For this second track from Franks Wild Years, we reach for the party and find more of a casual gathering as Waits paints the picture of a lunatic egotist in the midst of a frenzy. As a first of two versions of this track, we embark on some discussion of the nature of the rumba, the lack of relationship between the song and the arrangement (and the pitch to the bongo tuning), and begin to get a sense already for the shape of the album as a whole.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Straight To The Top (Rhumba), Franks Wild Years, Tom Waits (1987)
Rumba Azul, Rumba International!, Lecuona Cuban Boys (1935/2015)
Log into the Spotify web player to hear these tracks.