Absolutely essential. ANTI- are releasing mastered reissues of Tom Waits first seven albums, originally released through Elektra Asylum Records in the 1970’s. All seven are issued on CD on March 23rd, with the LP editions arriving throughout the year and pre-selling separately. 

Expanding beyond the folk and pop stylings of his first album, Waits’ second studio release Heart of Saturday Night established his reputation as a versatile and distinctly American songwriter. Its bluesy jazz arrangements featured bass, drums, sax and Waits on piano. The title track, a melancholy ode to Saturday night rituals, and the tenderly romantic hymn-like San Diego Serenade are enduring classics covered by an array of artists from Diana Krall and Nancy Griffith to folk hero Eric Anderson.

The album also features Diamonds on My Windshield, the first of what would become a signature for Waits’, the spoken word-poetry song. Waits’ delivers these lyrics as pure beat jazz in the stylings of Kerouac, Langston Hughes and Bob Kaufman.

New Coat Of Paint
San Diego Serenade
Semi Suite
Shiver Me Timbers
Diamonds On My Windshield (Looking For)
The Heart Of A Saturday Night
Fumblin’ With The Blues
Please Call Me, Baby
Depot, Depot
Drunk On The Moon
The Ghosts Of Saturday Night (After Hours At Napoleone’s Pizza House)