TOM WAITS~RAIN DOGS~RARE 1st PRESS 1985 ISLAND LP~ALT-ROCK MASTERPIECE~NEAR MINT TOM WAITS~RAIN DOGS~RARE 1st PRESS 1985 ISLAND LP~ALT-ROCK MASTERPIECE~NEAR MINT

TOM WAITS
"RAIN DOGS"
ISLAND RECORDS 90299-1

ORIGINAL U.S. 1985 ISLAND RECORDS!
ORIGINAL BLACK ISLAND LABEL WITH YELLOW “I” LOGO, MID-‘80s STYLE
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL FIRST U.S. PRESSING, NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.
THE RECORD HAS A ‘MASTERDISK’ STAMP IN THE TRAIL-OFF VINYL, AN INDICATION THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST PRESSED WITH ULTIMATE AUDIO QUALITY.
COVER IS IN NEAR MINT CONDITION WITH ONLY THE LIGHTEST WEAR.
VINYL IS IN NEAR MINT CONDITION - OUR HIGHEST RATING FOR AN OPEN LP! - AND IT HAS NO INDICATION OF HAVING BEEN PLAYED!
NO VISIBLE SPINDLE MARKS ON EITHER SIDE!
ORIGINAL INNER SLEEVE WITH LYRICS IS INCLUDED.

Tracklist
A1     Singapore     2:46
A2     Clap Hands     3:47
A3     Cemetery Polka     1:51
A4     Jockey Full Of Bourbon     2:45
A5     Tango Till They're Sore     2:49
A6     Big Black Mariah     2:44
A7     Diamonds & Gold     2:31
A8     Hang Down Your Head     2:32
A9     Time     3:55
B1     Rain Dogs     2:56
B2     Midtown (Instrumental)     1:00
B3     9th & Hennepin     1:58
B4     Gun Street Girl     4:37
B5     Union Square     2:24
B6     Blind Love     4:18
B7     Walking Spanish     3:05
B8     Downtown Train     3:53
B9     Bride Of Rain Dog (Instrumental)     1:07
B10     Anywhere I Lay My Head     2:48

    Pressed By – Specialty Records Corporation
    Mastered At – Masterdisk
    Recorded At – RCA Recording Studios
    Mixed At – Quad Recording Studios
    Mixed At – RPM Studios
    Distributed By – ATCO Records
    Copyright (c) – Island Records Inc.
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – Island Records Inc.
    Arranged By – Tom Waits, Uptown Horns (tracks: B2, B10)
    Art Direction [Album Cover Direction] – Peter Corriston
    Coordinator [Production Coordination] – Valerie Goodman
    Engineer [Quadrasonic Assistant] – Tom Gonzales
    Engineer [RCA Assistant] – Dennis Ferrante
    Engineer [RPM Assistant] – Jeff Lippay
    Engineer, Mixed By – Robert Musso
    Mastered By [Engineeer] – Howie Weinberg
    Mixed By – Jeff Lippay (tracks: B8)
    Photography By [Back Cover] – Robert Frank (3)
    Photography By [Cover] – Anders Petersen
    Producer, Vocals – Tom Waits
    Written-By – Kathleen Brennan (tracks: A8)
    Written-By, Producer – Tom Waits

With its jarring rhythms and unusual instrumentation -- marimba, accordion, various percussion -- as well as its frequently surreal lyrics, Rain Dogs is very much a follow-up to Swordfishtrombones, which is to say that it sounds for the most part like The Threepenny Opera being sung by Howlin' Wolf. The chief musical difference is the introduction of guitarist Marc Ribot, who adds his noisy leads to the general cacophony. But Rain Dogs is sprawling where its predecessor had been focused: Tom Waits' lyrics here sometimes are imaginative to the point of obscurity, seemingly chosen to fit the rhythms rather than for sense. In the course of 19 tracks and 54 minutes, Waits sometimes goes back to the more conventional music of his earlier records, which seems like a retreat, though such tracks as the catchy "Hang Down Your Head," "Time," and especially "Downtown Train" (frequently covered and finally turned into a Top Ten hit by Rod Stewart five years later) provide some relief as well as variety. Rain Dogs can't surprise as Swordfishtrombones had, and in his attempt to continue in the direction suggested by that album, Waits occasionally borders on the chaotic (which may only be to say that, like most of his records, this one is uneven). But much of the music matches the earlier album, and there is so much of it that that is enough to qualify Rain Dogs as one of Waits' better albums.