Tom Waits: Shiver Me Timbers

Continuing my list of the Top 20 albums of 1974, coming in at #18 is The Heart of Saturday Night by Tom Waits. Although this is only the second album for Waits, it is an evolutionary leap forward from his debut Closing Time. This album begins his incredible run of ’70s albums, with each one focused on a group of characters living a life that is hard yet filled with love and longing in the harsh world that surrounds them. In less than 10 years, Waits would change his sound by adding experimental jazz and percussion into his songwriting, but this record marks the beginning of the piano-based balladry that defines his ’70s output. His voice was much cleaner on this album than most associate with his vocal style, but every song is an emotional tour de force. “Shiver Me Timbers” is presented in 3/4 and sounds like it was written in some long forgotten time.

To learn more about Tom Waits, check out his website or read his Wikipedia article.

To check out all of the old Faux Show Best of the Year Shows, visit The Year In Review Series page.

To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.

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