ebm@ingres.ARPA (Grady Toss) (10/30/85)
Finally--the new Tom Waits LP is here, on Island records (just like the last one, ``Swordfishtrombones'' I think). Just like someone said here recently, no two songs are instrumented the same. At various places in the album you can hear Salvation Army brass, dark, smokey, nightclub jazz (great double bass), African percussion, electric guitar (by guests such as Chris Spedding, Keith Richards, and G.E. Smith), pump organ, harmonium, banjo, and more. All this mixed with Waits' vocals that defy description in their range and force. A lot of this seems very similar to ``Swordfishtrombones''... A few tracks sound like ``Down, Down, Down'', one sounds very much like ``16 Shells From a 30-06'', and there's a quick piece reminiscent of ``Franks Wild Years.'' But no matter--a new batch of Waits' songs, familiar sounding or groundbreaking, is always welcome. ... gt Anyone else notice that Tom Waits and Redd Foxx are never seen together?