Swordfishtrombones
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Swordfishtrombones | ||
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| Studio album by Tom Waits | ||
| Released | September 1983 | |
| Recorded | August 1982, Sunset Sound, Hollywood | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 40:31 | |
| Label | Island | |
| Producer(s) | Tom Waits | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tom Waits chronology | ||
| One From the Heart (1982) |
Swordfishtrombones (1983) |
Rain Dogs (1985) |
Swordfishtrombones is an album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in September of 1983 (see 1983 in music).
The album is widely regarded as one of Waits's best. Stylistically different from his previous LPs, Swordfishtrombones features reduced string instruments and piano, replacing them with unusual instrumentation and a somewhat more abstract songwriting approach.
Swordfishtrombones peaked at #164 on Billboard's Pop Albums and Billboard 200 albums chart.
[edit] Track listing
All tracks written by Tom Waits.
- "Underground" – 1:58
- Tom Waits - Vocal
- Victor Feldman - Bass marimba
- Larry Taylor - Acoustic Bass
- Randy Aldcroft - Baritone Horn
- Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges - Drums
- Fred Tackett - Electric Guitar
- "Shore Leave" – 4:12
- Tom Waits - Chair, vocal
- Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges - Drums
- Randy Aldcroft - Trombone
- Victor Feldman - Marimba, bass marimba & shaker, bass drum with rice
- Larry Taylor - Acoustic bass
- Fred Tackett - Banjo guitar
- Francis Thumm - Metal aunglongs
- "Dave the Butcher" [instrumental] – 2:15
- Tom Waits - Hammond B-3 organ
- Victor Feldman - Bass boo bams
- "Johnsburg, Illinois" – 1:30
- Tom Waits - Vocal, piano
- Greg Cohen - Bass
- "16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought Six" – 4:30
- Tom Waits - Vocal
- Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges - Drums
- Larry Taylor - Acoustic bass
- Fred Tackett - Electric Guitar
- Victor Feldman - Brake drum, bell plate, snare
- Joe Romano - Trombone
- "Town with No Cheer" – 4:22
- Tom Waits - Vocal, harmonium, synthesizer, Freedom Bell
- Anthony Clark Stewart - Bag pipes
- Clark Spangler - Synthesizer program
- "In the Neighborhood" – 3:04
- Tom Waits - Vocal
- Victor Feldman - Hammond B-3 organ, snaredrum, bells
- Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges - Parade drum, cymbals
- Larry Taylor - Acoustic bass
- Bill Reichenback - Trombone
- Randy Aldcroft - Baritone horn
- Dick (Slyde) Hyde - Trombone
- "Just Another Sucker on the Vine" [instrumental] – 1:42
- Tom Waits - Harmonium
- Joe Romano - Trumpet
- "Frank's Wild Years" – 1:50
- Tom Waits - Vocal
- Ronnie Barron - Hammond Organ
- Larry Taylor - Acoustic Bass
- "Swordfishtrombone" – 3:00
- Tom Waits - Vocal
- Victor Feldman - Marimba, Conga, Bass Drum, Dabuki Drum
- Larry Taylor - Electric Bass
- Greg Cohen - Acoustic Bass
- "Down, Down, Down" – 2:10
- Tom Waits - Vocal
- Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges - Drums
- Eric Bikales - Organ
- Larry Taylor - Acoustic Bass
- Victor Feldman - Snare & Tambourine
- Carlos Guitarlos - Electric Guitar
- "Soldier's Things" – 3:15
- Tom Waits - Vocal
- Greg Cohen - Acoustic bass
- "Gin Soaked Boy" – 2:20
- Tom Waits - Vocal
- Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges - Drums
- Fred Tackett - Electric Guitar
- Larry Taylor - Acoustic Bass
- "Trouble's Braids" – 1:18
- Tom Waits - Vocal
- Victor Feldman - African talking drum
- Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges - Parade bass drum
- Larry Taylor - Acoustic bass
- "Rainbirds" [instrumental] – 3:05
- Tom Waits - Piano
- Greg Cohen - Acoustic bass
- Francis Thumm, Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges, Richard Gibbs - Glass harmonica
[edit] Personnel
- Tom Waits - Vocals, Piano, Harmonium, Hammond B-3 Organ, Synthesizer, Chair, Freedom Bell
- Randy Aldcroft - Trombone, Baritone Horn
- Ronnie Barron - Hammond Organ
- Eric Bikales - Organ
- Anthony Clark Stewart - Bagpipes
- Greg Cohen - Acoustic Bass, Bass
- Victor Feldman - Marimba, Bass Marimba, Snare, Hammond B-3 Organ, Bass Drum, Bass Drum with Rice, Snare Drum, Brake Drum, African Talking Drum, Dabuki Drum, Conga, Tambourine, Bells, Shaker, Bass Boo Bams, Bell Plate
- Richard Gibbs - Glass Harmonica
- Carlos Guitarlos - Electric Guitar
- Stephen Taylor Arvizu Hodges - Drums, Glass Harmonica, Cymbals, Parade Drum, Parade Bass Drum
- Dick (Slyde) Hyde - Trombone
- Bill Reichenback - Trombone
- Joe Romano - Trumpet, Trombone
- Clark Spangler - Synthesizer Program
- Fred Tackett - Electric Guitar, Banjo Guitar
- Larry Taylor - Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass
- Francis Thumm - Glass Harmonica, Metal Aunglongs
[edit] Miscellanea
A line from the song "16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought Six" reads "I'm gonna whittle you into kindling." On the record, however, Waits intentionally slurs his delivery, with the effect that the line sounds like "I'm gonna wheel you into Canada." Taking this as inspiration, singer-songwriter Dan Bern has composed a song called "Wheel You To Canada"; Bern has specifically cited Waits's song as giving him the idea.
