Swordfishtrombones
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| Swordfishtrombones | ||||
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| Studio album by Tom Waits | ||||
| Released | September 1983 | |||
| Recorded | August 1982 Sunset Sound, Hollywood |
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| Genre | Experimental rock | |||
| Length | 40:31 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | Tom Waits | |||
| Tom Waits chronology | ||||
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Swordfishtrombones is an 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.[citation needed]
The album peaked at #164 on the Billboard Pop Albums and 200 albums charts. In 1989, Spin Magazine named Swordfishtrombones the second greatest album of all time.[1] In 2006, Q placed the album at #36 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s."[2]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [3] |
| Blender | link |
| Robert Christgau | A− [4] |
| Mojo | [citation needed] |
| Rolling Stone |  [5] |
[edit] Track listing
All tracks written by Tom Waits. Arranger Frances Thumm. Recorded by Tim Boyle and Biff Dawes. Mixed by Biff Dawes at Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood, CA.
Side One
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
[edit] Personnel
- Tom Waits - Vocal (1, 2, 4-7, 9-14), Chair (2), Hammond B-3 Organ (3), Piano (4, 15), Harmonium (6, 8), Synthesizer (6), Freedom Bell (6)
- Victor Feldman - Bass Marimba (1, 2), Marimba (2,10), Shaker (2), Bass Drum with Rice (2), Bass Boo Bams (3), Brake Drum (5), Bell Plate (5), Snare (5, 11), Hammond B-3 Organ (7), Snare Drum (7), Bells (7), Conga (10), Bass Drum (10), Dabuki Drum (10), Tambourine (11), African Talking Drum (14)
- Larry Taylor - Acoustic Bass (1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14), Electric Bass (10)
- Randy Aldcroft - Baritone Horn (1, 7), Trombone (2)
- Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges - Drums (1, 2, 5, 11, 13), Parade Drum (7), Cymbals (7), Parade Bass Drum (14), Glass Harmonica (15)
- Fred Tackett - Electric Guitar (1, 5, 13), Banjo Guitar (2)
- Francis Thumm - Metal Aunglongs (2), Glass Harmonica (15)
- Greg Cohen - Bass (4), Acoustic Bass (10, 12, 15)
- Joe Romano - Trombone (5), Trumpet (8)
- Anthony Clark Stewart - Bagpipes (6)
- Clark Spangler - Synthesizer Program (6)
- Bill Reichenbach - Trombone (7)
- Dick (Slyde) Hyde - Trombone (7)
- Ronnie Barron - Hammond Organ (9)
- Eric Bikales - Organ (11)
- Carlos Guitarlos - Electric Guitar (11)
- Richard Gibbs - Glass Harmonica (15)
[edit] Notes
- ^ "The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time". Spin 5 (1): p. 46. April 1989. http://books.google.com/books?id=h-bxxO5B-xsC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA46#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
- ^ Q August 2006, Issue 241
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. Swordfishtrombones at Allmusic. Retrieved 29 July 2005.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (March 24, 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide: Tom Waits: Swordfishtrombones". The Village Voice. http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv3-84.php. Retrieved 8 December 2011. Also posted at "Tom Waits: Swordfishtrombones > Consumer Guide Album". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=3996. Retrieved 19 October 2005.
- ^ Shewey, Don (November 24, 1983). "Tom Waits Swordfishtrombones > Album Review". Rolling Stone (409). Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/swordfishtrombones-19831124. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
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