album · September 1, 1983

Swordfishtrombones

Tom Waits

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Island RecordsSee this day

singer-songwriterfolk rockblues

Swordfishtrombones was a jarring left turn, recorded at a studio in rural California that stripped down Waits's sound to its most elemental and eccentric. It abandoned the lush arrangements of his prior records for a clattering, carnival-esque sound.

• The album was recorded at Tom's own Rancho de la Luna studio in Joshua Tree, California, with engineer Mike Zito.
• It was Waits's first album not produced by Bones Howe, who had helmed his previous seven records.
• Upon its release, the album received a middling reception from critics, but it has since been recognized as a pivotal work in his discography.

Tom Waits is a singer-songwriter, a bar-room poet whose music bridges blues, folk, and experimental rock. In 1983, he was three albums into his deal with Island Records, having left Asylum and begun to push his sound into stranger territory.