"Another Man's Vine"
'Blood Money,' 2002
Every Tom Waits Song is an email newsletter covering just that, in alphabetical order. Find more info here and sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox:
And the first album we get two songs from is…Blood Money! (The first was “All The World Is Green.”) Funny getting two Blood Money songs so early when we still haven't hit anything on his most famous records - though that will change with the next entry.
What jumped out at my listening to "Another's Man's Vine" again is the xylophone. Or is it a marimba? What's the difference anyway? Via the aptly named site Difference Between:
The xylophone has shorter resonators and has a mallet coated or entirely made of rubber or plastic. The marimba has longer resonators with its mallet usually coated with a yarn or cord... The xylophone emits a sharper tone whereas the marimba emits a mellow tone.
From that description, I'd be inclined to say xylophone. But then I compared two videos showcasing both instruments on Yamaha's site and now I'm thinking marimba. Marimba is what many other people seem to describe as a feature of Tom's music, so I'll assume someone fact-checked it. Compare “Anywhere” to the Yamaha videos yourself:
Marimba:
Xylophone:
Fun fact: According to the credits on Discogs, the Blood Money album has three different marimba players!
Another fun fact in those credits: Colin Stetson plays the horn chorus on this song, layering baritone saxophone, alto saxophone, and tenor saxophone. In recent years, Stetson has become a star in his own right. He plays in Arcade Fire and Bon Iver and has released highly acclaimed albums of discordant, looped saxophone, which you can hear the bones of in this Tom Waits track. In fact, Alice and Blood Money appear to be his first major recording credits. Here’s what he looks like doing his own thing:
Anyway, back to the xylophone-wait-I-mean-marimba. Tom's first use of the instrument appears to have come with his Swordfishtrombones reinvention, and has remained a key component of his music ever since. Here's what he said when that album came out, about diving into these percussive instruments:
I've always been afraid of percussion for some reason. I was afraid of things sounding like a train wreck, like Buddy Rich having a seizure. I've made some strides; the bass marimbas, the boobams, metal long longs, African talking drums and so on.
These days, of course, “Buddy Rich having a seizure” sounds like a sound Tom would strive for. Via the Tom Waits Library, here's a partial Tom-Waits-marimba playlist:
“Shore Leave” (Swordfishtrombones, 1983)
“Underground” (Swordfishtrombones, 1983)
“Clap Hands” (Rain Dogs, 1985)
“I'll Be Gone” (Franks Wild Years, 1987)
Ali Husseini (Alice theatre play, 1992)
Bent Clausen (Woyzeck theatre play, 2000)
“Fawn” (Alice, 2002)
“Misery Is The River Of The World” (Blood Money, 2002)
“All The World Is Green” (Blood Money, 2002)
“Another Man's Vine” (Blood Money, 2002)
“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” (Blood Money, 2002)