Franks Wild Years

Franks Wild Years is the ninth studio album by Tom Waits, released 1987 on Island Records. Subtitled "Un Operachi Romantico in Two Acts", the album contains songs written by Waits and collaborators (mainly his wife, Kathleen Brennan) for a play of the same name. The shared title of the album and the play is an iteration of "Frank's Wild Years", a song from Waits' 1983 album Swordfishtrombones.

Not to be confused with the song "Frank's Wild Years" on Swordfishtrombones.
Franks Wild Years
Studio album by
Tom Waits
ReleasedAugust 17, 1987
RecordedUniversal Recording, Chicago, Illinois,
The Sound Factory and Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California
GenreRock, experimental
Length55:34
LabelIsland
ProducerTom Waits
Tom Waits chronology
Rain Dogs
(1985)		 Franks Wild Years
(1987)		 Big Time
(1988)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Los Angeles Times[3]
Mojo[4]
Q[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Uncut[7]
The Village VoiceB[8]

The play had its world premiere at the Briar St. Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, on June 22, 1986, performed by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Various versions of "Way Down in the Hole" were used as the theme music for the HBO series The Wire, including Waits' original version for the second season. The songs "Temptation" and "Cold Cold Ground" were used in Jean-Claude Lauzon's film Léolo (1992). "Cold Cold Ground" was also used in the series Homicide: Life on the Street. "Temptation" and "Straight to the Top (Vegas)" featured in the film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005), and "Innocent When You Dream" featured in the film Smoke (1995).[9] The song "If I Have to Go" was used in the play, but released only in 2006 on Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards. The theme from "If I Have to Go" was used under the title "Rat's Theme" in the documentary Streetwise as early as 1984.

Chart information
Chart Peak position
Switzerland 14
Billboard 200 115[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tom Waits, except where noted. Recorded by Danny Leake and Biff Dawes. Mixed by Biff Dawes at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hang on St. Christopher" 2:46
2."Straight to the Top (Rhumba)"Waits, Greg Cohen2:30
3."Blow Wind Blow" 3:35
4."Temptation" 3:53
5."Innocent When You Dream (Barroom)" 4:15
6."I'll Be Gone"Waits, Kathleen Brennan3:12
7."Yesterday Is Here"Waits, Brennan2:29
8."Please Wake Me Up"Waits, Brennan3:36
9."Franks Theme" 1:49
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."More Than Rain" 3:52
2."Way Down in the Hole" 3:30
3."Straight to the Top (Vegas)"Waits, Cohen3:26
4."I'll Take New York" 3:58
5."Telephone Call from Istanbul" 3:12
6."Cold Cold Ground" 4:07
7."Train Song" 3:20
8."Innocent When You Dream (78)" 3:08

Note: Cold Cold Ground is Incorrectly listed as "Cold Call Ground" on the Island CD release.

Personnel
  • Jay Anderson – bass (#8)
  • Michael Blair – drums, conga, percussion, maracas, marimba, orchestra bells, glockenspiel (#1–4, 6, 10–14)
  • Kathleen Brennan – vocal arrangements (#4)
  • Angela Brown – background vocals (#11)
  • Ralph Carney – saxophone, baritone horn, violin, tenor saxophone (#1–2, 4–6, 8, 10–13, 17)
  • Greg Cohen - bass, alto horn, horn arrangements, Leslie bass pedals (#1–6, 10–14, 16–17)
  • David Hidalgo – accordion (#15–16)
  • Leslie Holland – background vocals (#11)
  • Lynne Jordan – background vocals (#11)
  • Marc Ribot – guitar, banjo (#1, 4, 11, 14)
  • William Schimmel – piano, pump organ, accordion, Leslie bass pedals, cocktail piano (#1, 2, 5–6, 10, 12–13, 17)
  • Larry Taylor – bass, upright bass (#2, 7, 8, 15)
  • Moris Tepper – guitar (#4, 6, 10, 14)
  • Francis Thumm – prepared piano, pump organ (#3, 10)
  • Tom Waits – vocals, pump organ, Optigan, guitar, vocal stylings, rooster, piano, Farfisa, Mellotron, drums, conga, tambourine
  • Izzy Stradlin – unconfirmed appearance on rhythm guitar

Critical reception

The album ranked number 5 among "Albums of the Year" for 1987 in the annual NME critics' poll.[11]

gollark: +>markov
gollark: Stop killing people's Avian Carriers!
gollark: ~play our last night - radioactive cover
gollark: I should play some osmarks internet radio™ music™ next!
gollark: ~skip

References
  1. Ruhlmann, William. "Franks Wild Years – Tom Waits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  2. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  3. Cromelin, Richard (August 30, 1987). "Waits: Dreamlike, Distant". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  4. "Tom Waits: Franks Wild Years". Mojo (200): 77. July 2010.
  5. "Tom Waits: Franks Wild Years". Q (73): 101. October 1992.
  6. Coleman, Mark; Scoppa, Bud (2004). "Tom Waits". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 854–55. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. "What Is He Building In There..?". Uncut (175): 52–53. December 2011.
  8. Christgau, Robert (January 26, 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  9. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114478/soundtrack
  10. http://www.billboard.com/artist/430114/tom-waits/chart?page=1&f=305
  11. "Albums and Tracks of the Year: 1987". NME. 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
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