle - recorded by
- Biff Dawes - recorded by, mixed by