Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
51 used & new from £2.48

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Available to Download Now
 
Buy the MP3 album for £4.98
 
 
 
 
Foreign Affairs
 
See larger image
 

Foreign Affairs

~ Tom Waits
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Price: £4.98 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, July 15? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
40 new from £2.48 11 used from £2.49
Buy the MP3 album for £4.98 at the Amazon MP3 Downloads store.


Frequently Bought Together

Foreign Affairs + Small Change + The Heart Of Saturday Night
Price For All Three: £14.94

Show availability and shipping details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Small Change

Small Change

~ Tom Waits
4.6 out of 5 stars (10)  £4.98
The Heart Of Saturday Night

The Heart Of Saturday Night

~ Tom Waits
4.9 out of 5 stars (13)  £4.98
Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine

~ Tom Waits
4.6 out of 5 stars (10)  £4.98
Heartattack and Vine

Heartattack and Vine

~ Tom Waits
5.0 out of 5 stars (5)  £3.98
Nighthawks At The Diner

Nighthawks At The Diner

~ Tom Waits
5.0 out of 5 stars (13)  £4.98
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Audio CD (16 Jan 1995)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Asylum
  • ASIN: B000002GYF
  • Other Editions: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 20,501 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
Tom waits tour dates
   www.ask.com    Find the Best Results for Tom waits tour dates. Ask us! 
Tom Waits Info
   www.info.co.uk/TomWaits    Find Info On Tom Waits Access 6 Search Engines At Once. 
Listen To Tom Waits
   Music.alot.com    Get The Free Music Toolbar And Have Access To 1,000s of Songs & More! 
  
 

Track Listings

1. Cinny's Waltz
2. Muriel
3. I Never Talk To Strangers
4. Sight For Sore Eyes
5. Potter's Field
6. Burma Shave
7. Barber Shop
8. Foreign Affair

Product Description

CD Description
FOREIGN AFFAIRS is the most ambitious of Waits' '70s albums. In addition to the West Coast jazz style his early work drew so heavily on (here he goes to the source, with vet Shelly Manne on the drum stool), there's also a bit of lavish orchestration to solidify the classy bygone-era feel of Waits' songs. Perfect losers' love songs like "Muriel" were always his bread and butter, but the elegant'40s-ish balladry of "INever Talk to Strangers" (a good-humored beaty-wooed-by-the-beast duet) and the epic beat poetry excursion "Potter's Field" were the furthest extensions to date of Waits' ambitions. Ironically, things are most interesting when the arrangements are scaled down, as on the contagiously sentimental barroom ballad "Sight For Sore Eyes".

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Hey Tom, you must be reading my mail!, 24 Dec 2000
By A Customer
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.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Different but endlessly listenable, great in its way, 31 Mar 2008
By M. G. Hudson "Matthew Hudson" (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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.

I probably pull foreign affairs as often as any other album. Listenable, yep; tender; yep; schmaltzy - well, yep in a post irony way that he does so lightly.

And, you know, his heartbreak songs are only the width of a bible flyleaf from seeing redemption...similarly his love songs are only a missed heartbeat from tearing tragedy...thats why we love him so isn't it?

Not typcal Tom, but a classic all the same, 5 bleary stars please.

M
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Foreign Affair- "Let me tell about a place I'm heading to", 16 Nov 2000
By A Customer
"Foreign Affair" is a T.Waits album, which owns a lounge, jazzy feel,that helped pave the way for later work. Here lie some fine songs like "Muriel" and "Burma Shave" which are instantly intriguing tunes. What characterizes this Waitsian output however, is the search for a place to go- musically and lyrically. Duetting ("I Never Talk to Strangers" with Bette Midler) will be developed more effectively on "One from the Heart" soundtrack with Crystal Gayle. "Jack and Neal" seems to be rummaging for a tune, as it finally breaks into covering "California Here I Come". Similarly, "A Sight for Sore Eyes", although pleasing on its own right, seems to be homework for "In the Neighborhood" on "Swordfishtrombones." This is a dress rehearsal for "One From the Heart" and the 3-act operetta to follow i.e."Swordfishtrombones", "Raindogs" and "Frank's Wild Years." It contains interesting insight on Waits' development of song writing and mood. For how can you help not search diamonds even though they, hardheaded, want to stay coal!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

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 4 months ago by Mr. S. Dodson

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
Plagiarism 83 38 minutes ago
Album Themed Gigs 8 2 hours ago
Crack the code 6232 3 hours ago
latest government plan for ageing musos 8 3 hours ago
Status Quo - worthy of derision or respect?? 20 3 hours ago
The One Track Club 65 13 hours ago
Best alternative guitarist 65 16 hours ago
   
Related forums


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Foreign Affairs
73% buy the item featured on this page:
Foreign Affairs 4.2 out of 5 stars (4)
£4.98
Blue Valentine
8% buy
Blue Valentine 4.6 out of 5 stars (10)
£4.98
Franks Wild Years
7% buy
Franks Wild Years 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£4.98
Swordfishtrombones
6% buy
Swordfishtrombones 4.5 out of 5 stars (13)
£4.98

Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

Shop the Powerball store

 

More From Tom Waits

Rain Dogs

Rain Dogs ~ Tom Waits

The middle album of the trilogy that includes Swordfishtrombones and... Read more
£4.98

 

Train Hard...Play Hard

Nike, Gola, Converse, and more
Gear up with up to 60% off athletic and outdoor shoes.

Shop now

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates