Definitions by Frank Rider

Closing Time 

Closing Time was Tom Waits' debut album, from 1973. It held twelve beautiful tracks, and lasted a great forty-five minutes. Some highlights from the album are Ol' 55, Ice Cream Man, and Grapefruit Moon. The music relies heavily on Waits' exceptional piano-playing skills, and his vocals.

An excerpt from Closing Time's ninth track-
Ice Cream Man

Clickin' by your house about two forty-five
With a sidewalk Sundae Strawberry Surprise,
I got a cherry popsicle right on time
A big stick, mamma, that'll blow your mind

'Cause I'm your ice cream man,
I'm a one-man band (yeah)
I'm your ice cream man, honny,
I'll be good to you.

Closing Time by Frank Rider August 22, 2009

The Heart of Saturday Night 

Tom Waits released his second album just a year after his first. Much had evolved from then, though much was the same. Waits' newer music had a more jazzy feel, rather than the country twang of his debut. The piano is often drowned out by other instruments, but it does come pounding back out. The title track, The Heart Of Saturday Night, and it's conclusion The Ghosts Of Saturday Night, are settled, but very bouncy tunes.

An excerpt from The Heart of Saturday Night's first track-
New Coat Of Paint

Let's put a new coat of paint, on this lonesome old town
Set 'em up, we'll be knockin' em down.
You wear a dress, baby, and I'll wear a tie.
We'll laugh at that old bloodshot moon, in that burgundy sky

The Heart of Saturday Night by Frank Rider August 22, 2009

Nighthawks at the Diner 

This 1975 live studio album was Tom Waits' third release. It begins with a bit of sax, percussion and an intro by Waits. He's a bit of a stage comedian, telling jokes between songs, and giving little introductions before them. The music is beautiful, as with all of Waits' live work. One of the best is Better Off Without A Wife, all about a stag and his love of being alone. Playing after that is Nighthawk Postcards, which is another great story, this time of a journey through a town past dark.

An excerpt from Nighthawks at the Diner's-
Emotional Weather Report

With tornado watches issued shortly
Before noon Sunday, for the areas
Including, the western region
Of my mental health
And the northern portions of my
Ability to deal rationally with my
Disconcerted precarious emotional
Situation, it's cold out there

Nighthawks at the Diner by Frank Rider August 22, 2009

Small Change 

This Tom Waits album is from 1976. It's his fourth, and again he has evolved just a bit. With more than half of the album about drunkenness and alcohol, Waits has deviated quite a bit in writing style. He is still quite hysterical in Step Right Up, but now there are mournfully slow songs like Bad Liver and a Broken Heart. The music itself is much more depressed, with lower notes and slower speeds on many songs, but diversely more laughable lyrics on others.

An excerpt from Small Change's-
Pasties And A G-String

Strip tease, prick tease, car keys blues
And the porno floor show, live nude girls,
Dreamy and creamy and brunette curls
Chesty morgan and watermelon rose
Raise my rent and take off all your clothes
With trench coats, magazines, a bottle full of rum,
Shes so good, to make a dead man come

Small Change by Frank Rider August 22, 2009