Foreign Affairs

Remastered and reissued on Anti. Tom Waits gives one side of his fifth album, Foreign Affairs, to his more structured, bluesy ballads and the other to his jazz raps. On side one, you get his duet with Bette Midler on the singles-bar dialogue I Never Talk to Strangers and his take on his Beat predecessors Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassidy on Jack and Neal. On side two, you find the extended observations of Potter's Field and Burma-shave. Waits' voice is becoming ever more gravelly, but his basic musical approach remains the same, and by this point he'd attracted a steady cult audience that enjoyed his verbal flights and boozy philosopher persona.

Tracklisting

1. Cinny's Waltz 
2. Muriel 
3. I Never Talk To Strangers 
4. Medley: Jack & Neal / California, Here I Come 
5. A Sight For Sore Eyes 
6. Potter's Field 
7. Burma-Shave 
8. Barber Shop 
9. Foreign Affair