Tom Waits Island Years Remasters

[humprof]

Announced today: the Franks Wild Years trilogy (Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, Franks Wild Years), plus Bone Machine and The Black Rider, remasters by Chris Bellman & Karl Derfler, overseen by Waits and Kathleen Brennan. Physical release September 1, but streaming today. Since UMe is distributing these, I was hoping for Atmos on Apple, Tidal, and Amazon. But alas--no such luck.

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/tom-waits-island-records-studio-catalog-reissue/

 

[fizzywiggs41]

Missing in this time period , is his 88 film ....BIG TIME....incredible Concert.

I hope one day soon he can release it in Bluray , atmos surround. The original was in Dolby Stereo , LCRS ...fwiw.

 

[humprof]

Swordfishtrombones is 40 years old this month:

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stor...ain-dogs-franks-wild-years-tom-waits-feature/("At a time when major label songwriters were leaning towards the middle of the road, [Waits] jumped the guard rail, and kept on going.")

Most of the other thinkpieces are variations on the same theme (Tristan Bath's 10-year-old theme, to be specific). Take yer pick:
https://www.popmatters.com/tom-waits-swordfishtrombones-at-40https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/tom-waits/swordfishtrombones-tom-waits-40-anniversaryBut at least Tim Adams in The Guardian adds comments from Marc Ribot, Thom Yorke, and Jim Jarmusch:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...wordfishtrombones-rain-dogs-franks-wild-years
Also: Closing Time turned 50 back in March! Sheesh.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Swordfishtrombones is 40 years old this month:

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stor...ain-dogs-franks-wild-years-tom-waits-feature/("At a time when major label songwriters were leaning towards the middle of the road, [Waits] jumped the guard rail, and kept on going.")

Most of the other thinkpieces are variations on the same theme (Tristan Bath's 10-year-old theme, to be specific). Take yer pick:
https://www.popmatters.com/tom-waits-swordfishtrombones-at-40https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/tom-waits/swordfishtrombones-tom-waits-40-anniversaryBut at least Tim Adams in The Guardian adds comments from Marc Ribot, Thom Yorke, and Jim Jarmusch:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...wordfishtrombones-rain-dogs-franks-wild-years
Also: Closing Time turned 50 back in March! Sheesh.

Even though CLOSING TIME was supposedly NOT one of Tom's personal favorites I still consider it a minor classic!

 

[nikomen]

Closing Time is my absolute all time favorite, where he spends a little more time actually singing, more piano/acoustic guitar and less other. I have the 45 promo version of "Blue Skies", which is my favorite song from Tom and never made it to release. This version is so different from the version they put on the Early Years, Vol. 1, that when I bought that album, I was so disappointed that they ruined the song by toning it down from the jazz influenced version to just piano. For anyone who hasn't heard this version, I have included a YouTube link to it here:

 

[scooob]

Has anyone A/B'd these remasters against the original CD releases? They sound good streaming, but not sure if I should spring for new physical discs or not...

 

[Dynamic Editor]

Has anyone A/B'd these remasters against the original CD releases? They sound good streaming, but not sure if I should spring for new physical discs or not...

Curious of the same thing.

 

[humprof]

Has anyone A/B'd these remasters against the original CD releases? They sound good streaming, but not sure if I should spring for new physical discs or not...

Good question. That's partly what's keeping me from springing for them. I'd like to see some DR measurements, for starters, but I'd also like to know more about Bellman and Derfler. (And I still don't get whey they didn't commission some damn Atmos mixes. Just think of the possibilities!)

 

[scooob]

Good question. That's partly what's keeping me from springing for them. I'd like to see some DR measurements, for starters, but I'd also like to know more about Bellman and Derfler. (And I still don't get whey they didn't commission some damn Atmos mixes. Just think of the possibilities!)

Hmmm.... I just did a very quick-n-dirty comparison on my iMac, between a few tracks on Swordfishtrombones and Bone Machine, and if anything, the remasters sound a bit quieter, and maybe a touch less bright. I think I prefer the old CDs actually, although the differences are very slight. And again, I'm listening on computer speakers, not a hi-fidelity setup. But it's enough to convince me that I don't need to spend any money on the new ones.

Yes, it would be incredible to hear these in surround, and it seems like a huge missed opportunity to expose some younger ears to these albums, given how trendy "spatial audio" is these days. But Tom is nothing if not anti-trendy, after all. And who knows, maybe some or all of the multitracks are missing, although one certainly hopes that's not the case and that there's a glimmer of a chance we'll get surround mixes down the road.

 

[ctoelle]

I have all 3 and they sound good. Been listening in the car and I can really crank them. No hint of brick-walling at all

 

[scooob]

Excellent article on the making of these Island albums:
https://tidal.com/magazine/article/waits-bandleader/1-94435