The best of Tom Waits's early albums?

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What's the best pre-Swordfishtrombones Waits album? At this point I don't own any of them, and want to buy one. Proper album, though none of this "Asylum Years" crud.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Thursday, 7 November 2002 04:28 (twenty-three years ago)

heart is saturday night, small change, heartattack and vine are FAB.

― chaki (chaki), Thursday, 7 November 2002 04:37 (twenty-three years ago)

Listen to Chaki, but also get Nighthawks at the Diner, too. My first pick would be Small Change.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Thursday, 7 November 2002 04:42 (twenty-three years ago)

Closing Time
Small Change
Nighthawks at the Diner

― T. Weiss (Timmy), Thursday, 7 November 2002 04:45 (twenty-three years ago)

the heart of saturday night,closing time,and small change all have tracks that i love...doesn't really narrow it down much i know,but if you like tom waits all are worth getting...

― robin (robin), Thursday, 7 November 2002 04:53 (twenty-three years ago)

the only early one i know is Blue Valentine but i'm quite fond of it.

― Al (sitcom), Thursday, 7 November 2002 05:15 (twenty-three years ago)

80s Tom Waits is still my favorites, but I definitely have soft spots for Small Change and Blue Valentine.

― James Blount (James Blount), Thursday, 7 November 2002 05:17 (twenty-three years ago)

Nighthawks at the Diner is more than just an album. It's a milestone for singing/songwriting albums of the past 30 years. Waits juggles the responsibilities of songsmith and storyteller on that album better than anyone I can think of.

― paul cox (paul cox), Thursday, 7 November 2002 05:28 (twenty-three years ago)

agree with paul but would also add 'comic' to the list of responsibilities. the between-song banter on 'nighthawks' is some of the funniest stuff i've ever heard.

― angelo (angelo), Thursday, 7 November 2002 07:14 (twenty-three years ago)

Another vote for Closing Time, if only for "Martha", but Small Change is a close second.

Actually they're all great apart with the possible exception of One From The Heart.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 November 2002 09:11 (twenty-three years ago)

Re-read Paul Cox and angelo's posts, take into consideration the shit-hot band Wait's has roped in, then buy the album.

― Roger Fascist (Roger Fascist), Thursday, 7 November 2002 09:59 (twenty-three years ago)

just buy them all. one by one.

― simon 803 (simon 803), Thursday, 7 November 2002 10:33 (twenty-three years ago)

hmm, the heart of saturday night for definite

and i'd like to put one in for Foregin Affairs

i never got heartattack&vine, its the only album of his i dont like. maybe i should give it another go

― gareth (gareth), Thursday, 7 November 2002 10:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Always been meaning to get some Ton Waits albums but put off by his fanbase which here in Ireland anyway consists of mid 30 something hippyish teacher types who enjoy pints in mouldy pubs, join arty film clubs and go yo lots of plays & singer songwriter gigs. Is this a fair observation?!

― David Gunnip, Thursday, 7 November 2002 11:02 (twenty-three years ago)

In what way would that put you off David?

Foreign Affairs, yes, probably my favourite too.

― Tim (Tim), Thursday, 7 November 2002 11:55 (twenty-three years ago)

David: Err, no.

― Roger Fascist (Roger Fascist), Thursday, 7 November 2002 13:04 (twenty-three years ago)

buy all of them.....

but first buy Blue Valentines.

― Baxter Wingnut (Baxter Wingnut), Thursday, 7 November 2002 13:09 (twenty-three years ago)

Just the fact that this type of person would sniff there noes up at some fun dance record and snobbily insist that Tom Waits is "real" music with meaning.

― David Gunnip, Thursday, 7 November 2002 13:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Personally, my only vote for a proper release would be for Nighthawks at the Diner -- and then supliment with both the Early Years Volumes.

― christoff (christoff), Thursday, 7 November 2002 14:27 (twenty-three years ago)

My favorites are Nighthawks at the Diner, Blue Valentine, Heart of Saturday Night, Closing Time, and of course Small Change ("Step Right Up" blows my mind)...and, if you can find it on video or DVD, his live 1978 performance on Austin City Limits is staggeringly awesome...singer, songwriter, poet, freak, performance artist, pianist, and sexy beast all in one great performance

― nickalicious, Thursday, 7 November 2002 15:10 (twenty-three years ago)

All good, but my faves are Blue Valentine and Nighthawks.
If you're going to skip one make it Closing Time.

― James Ball (James Ball), Thursday, 7 November 2002 16:30 (twenty-three years ago)

Start with the Asylum Years comp. That has all the best pre-Swordfishtrombones stuff. I've never really felt compelled to go beyond it.

