Another recent purchase, of an album I had no idea about in 1976, and wouldn't have understood if I had.
It's Waits at his most dissolute, allegedly in reality, as well as in his bar-singer persona, and as you'd expect, there's quite a number of absolute belters on here.
Opener Tom Traubert's Blues, is a beautiful song, perfectly delivered, with a string accompaniment which enhances rather than overwhelms. Step Right Up is a minimal number, much more jazz, with a solid bass line and a meandering sax murmering under Waits' fairground barker delivery, then Jitterbug Boy followed by I Wish I Was In New Orleans, just Waits and mainly piano in a couple of pleasant, if unremarkable songs.
Then there's my highlight, the hilarious The Piano Has Been Drinking, as the drunk Waits stumbles his way through the lines. Invitation To The Blues, is a smooth jazz number, a lovely easy listen, less so the percussive chant of Pasties & A G String, which doesn't really work for me. Stealing the intro from As Time Goes By, Bad Liver & A Broken Heart is a trademark Waits' drunk ballad, again fine, but not great. It's back to the double bass solo with the wandering sax for the almost-spoken The One That Got Away, and it works a treat, and it's left just to the sax to accompany the narrative on Small Change, again, a fine rambling tale. And there's a little barroom piano and voice song, I Can't Wait To Get Off Work, done to perfection to end, a fitting conclusion.
Possibly not the most innovative of Waits' albums, but it's a great example of his barroom balladeer period, and always worth a listen
4* - a great example of 1970s Waits
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