“Well, my time went so quickly / I went lickety-splitly out to my ol’ fifty-five.” Closing Time is Tom Waits’s 1973 debut album, and what immediately jumps out is the maturity and emotional depth of the music the Pomonoa, California singer-songwriter crafts. The opener, “Ol’ 55,” is one of Waits’s first songs (then-labelmates The Eagles would cover the song later), and the gentle piano and guitar arrangement continues throughout the 12 tracker, providing the perfect backdrop for Waits’s earthy growl. “Midnight Lullaby” and “Virginia Avenue” are good examples that showcase the LP’s jazz influences, and “I Hope That I don’t Fall In Love With You” is stands out w/ beautiful melodies and charming lines like “… Well, I turn around to look at you / And you light a cigarette / I wish I had the guts to bum one / But We’ve never met.” It’s easy to see why Tom Waits fans often pick Closing Time as their fav from the artist’s catalog, also check out “Martha” and “Ice Cream Man.”

• 180g reissue
• remastered
• music label: Anti- 1973 / 2018

reviewed by rei kwondo 03/2018