1977's Foreign Affairs takes the jazz and poetry that Tom Waits explored on his earlier albums in a more cinematic direction, foreshadowing his own breakthrough work in the '80s. Opening with the instrumental "Cinny's Waltz" and featuring some new standards like "Muriel" and "I Never Talk To Strangers", his dramatic duet with Bette Midler, this album gets into some of Waits' most ambitious storytelling ever.

Foreign Affairs also features the jazzy, colorful "Jack and Neil" and the sweeping, dramatic "Potters Field" as well as classic Waits ballads "Burma Shave" and "Sight for Sore Eyes."