Tom Waits - Small Change

Tom Waits — Small Change 

50th Anniversary Limited Edition 180-gram turquoise colored vinyl

Featuring some of the most iconic songs from his late 1970s catalog, Small Change by Tom Waits turns 50 this year. To celebrate the landmark occasion a new vinyl re-issue of the album will be available on October 2.

Uniquely combining elements of the great American songbook, jazz, beat poetry, vivid storytelling and his own modern sensibility, Small Change was the high watermark of Waits' '70s period, with classic songs such as "Tom Traubert's Blues," "Step Right Up" and "The Piano Has Been Drinking." This is also the record where Tom's now iconic voice reached full maturity.

In a 1976 interview following the release of his third album, Waits reflected on the storytelling roots behind his evolving style, tracing his songs back to his days working the door at a local nightclub and eavesdropping in late-night diners.

"I got a job as doorman at a nightclub in L.A., and I listened to all the acts from the door. I heard bluegrass, comics, folk singers, string bands. At the same time, I was picking up people's conversations in all-night coffee shops — ambulance drivers, cabdrivers, street sweepers. I did research there as an evening curator, and I started writing — gingerly. I thought at some point I'd like to forge it all into something meaningful and give it dignity."

 

Side A

1. Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets To The Wind In Copenhagen)

2. Step Right Up

3. Jitterbug Boy (Sharing A Curbstone With Chuck E. Weiss, Robert Marchese, Paul Body And The Mug And Artie)

4. I Wish I Was In New Orleans (In The Ninth Ward)

5. The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) (An Evening With Pete King)

Side B

1. Invitation to the Blues

2. Pasties And A G-String (At The Two O'Clock Club)

3. Bad Liver And A Broken Heart (In Lowell)

4. The One That Got Away

5. Small Change (Got Rained On With His Own .38)

6. I Can't Wait To Get Off Work (And See My Baby On Montgomery Avenue)

Be the first to write a review for this item OR just rate it