Purchased (Not Only) By The Cover

Tom Waits was known in the early 80's for his interpretation of bar-room jazz and his stories of the darker side of America. I liked him because of his broken voice and his abilities to songs other artists stole and made success with their versions. This changed for me when he released Swordfishtrombones and a year later Rain Dogs. He still had his unique voice but he tried more unconventional and added more percussion to his songs. Rain Dogs is a classic of the 80's and the songs still sound fresh after all the years. The cover is a reproduction of a photograph by Swedish photographer Anders Petersen at Café Lehmitz (a cafè near Hamburg's red-light boulevard Reeperbahn) in the late 60's. The man and woman depicted on the cover are called Rose and Lilly. A year ago or so I purchased a book of his 60's photographs and the soundtrack to watch the pictures is still Tom Waits.

Tom Waits - Singapore
Tom Waits - Clap Hands
Tom Waits - Time
Tom Waits - Hang Down Your Head