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roadsweeper · 17th April 2009

Ok, I have included a portion of the paper I mentioned before, mainly the parts about his vocal style with some interesting quotes in there that I came across along the way. I can't seem to find the finalised paper so this is from a later draft, so there may be some grammatical errors in there!

If people are interested in reading the rest I can post it up somewhere but the rest deals mainly with his style of poetry and some brief studioes into particular songs.

How does the vocal style of Tom Waits affect the poetry of his lyrics?

......
This paper will be looking at Waits’ vocal style, his lyrics and how the two intertwine. It is important to note the word ‘poetry’ in the title and to briefly discuss what ‘poetry’ actually is in relation to popular music. It can be argued that any text can be classed as poetry, whether it is Spice Girls lyrics or those of more classical writers such as Leonard Cohen. However, in this paper, I will be referring to poetry in a more classical meaning, as something that can stand alone on paper without the need for vocal accompaniment. Lyrics on the other hand can be described as texts that have to be performed vocally in order to achieve the full meaning. It is also important to consider whether Tom Waits is in fact a poet, Todd Everett states in the New Musical Express (1975), that “Waits is a poet.”[1] However, later in the same article Bob Dylan is quoted as saying, “If I can sing it, it’s a song. If I can’t, it’s a poem,”[2] a much more simple and direct view. However, perhaps we should take Waits’ own view, “an improvisational adventure or an inebriational travelogue[3].”
Tom Waits’ vocal style is an integral part of his music, not just as a vehicle for carrying his poetry but also as an interesting instrument in its own right. His is a “theatrical voice, a cross between mellifluous baritone and heavy-equipment breakdown[4]”, “a voice that would trip the San Andreas Fault”[5] and “shattered glass one minute, silk soprano the next”[6]. Throughout his earlier albums such as Closing Time and The Heart of Saturday Night his voice is much less “deep and phlegmy”[7] than in his later albums, in particular his post Swordfish Trombones era. He himself described his earlier voice as “Louis Armstrong meets Ethel Merman in hell”[8] and “by the time of Swordfish Trombones he’s adding Howlin’ Wolf and Captain Beefheart”[9] as well. Although in his earlier, more jazz influenced albums Waits’ voice embellished his down –and-out ‘bum’ persona, it can be argued that his vocal technique was not a vital part of his musical style. This is due to the instrumentation he adopted, which was largely piano with orchestral or jazz band accompaniment. However, after his critically acclaimed, transitional album Swordfish Trombones, his voice became much more of an experimental instrument. The textures and timbres created by his unique approach to instrumentation built up a sound that some describe as a “junkyard orchestra”[10],a bed of sound created using interesting percussive techniques and dissonant harmonies. Therefore, his vocal style became, not only an integral part of his character but also an integral element of this ‘junkyard orchestra’. This era in Waits’ musical career was also the beginning of his acting career and the theatrics and character representation become apparent in these mid-1980s albums.
However, although his music became more percussive in the mid-1980s, Waits never lost his ability to write beautiful melodies, for example in the song ‘In the Neighbourhood’.[11] He also “gives his darkest lyrics the sweetest melodies”,[12] a technique similar to that of Kurt Weiss, a German composer who was a big influence on Waits’ music. In Weiss’s opera ‘Der Dretgroschenoper’ there is “this beautiful melody, yet it’s telling this terrible story. It’s about this appalling murder”.[13] Similarly, Waits often adopted this technique, for example in ‘No-one Knows I’m Gone’[14] he sings, “the rain makes such a lovely sound, to those that are six feet underground,”[15] in a melodious ballad.