Saw Woyzeck the other day (his latest thing with Robert Wilson, featuring songs collected on Blood Money). V. good.

― Ben Williams, Thursday, 7 November 2002 17:05 (twenty-three years ago)

I like most of Tom Waits music and have most of his albums.

If you like the dark carnival sound start with "Heart Attack and Vine", as it is where that sinister sound starts to gurgle to the surface. "Blue Valentine" is another one you might like, it is like a lost sound track to some L.A. film noir film.

If you want to hear Waits before cigarettes and life sandpapered his voice to its current hue, check out "Heart of Saturday Night". The early albums like this one and "Closing Time" are much more straight ahead in the way the songs are presented, not that this is a knock on the quality.

"Nighthawks at the Diner" is a unique record, probably more like "Big Time" or some of the more theatre based later records, except with the more straight ahead instrumentation of the other early records. It was one of the last Waits albums I got and it never really clicked with me like the others.

― earlnash, Friday, 8 November 2002 02:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Foreign Affairs is rather under-supported here, I think. Burma-Shave is my favourite song of his from this period. I was talking in the pub with Mark S the other day, and we were trying to think of anyone who had released a lot that we had everything by - Tom Waits was my best shot.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 10 November 2002 14:12 (twenty-three years ago)

I deeply love Foreign Affairs--Martin, I too love Burma-Shave--I sing it at work to myself when I am opening boxes (when they pulled her from the wreck, she still had on her shades...beautiful.) Also, Barber Shop, Sight For Sore Eyes and the title track, which made me cry in high school (I long to travel).

― Ashley Andel, Sunday, 10 November 2002 17:54 (twenty-three years ago)

a wisconsin hiker with a cueball head is wishing he wz home in his wisconsin bed!!

i love the way the bass on that is abt an hour in front of the implied beat!!

heartattack and vine came across as waits-by-numbers on release, which is why TW switched to swordfishtrombipulation.... it might sound better now, though

― mark s (mark s), Sunday, 10 November 2002 18:42 (twenty-three years ago)

another vote for nighthawks. i love the live late night jazz bar atmosphere. and it was the first album i really dug by mr. waits. i knew swordfishtrombones before but it didn't click with me. of the later albums bone machine is my favourite. the last time he did something interesting and kind of revolutionary i find.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Sunday, 10 November 2002 23:42 (twenty-three years ago)

one year passes...

I've only recently discovered the pre-Swordfish stuff. It's not my favourite to be honest and a few albums border almost too close to schmaltzy for my liking, but Small Change is absolute gold. I'm surprised he followed up Nighthawks and Small Change with the relatively mainstream "Blue Valentine". What are Foreign Affair and Heart Attack and Vine like? Will I like them?

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 7 September 2004 08:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Small Change is a really well rounded album Dog Latin I agree. I have to say I got into Closing Time, Heart Of Saturday Night and Early Years before hearing the mid-80s stuff and somehow, I think that made it easier. When I got into the Swordfish and post-Swordfish albums it was like, whoa! this is another, much more interesting world. "In The Neighbourhood" was the song that opened up the later period for me and to this day, that song floors me.

I still don't have/know Blue Valentine, one day maybe. But I can say that Heart Attack, while the production is a bit boxy, does almost provide the link between the two Waits periods stylistically. You'll probably really like 2/3rds of it.

― piers (piers), Tuesday, 7 September 2004 11:37 (twenty-one years ago)

If you don't have Blue Valentine, do yourself a favour and download the song "Kentucky Avenue". It's an amazing song that's even better when you know the lyrics.

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Tuesday, 7 September 2004 12:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Small Change.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 7 September 2004 12:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I heart "In The Neighbourhood" - glad you mentioned it.

I don't like the song "Heart Attack and Vine" at all but then the only style of Waits I don't like are his straight-up rock'n'roll/blues tracks like "Blind Love", "Walking Spanish" and most of "Mule Variations". Oh yeh, I was never fan of those "New York, New York" pastiches on Franks Wild Years either.

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 7 September 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Closing Time - Small Change - Heart of Saturday Night, in that order, great albums. For all the flailing and flaming of his subsequent work, the artifice is much more pronounced on his early albums but luckily so is the charm quotient so it doesn't seem like a total goof unless you're predisposed not to buy into his poses. I dig Nighthawks at the Diner more for the banter than the songs, which isn't exactly a knock but the material wouldn't have justified a studio album.
Blue Valentine I like but it took time, same with Heartattack and Vine, a very sweet album which finds him clearly in a rut. Never heard Foreign Affairs, strangely.

― tremendoid, Tuesday, 7 September 2004 14:39 (twenty-one years ago)

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