[albummaster]

Today's album of the day

Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits (View album | Buy this album)

Year: 1983.
Country:
Overall rank: 331
Average rating: 82/100 (from 284 votes).

Tracks:
1. Underground
2. Shore Leave
3. Dave The Butcher
4. Johnsburg, Illinois
5. 16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought Six
6. Town With No Cheer
7. In The Neighborhood
8. Just Another Sucker On The Vine
9. Frank's Wild Years
10. Swordfishtrombone
11. Down, Down, Down
12. Soldier's Things
13. Gin Soaked Boy
14. Trouble's Braids
15. Rainbirds

About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.

[meccalecca]

Very close second to Rain Dogs as favorite Waits record. Great mix of vintage Waits ballads, spoken word, junkyard jazz, and bizarre carnival music
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[Skinny]

It's stunning, top five in Waits' catalogue. I think I prefer it to Rain Dogs, but it's like saying I prefer my right nostril to my left nostril - they've both been through a lot of crazy times with me. I still prefer some of the earlier, jazzier records (Small Change, Nighthawks, maybe even Blue Valentine), but I've had some great times listening to Swordfishtrombones. I think I said about Rain Dogs that it feels like being at a crazy party in that strange, underground, anarchist version of Los Angeles in Demolition Man, where everybody's just getting drunk and singing these sinister party songs passed down from generation to generation, or simply rambling incoherently (or incredibly poignantly, depending on how long you stop to listen), and this album is no different in that sense. Actually, this album is like that if those crazy motherfuckers came bursting through manholes and took over a jazz club. It's a little bit cleaner than Rain Dogs, less beating-on-trashcans madcap. Maybe that's why I think I prefer it. Or maybe I don't prefer it at all. Did you know that only one of your nostrils actually works as a clear passage at any one time? What a fucking team.
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[denmarkman]

His best album. Rain Dogs is tight and all, but c'mon. Does Rain Dogs ever make you cry as hard as "Soldier's Things" or "Another Sucker on the Vine"? Does it ever make you wanna get up and dance as much as "Down Down Down"? Does it ever make you feel as part of a Satanic ritual as "Dave the Butcher"? No it does not.

This album has the goofy, theatrical element that we all love about Tom Waits, but it also takes itself very seriously, and the result is an extremely powerful experience. From the thunderous roar of the opening lines of "Underground" to the weightless piano melodies of "Rainbirds", this album is an emotional rollercoaster.

I could go on about the pacing, the cohesion, the lyricism, the consistency, but if you aren't already fully aware of the stunning beauty of this album then stop reading this post and go give it another listen.

[SquishypuffDave]

Frank never did like that dog.

[Patman360]

Second only to 'Rain Dogs' for me. There have been plenty of days where I thought this should be on my overall chart.
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