[1] Todd Everett, 1975, New Musical Express,

[2] Todd Everett, New Musical Express, 1975

[3] Todd Everett, New Musical Express, 1975

[4] Innoncent – pg 68

[5] Innocent pg 49

[6] Innocent pg 90

[7] Innocent pg 41

[8] Under Review -

[9] Under Review Nigel Williamson

[10] Under Review – Patrick Humphries

[11] Swordfish Trombones

[12] Under Review – Nigel Williamson

[13] Nigel Williamson

[14] Alice

[15] No one knows I’m gone

17th April 2009	#29
roadsweeper Gear addict Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 421	Ok, I have included a portion of the paper I mentioned before, mainly the parts about his vocal style with some interesting quotes in there that I came across along the way. I can't seem to find the finalised paper so this is from a later draft, so there may be some grammatical errors in there! If people are interested in reading the rest I can post it up somewhere but the rest deals mainly with his style of poetry and some brief studioes into particular songs. How does the vocal style of Tom Waits affect the poetry of his lyrics? ...... This paper will be looking at Waits’ vocal style, his lyrics and how the two intertwine. It is important to note the word ‘poetry’ in the title and to briefly discuss what ‘poetry’ actually is in relation to popular music. It can be argued that any text can be classed as poetry, whether it is Spice Girls lyrics or those of more classical writers such as Leonard Cohen. However, in this paper, I will be referring to poetry in a more classical meaning, as something that can stand alone on paper without the need for vocal accompaniment. Lyrics on the other hand can be described as texts that have to be performed vocally in order to achieve the full meaning. It is also important to consider whether Tom Waits is in fact a poet, Todd Everett states in the New Musical Express (1975), that “Waits is a poet.”[1] However, later in the same article Bob Dylan is quoted as saying, “If I can sing it, it’s a song. If I can’t, it’s a poem,”[2] a much more simple and direct view. However, perhaps we should take Waits’ own view, “an improvisational adventure or an inebriational travelogue[3].” Tom Waits’ vocal style is an integral part of his music, not just as a vehicle for carrying his poetry but also as an interesting instrument in its own right. His is a “theatrical voice, a cross between mellifluous baritone and heavy-equipment breakdown[4]”, “a voice that would trip the San Andreas Fault”[5] and “shattered glass one minute, silk soprano the next”[6]. Throughout his earlier albums such as Closing Time and The Heart of Saturday Night his voice is much less “deep and phlegmy”[7] than in his later albums, in particular his post Swordfish Trombones era. He himself described his earlier voice as “Louis Armstrong meets Ethel Merman in hell”[8] and “by the time of Swordfish Trombones he’s adding Howlin’ Wolf and Captain Beefheart”[9] as well. Although in his earlier, more jazz influenced albums Waits’ voice embellished his down –and-out ‘bum’ persona, it can be argued that his vocal technique was not a vital part of his musical style. This is due to the instrumentation he adopted, which was largely piano with orchestral or jazz band accompaniment. However, after his critically acclaimed, transitional album Swordfish Trombones, his voice became much more of an experimental instrument. The textures and timbres created by his unique approach to instrumentation built up a sound that some describe as a “junkyard orchestra”[10],a bed of sound created using interesting percussive techniques and dissonant harmonies. Therefore, his vocal style became, not only an integral part of his character but also an integral element of this ‘junkyard orchestra’. This era in Waits’ musical career was also the beginning of his acting career and the theatrics and character representation become apparent in these mid-1980s albums. However, although his music became more percussive in the mid-1980s, Waits never lost his ability to write beautiful melodies, for example in the song ‘In the Neighbourhood’.[11] He also “gives his darkest lyrics the sweetest melodies”,[12] a technique similar to that of Kurt Weiss, a German composer who was a big influence on Waits’ music. In Weiss’s opera ‘Der Dretgroschenoper’ there is “this beautiful melody, yet it’s telling this terrible story. It’s about this appalling murder”.[13] Similarly, Waits often adopted this technique, for example in ‘No-one Knows I’m Gone’[14] he sings, “the rain makes such a lovely sound, to those that are six feet underground,”[15] in a melodious ballad. [1] Todd Everett, 1975, New Musical Express, [2] Todd Everett, New Musical Express, 1975 [3] Todd Everett, New Musical Express, 1975 [4] Innoncent – pg 68 [5] Innocent pg 49 [6] Innocent pg 90 [7] Innocent pg 41 [8] Under Review - [9] Under Review Nigel Williamson [10] Under Review – Patrick Humphries [11] Swordfish Trombones [12] Under Review – Nigel Williamson [13] Nigel Williamson [14] Alice [15] No one knows I’m gone