{"product_id":"tom-waits-closing-time-1","title":"Tom Waits - Closing Time","description":"\u003cp\u003eTom Waits' Closing Time introduced a gravel-edged romantic who sounded like he had wandered in from a bar at two in the morning, and this 180-gram pressing gives his 1973 debut a sturdy home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBefore the junkyard percussion and carnival barking of his later work, Waits was a Los Angeles piano man with a notebook full of heartbreak. Signed to Asylum and produced by Jerry Yester, this first album leans toward folk and late-night jazz, with gentle arrangements that leave plenty of space for his voice, which here is warmer and smoother than the growl that came later.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Ol' '55\" opens the record, a sweet, early-morning drive home that the Eagles covered soon after. \"Martha\" is a devastating phone call to an old flame, built around piano and strings, while \"Grapefruit Moon\" and \"I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You\" capture the bittersweet loneliness that would become his signature.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLate-night trumpet and upright bass drift through the album like cigarette smoke, and a closing instrumental lets the night wind down slowly at the very end.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEven listeners who know him best for Swordfishtrombones or Rain Dogs tend to come back to this one. It is tender and unhurried, full of small, perfectly drawn moments.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alliance Entertainment","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57351055769905,"sku":"045778756513","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0704\/2026\/7313\/files\/Tom_Waits-Closing_Time.jpg?v=1793976597","url":"https:\/\/vinyl.com\/products\/tom-waits-closing-time-1","provider":"Vinyl.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}