Tom Waits "Closing Time" Asylum Records ?AS 53030 Vinyl LP. A2/B2 Matrix

	£		15
	$		20

Tom Waits ? "Closing Time"  Asylum Records ? AS 53030 Vinyl, LP released in 1973.
Matrix / Runout: Side A: R / S Alsdorf 53030 A2 Matrix / Runout: Side B: R / S Alsdorf 53030 B2
Vinyl appears to have been very lightly played and is in great condition. The sleeve has some very slight signs of wear but is in generally great condition, with no writing or tears. The spine is intact and totally legible.
Closing Time is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released in March 1973 on Asylum Records. Produced and arranged by former Lovin' Spoonful member Jerry Yester, Closing Time was the first of seven of Waits' major releases through Asylum.
The album is noted for being predominantly folk influenced although Waits intended for Closing Time to be "a jazz, piano-led album." Upon release, the album was mildly successful in the United States, although it did not chart and received little attention from music press in the United Kingdom and elsewhere internationally. Critical reaction to Closing Time was positive. The album's only single—"Ol' '55"—attracted attention due to a cover version by Waits' better-known label mates The Eagles. Other songs from the album were covered by artists ranging from Tim Buckley to Bette Midler. The album has been certified Gold in the United Kingdom and has gained a contemporary cult following among rock fans.
Closing Time??'?s art was designed by Cal Schenkel. Schenkel's front cover art was inspired by "Waits' own idea of how the album should sound." It depicts Waits leaning against a bar-room piano which is furnished with a shot of rye, a bottle of beer, cigarettes, an ashtray and a small candle with a blue pool table lamp above Waits' head. The back cover art is minimal and only features a photograph of Waits staring directly into the camera, reputedly taken after one of Waits' performance at The Troubadour.[21] Both photographs were taken by Ed Caraeff
Tom Waits began his musical career in 1970, performing every Monday night at The Troubadour, a venue in Los Angeles, California. Waits' setlist at these series of shows, described as "hootenanny nights", consisted primarily of Bob Dylan covers, although it included songs which would later appear on Closing Time and its successor, The Heart of Saturday Night (1974). Among the songs performed were "Ice Cream Man", "Virginia Avenue", "Ol' '55", "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You", "Shiver Me Timbers" and "Diamonds on my Windshield." Around this time, Waits began working as a doorman at a San Diego, California, club, The Heritage, which was a coffee house by day. In November 1970, Waits performed his first paid show at The Heritage, earning $25 for his performance. At a Troubadour performance in summer 1971, Herb Cohen inadvertently spotted Waits and became his manager. Through Cohen's contacts, Waits recorded demos in Los Angeles in late summer 1971 with producer Robert Duffey, later released as The Early Years in two volumes, against Waits' wishes. In order to focus on his career, Waits relocated from San Diego to Los Angeles in early 1972 and performed more frequently at The Troubadour, where David Geffen discovered him performing "Grapefruit Moon." The performance, which "floored" Geffen, led Geffen to negotiate with Waits' manager Cohen, and Waits signed to Asylum Records within a month.