Franks Wild Years is the tenth studio album by Tom Waits, released 1987 on Island Records. Subtitled "Un Operachi Romantico in Two Acts", the album contains songs written by Waits and collaborators (mainly his wife, Kathleen Brennan) for a play of the same name. The shared title of the album and the play is an iteration of "Frank's Wild Years", a song from Waits' 1983 album Swordfishtrombones.

Franks Wild Years
Studio album by Tom Waits
Released	August 17, 1987
Recorded	Universal Recording, Chicago, Illinois, The Sound Factory and Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California
Genre	Rock, dark cabaret, experimental
Length	55:34
Label	Island
Producer	Tom Waits
Tom Waits chronology
Rain Dogs (1985) Franks Wild Years (1987) Big Time (1988)
Singles from Franks Wild Years
"Hang on St. Christopher" Released: August 17, 1987

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
Los Angeles Times	[3]
Mojo	[4]
Q	[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
Uncut	[7]
The Village Voice	B[8]

The play had its world premiere at the Briar St. Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, on June 22, 1986, performed by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Various versions of "Way Down in the Hole" were used as the theme music for the HBO series The Wire, including Waits' original version for the second season. The songs "Temptation" and "Cold Cold Ground" were used in Jean-Claude Lauzon's film Léolo (1992). "Cold Cold Ground" was also used in the series Homicide: Life on the Street. "Temptation" and "Straight to the Top (Vegas)" featured in the film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005), and "Innocent When You Dream" featured in the film Smoke (1995).[9] The song "If I Have to Go" was used in the play, but released only in 2006 on Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards. The theme from "If I Have to Go" was used under the title "Rat's Theme" in the documentary Streetwise as early as 1984.

Chart information

Track listing

Note: "Cold Cold Ground" is incorrectly listed as "Cold Call Ground" on the Island CD release.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[12]

Musicians

• Jay Anderson – bass (8)
• Michael Blair – drums, conga, percussion, maracas, marimba, orchestra bells, glockenspiel (1–4, 6, 10–14)
• Kathleen Brennan – vocal arrangements (4)
• Angela Brown – background vocals (11)
• Ralph Carney – saxophone, baritone horn, violin, tenor saxophone (1–2, 4–6, 8, 10–13, 17)
• Greg Cohen - bass, alto horn, horn arrangements, Leslie bass pedals (1–6, 10–14, 16–17)
• David Hidalgo – accordion (15–16)
• Leslie Holland – background vocals (11)
• Lynne Jordan – background vocals (11)
• Marc Ribot – guitar, banjo (1, 4, 11, 14)
• William Schimmel – piano, pump organ, accordion, Leslie bass pedals, cocktail piano (1, 2, 5–6, 10, 12–13, 17)
• Larry Taylor – bass, upright bass (2, 7, 8, 15)
• Moris Tepper – guitar (4, 6, 10, 14)
• Francis Thumm – prepared piano, pump organ (3, 10)
• Tom Waits – vocals, pump organ, Optigan, guitar, vocal stylings, rooster, piano, Farfisa, Mellotron, drums, conga, tambourine
• Izzy Stradlin – unconfirmed appearance on rhythm guitar

Technical

• Tchad Blake – additional engineer
• Biff Dawes – engineer, mixing (at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California)
• Lorita Delacerna – additional engineer
• David Glover – additional engineer
• Bill Higley – additional engineer
• Mike Kloster – additional engineer
• David Knight – additional engineer
• Danny Leake – engineer
• Jean-Baptiste Mondino – conception, photography
• Jeff Price – art direction
• Stephen Shelton – additional engineer
• Tom Waits – producer
• Howie Weinberg – mastering

Critical reception

The album ranked number 5 among "Albums of the Year" for 1987 in the annual NME critics' poll.[13]

References

External links

• Frank's Wild Years at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company
• Franks Wild Years (album) and Frank's Wild Years (theatrical), info at the Tom Waits Library

На других языках

[ru] Franks Wild Years