0569. Tom Waits
Swordfishtrombones

So, this wasn't his first album, but the first one he produced. Sadly, I'm not so very well versed in the Waits' discography to be able to clearly state the difference accomplished (I've mostly heard the later albums), but this I like.

[Fact check: okay, so this is the album where he evolved into the Waits sound, leaving his lofty jazz behind after seven albums] The songs are short, blunt and for the most part clanking, puttering, and with lyrics that are, well, not always the most clear.

When it gets around to Johnsburg, Illinois it gets wierd, though. No, not "grunts and disharmonious plinking"-wierd, but "where the Hell's the grunts and disharmonious plinking?"-wierd. Cause it's a fairly regular song, albeit short, where he reminisces about long lost childhood love (I guess he fell back into his old style for a while).
But after that it's back to the regular irregularities again.