Tom Waits - Franks Wild Years

Ostensibly a "concept" piece about the strange adventures of a ne'er-do-well named Frank, Franks Wild Years is an album full of masterfully written songs and brilliant arrangements, whether one follows the conceptual thread or not. This final album in the loose trilogy that began with Swordfishtrombones expands upon the advances of its predecessors both in terms of hazy, dreamlike imagery and eclectic, exotic instrumentation.

Waits is nothing if not theatrical, and he plays a wide range of characters here. On the uproarious "Straight to the Top" he's a gonzo lounge singer. On "Innocent When You Dream" he's an old-world balladeer after too many whiskeys. He dons the preacher's cloak for "Down in the Hole," warning of the devil's powers, and he braves the top of his range for an unearthly shriek on "Temptation." Buoyed by the angular, eccentric accompaniment of Mark Ribot, Michael Blair and others, he rides an oddly wrought, multicolored train to musical glory.