Sunday 22 November 2009

small change got rained on...

So it's half midnight and the weekend has gone of crying to Monday morning. I am currently finishing the abstract to my dissertation which has to be handing in by midday of the morrow/today (depending on whether you're one of those annoying people who count the next day at precisely one second after midnight or not). My dissertation question resembles something along the lines of 'is Swordfishtrombones [Tom Waits' seminal 9th album] one of the most daring transformations in pop music history or merely a natural creative evolution.' blah blah blah. Anyway, researching this has got me delving into Waits' extensive back catalog from the seventies and reminding me of some true gems (eg. 'Romeo is bleeding'). Small Change is a brilliant album from the creative genius. The opening track is both beautiful and tragic, a romantic alcoholic anthem that could've inspired the pogues' fairytale of New York.





The title track is another craker - a kerouac-esque spoken word piece inspired by a young african american kid who waits saw one night in LA with his head in gumball machine covered in blood having been rained on with his own .38
It may well be the best album Waits produced in the seventies, the point when his tin pan alley/boho beat poet hit its creative peak.

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