Foreign Affairs

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

 

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Foreign Affairs was one of the first albums by Tom Waits I'd bought, adding to Rain Dogs, Swordfishtrombones and Small Change in my fledgling Waits collection. As my love, and somewhat obsession, of his music grew, and every album of his hefty back catalogue sits proudly in my CD rack, Foreign Affairs always stuck out in my mind, in my opinion, the finest of all his works.
The black and white cover of Waits and his then girlfriend Rickie Lee Jones sets an appropriate mood for the whole album, a real sense of noir and night that accompanies the songs. Cinny's Waltz kicks off the proceedings with its lush strings, a beautiful instrumental with a jazzy melancholy and wonder, and heart-melting horns. The lonely deadbeat lament of Muriel follows, a song that befits the persona that Waits had created, a drunk's outpouring for an old flame in a track peppered with regret and remorse. I Never Talk To Strangers is arguably the album's most famous track, a sparring duet with Bette Midler in a barroom arena, as Waits' attempted smooth talkin' of his target leads to a trade of insults between the two, tho the ballad ends with the singers in harmony with each other. The Jack and Neal Medley is a brilliant piece of beat spoken word against a double bass and horns backdrop, a great homage to Kerouac and Cassidy and their boisterous behaviour on the road, before the reflective side of Waits appears again with A Sight For Sore Eyes, originally an outtake from Small Change which slots in nicely, as the song's narrator catches up on the lives and loves of his hometown compadres over a few drinks. The stunning Potter's Field is pure cinematic wonder, an epic track which chronicles the death of the character nightsticks from the point of view of the sleazy criminal narrator, backed by a full orchestra and a majestic score which clocks nearly nine minutes of drama. The stories continue with Burma Shave, as Waits and a sole piano tell the tale of a juvenile delinquent jumping his parole, who is joined by a young beauty wishing to escape her mundane small town. The track is beautiful and emotive, just Tom and the ivories for over six minutes before the horn kicks in to herald the songs devastating end. Barber Shop is a cheeky little ditty with overtones of Step Right Up, a smirking exchange between a barber and his young customer, before the album concludes with one of Waits' most underrated works. The not quite title track Foreign Affair is a beautiful piece of poetry concerning the romance of travel, the words are exquisite, as is the lush backing music of strings and eventual accordion, the track is the perfect end to an absolutely stunning album.
Foreign Affairs is probably Waits' most underrated album, Small Change always takes centre stage of his Asylum years, and his 80s trilogy of Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Frank's Wild Years are arguably the three jewels in his crown. Tho in my opinion, Foreign Affairs is his finest work, it conveys a mood that fits Waits' boho-beat persona better than any other album, and is incredibly dramatic and noir, songs like Potter's Field and Burma Shave reminiscent of old movies from times past. No Waits' collection is complete without it, and for newcomers, is a pretty good starting point, although Rain Dogs is probably a more rounded collection to begin a love affair with an artist that is truly unique, one that I doubt will ever be comparable to any other, the prince of melancholy. :-)

while waits travelled through several different areas as he progressed his career, from barbum, to beat poet, to blues, all before the end of the 70s, this album is almost a one-off phase. it's as if he were let loose in his own cinema. there's noir, there's b movies, there's all sorts of things, but you really get the feeling waits can visualise everything in front of him and is hoping he's put enough out there for you to see it too. intensely ambitious (check out the mammoth and awe-inspiring potter's field), this isn't an easy album to get into. i don't hold it among my favourites, but there's no doubting waits determination to make art, and not just churn out albums with some standard blues or jazz riffs on it. and that's to be admired, even if he'd achieve it more successfully in later albums.

Foreign Affairs is the final seventies Tom Waits album to enter my collection, and I wish it hadn't taken me so long. This is one of his most beautiful albums, and is a melancholic, jazzy delight from start to end. 'I never talk to strangers' is the highlight, a quite hilarious but oh so true pick up scenario in a bar, duetting with Bette Midler. This album's a forgotten classic in the Tom cannon, very easy listening on the surface, but an undercurrant of his inimitable mixture of sadness and wry humour lies bubbling under.

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5.0 out of 5 stars If you like Tom you'll like this!
Early album, clean sound 'paints' great pictures of the world of Tom Waits. This makes comfortable listening and a good introduction to his early work. Read more

Published 1 month ago by CE

5.0 out of 5 stars Enter a black and white world
Tom Waits at his most cinematic! You can almost taste the cigarettes, Smell the stale carpet in some dingy San Fransisco basement! The bourbon drenched breath of Mr Waits! Read more

Published on 19 Feb 2009 by Mr. S. Dodson

5.0 out of 5 stars Different but endlessly listenable, great in its way
Fan for 30 years, seen him both times in th UK over the past 18 years, big fan.

Yep, its different to the rest of his albums though none the worse for that... Read more

Published on 31 Mar 2008 by M. G. Hudson

5.0 out of 5 stars "I'm a sucker for a fella in a cowboy hat"
Capping a fabulous run of albums that featured a fairly stable team of jazzers, whilst this isn't the final instalment of Waits' love affair with his jazzy Tin Pan Alley persona... Read more

Published on 5 Aug 2005 by Sebastian Palmer

3.0 out of 5 stars Foreign Affair- "Let me tell about a place I'm heading to"
"Foreign Affair" is a T.Waits album, which owns a lounge, jazzy feel,that helped pave the way for later work. Read more

Published on 16 Nov 2000

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