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“No, thanks” might not have been the exact words executives at Elektra/Asylum, Tom Waits’ original label, communicated to their “prestige” artist when declining to release Swordfishtrombones (1983) project. But the message was clear; this was too far outside of even the amorphous, non-commercial boundaries Waits had established on his initial seven titles, circa 1973-’80, for the imprint.

It didn’t take any convincing though for Island Records’ president Chris Blackwell to welcome Waits and his radical new direction to his company. What followed were four additional studio recordings for the label (along with a smattering of soundtracks and a live set) that many consider the zenith of Waits’ still-evolving career.