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Tom WaitsAlbums ReviewedClosing Time (1973)Small Change (1976) Closing Time(1973)One of rock music's greatest iconoclasts, Tom Waits' career begins with what's arguably the most straightforward album in his catalogue, a relatively sedate collection of jazzy piano ballads, but with just enough eclecticism thrown in to indicate the diversity his career would later embrace. With his least hoarse vocals ever, and a musical palette limited to conventional instruments, the focus here is on his song writing and most of these songs are terrific. While Closing Time is largely centred around a jazzy piano style, there are also hints of West Coast rock (the Eagles would later cover opening track 'Ol 55') and country, while 'Ice Cream Man' brings an upbeat groove and sassy lyrics. Lyrically, Waits is establishing an image as a lovelorn, alcoholic, late-night bar crooner, and if occasionally the album slips into cliché territory, both musically and lyrically ('Midnight Lullaby'), it's melodic and coherent enough that it hangs together as one of Waits' better albums. Highlights include the pretty acoustic 'I Hope I Don't Fall In Love With You', which dual guitar picking is surprisingly reminiscent of Lindsey Buckingham. In 'Martha', the 24 year old Waits adopts the character of an aging character looking back at a failed love affair, while 'Grapefruit Moon' is the gorgeous and languid. 'Rosie' is an overlooked highlight, especially its pretty chorus as Waits hits the high note at the its conclusion, while 'Lonely' is minimalist and quietly devastating. A couple of the songs aren't too fantastic - as implied above, 'Midnight Lullaby' is pretty non-eventful, and not much happens in the closing title instrumental - but most of this record is terrific. While Closing Time is far from representative of Waits' career, it's also one of his most accessible records and it's not a bad place to start an exploration into his catalogue; it took him ten years to make a stronger record. 
 The Heart Of Saturday Night(1974)Nighthawks At The Diner(1975)The former is one of three Tom Waits' studio albums I don't have access to, while the latter is a live album of all new songs with amusing stage patter from Waits. It's also lengthy, and I haven't had it very long, so I'll come back and review it later. Small Change(1976)While Waits is still in piano balladeer mode here, there are already hints of the more eccentric musical directions his career would take. While songs like 'I Wish I Was In New Orleans' and 'Tom Traubert's Blues' are still dominated by Waits' piano and Louis Armstrong-like gravely voice, there's little hint of the seventies singer-songwriter of Closing Time. And Waits dispenses with the piano altogether in songs like 'Step Right Up' and the title track, creating appreciably different musical atmospheres, backing his voice with just a rhythm section and saxophone. The resulting album is much seedier than the bright eyed Closing Time, right down to the topless woman on the cover, with Waits exploring the dark underbelly of his bar crooner persona, with titles like 'The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)' and 'Bad Liver and a Broken Heart', as well as the oft-quoted line "I only have a drinking problem/When I can't get a drink," and this album explains Waits' hard-drinking, broken-hearted archetype more than any of his other records. Small Change opens with the gorgeous 'Tom Traubert's Blues', with its "Waltzing Matilda" chorus, and elliptical lyrics ("You can ask any sailor and the keys from the jailer/And the old men in wheelchairs know"). Waits almost raps an advertising jingle over drums and bass in 'Step Right Up': "3 for a dollar/We got a year end clearance", while the title track almost pushes into avant-garde, Captain Beefheart territory with Waits only accompanied by Lew Tabackin's saxophone. These are the exceptions rather than the rule, and for fans of Waits' piano balladry there's still plenty of conventional material; the melancholic 'Invitation To The Blues', and the downtrodden suitor of 'I Can't Wait To Get Off Work'. This is arguably the last record of Waits' early, piano-based phase - his next few albums would try to diversify with varying amounts of success, before Waits completely reinvented himself with 1983's Swordfishtrombones.
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Written 2001-2007, Graham Fyfe
