The article revisits Tom Waits' iconic 1985 album, celebrated for its romantic and carnivalesque essence, infused with New York's avant-garde sound. It highlights Waits' distinct rebellion against the common singer-songwriter tropes of personal storytelling. Instead of adhering to the personal, Waits' style introduced a more theatrical and abstract narrative, forming a unique identity within the Southern California music scene of the 1970s where he started. His unconventional approach not only set him apart from contemporaries but also enriched the landscape of American music.
The defining image of Tom Waits' early career is a photograph taken by Mitchell Rose for Rolling Stone at the Tropicana Motel in West Hollywood in 1977, capturing the essence of his unapologetic and rugged lifestyle.
Waits knew some of these people from shared bills and the scene revolving around the Los Angeles club the Troubadour, where he'd been discovered by manager Herb Cohen. But he didn't quite fit in.
The prevailing mode of the early singer-songwriters was personal expression—you were supposed to draw from your life for your material, but Waits wasn't interested in this kind of sharing.
This romantic and carnivalesque masterpiece imbued with the avant-garde sound of New York redefines what a singer-songwriter's album can be.
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