Swordfishtrombones


Swordfishtrombones is 1983 album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, his eighth since his debut Closing Time in 1973. It was the first album that Waits produced himself. Stylistically different from his previous albums, Swordfishtrombones moves away from the piano and string orchestra arrangements of the late 1970s, replacing them with unusual instrumentation and a somewhat more abstract songwriting approach.
The cover art is a TinTone photograph by Michael A. Russ showing Waits with the actors Angelo Rossitto and Lee Kolima.
The album peaked at No. 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. In 1989, Spin named Swordfishtrombones the second greatest album of all time. In 2006, Q placed the album at No. 36 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s." Pitchfork listed Swordfishtrombones as 11th best album of the 1980s. Slant Magazine listed the album at No. 26 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980's".
In 2000 it was voted number 374 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.

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" – 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

  8. "Just Another Sucker on the Vine" – 1:42
  9. "Frank's Wild Years" – 1:50
  10. "Swordfishtrombone" – 3:00
  11. "Down, Down, Down" – 2:10
  12. "Soldier's Things" – 3:15
  13. "Gin Soaked Boy" – 2:20
  14. "Trouble's Braids" – 1:18
  15. "Rainbirds" – 3:05

    Personnel