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Being squeezed between two albums that I consider the two best of early Waits (pre-Trombonepescespada, in short), one sometimes forgets, as I have myself, how beautiful "Foreign Affairs" is; indeed, it is probably the album in which Waits most explicitly expresses, up to that point, all the load of inspirations and cultural baggage he has carried throughout his life and in his songs: the love for the authors and figures of Beat literature, which always echo in his songwriting, the old folk songs of various origins, the old black-and-white crime-noir films ("Potter's Field" with arrangements and music by Bob Alcivar is a spoken recitation that more than ever transports us into one of those old films, with lyrics that become noir literature, a small masterpiece even to be read while listening); then, it's called "minor," but even here, Waits, lightening his ogre-like voice compared to the tones of "Small Change," for a more elegant and refined album than its predecessor, needs very little to create masterpieces: a shaving cream brand becomes a shattered dream of escape towards a city that will never be reached, a sweet lullaby turns into a heart-wrenching toast to memories and recollections; then gems like the elegant duet (another novelty) with Bette Midler. Being squeezed between two masterpieces does not prevent "Foreign Affairs" from being a very, very beautiful album.

A 3.5 rounded-up album thanks to excellent tracks such as the title track, Ruby's Arms, and On the Nickel. Definitely a minor album, one of the less successful ones (for the soul), transitioning towards the splendid works of the '70s with those extraordinary ones marking the turning point "Swordfishtrombones."

Well, I think I prefer this to Rain Dogs. Compared to its successor, it's more innovative, daring, and experimental, even though the quality of the tracks is more or less the same. One of my favorite albums, in any case.

There would be many things to say about this album, but I'll keep it simple with a trivial "absolute masterpiece" that, in my opinion, captures the essence. Among the 16 songs, not a single flaw, but two in particular drive me wild: "Black Wings" and "I Don't Wanna Grow Up."

After recording the songs from the theatrical work "Black Rider," Waits had completed his most experimental and avant-garde period. Then a few years of pause, something here and there (a beautiful song written for Johnny Cash) and finally, at the turn of the 20th century, here he comes with the Mule Variations, 16 songs more beautiful than the last, culminating in the final apotheosis of "Come On Up to the House." And if on one hand Tom summarizes and revisits sounds that have been typical of Waits' style for 15 years, the novelty of this album lies in going back, in a paradox. An album that in some marvelous tracks recaptures sounds, sensations, almost smells of the rural Blues of its beginnings, of the Mississippi and the mud. The umpteenth masterpiece.

Really a splendid film.

It's disgusting.

It was a good solo debut, a more than decent work that didn’t foreshadow the future scarcity of Totonno Banche’s solo albums (and not just his, eh...). Let’s say it follows a trail, in terms of sound and writing, very close to that of "And Then There Were Three," and after all, this was the stylistic hallmark of Banks' writing in the late '70s—an elegant and refined pop with prog hints, melodic, linear, romantic, and a bit melancholic, obviously centered around keyboards. Being a total bear, Totonno plays everything by himself, from the piano to the equilateral triangle, only bringing in Chester Thompson on drums and a singer, Kim Pancetta, with a clean, clear voice that for me is a bit anonymous, with certain songs that, focused on her vocality, tend to have semi-aor sounds that don’t excite me much. In reality, the only track that truly gives me real emotions is the inspired instrumental "Waters of Lethe," with beautiful Banksian melodies and Totuzzo also enjoying himself on electric guitar. The rest are more than pleasant songs or instrumentals, just a couple of little turds (the title track is quite bad) but the rest is enjoyable music. Sure, it’s not a particularly beautiful album or anything special, and if we think it’s his best, well, what a shame. I must say, among the solo debuts of various Genesis members, I find this one the least impressive.

A record not to be thrown away, it's a disaster on one half but the other half is good. "Still" is somewhat the little sibling of "We Can't Dance," both for the year of release and for the knack of mixing horrible songs with ones that are decidedly more dignified. We see Totonno on the cover, sitting in pose, in his best imitation of Baglioni, thinking of a way to climb the charts even without Phil. He tries everything, like releasing it the same year as the album with Genesis, but nothing works. Hence the disastrous collaboration with Nik Kershaw on three tracks, all of which are strictly bad, one ("I Wanna Change the Score") is simply awful. Then there's the other collaboration with Fish. I have to say it feels strange to see Banks playing with Gabriel's cosplay, but anyway, from this come two tracks, one nice ("Angel Face") and the other, the most elaborate and progressive of the lot ("Another Murder"), which is a pretty good piece. I also like "Hero for an Hour," which Totonno sings solo. But my favorite is "Water out of Wine," with the soothing voice of Jayney Klimek and Banks' fluted keyboards; it's the jewel of the album. Oh, it's a song I've always been in love with; I find it beautiful. Klimek, for fairness, also sings in that piece of garbage "Back to Back," an awful chart-climbing track (or so it was intended...). In short, half-crap and half-good, it's a decent record, the best after the debut.

I have to buy this record. It was recommended to me by reliable people from Debasio, and I was expecting good things. Oh, it’s WAY better than I hoped for. This debut album is electrifying. A guy born with completely messed up skin pigmentation (or maybe it’s the vocal cords that are messed up, I don’t know) with the biggest voice-face discrepancy I’ve ever seen, presents a series of bomb songs filled with R&B, Funk, Soul, and killer grooves, that voice just there to then slow things down with the last tracks, showcasing also a magnificent romantic "crooner." Antonio Giovanni Bianco navigates as an excellent singer-songwriter (the entire first half of the record), an outstanding interpreter (Bacharach, his fellow countryman Slim Harpo, Jim Webb, etc.), and also a damn good guitarist, acid and Funkybombastic. While he’s at it, he also writes a classic like "Polk Salad Annie." Amazing, well done, encore.

EVERYTHING, but only in six months, so a thousand years ago.

Yes, okay, they may not exactly be my cup of tea, and they certainly don't represent the style and sounds I prefer, but Toto is always a nice listen, and in particular this debut (as well as the next album) that I really like, is a really good record. Their pop flair at the most inspired moments and their undeniable skill as musicians in this first album is particularly appreciated. And oh, I could listen for hours to Jeff Porcaro playing the drums. If I were to put together a "Pop Supergroup," he would be the drummer, that's too easy, a phenomenon.

Toto: great musicians, excellent pop professionals, a respectable band, but personally they have never impressed me much, although they remain a very pleasant listen. This fourth album is a 3-4, a solid 3, some nice pop tracks, obviously well performed, and then there's here Peter Griffin Bless the Rains Down In Africa

I wanted to treat myself to this as a Christmas gift after an undeniably pleasant first listen in mp3. The downside of the album is its excessive length, with 20 tracks that do become a bit tedious over time; however, there are definitely many beautiful songs, Tweedy proves once again that he can't disappoint, and his son shows up as a capable drummer (somewhat like Casey Waits with dad Tom). Rounded up to 3.5 without any issues, nice little record, waiting for the Wilco...