Tom Verlaine Songs And Other Things (LP, colored Vinyl)

(Real Gone Music) 14 tracks, colored vinyl in teal blue

Songs and Other Things was the last record Tom Verlaine released in the same year as the purely instrumental Around. As the title suggests, this was indeed a return to lyrics and vocals, the first record of “songs” since 1990's The Wonder (though the first song, “A Parade in Littleton” - one of the “Other Things” - is a low-key, funky instrumental that would have been right at home on a late Talking Heads album).
The time away clearly allowed Verlaine to build up a substantial body of compositions, with “Nice Actress” and “The Earth Is in the Sky” among the highlights. The record also marks a welcome return of Verlaine's enigmatic lyrics, which as always make you scratch your head but somehow make intuitive sense. But in the end, it's the amazing guitar work - ably assisted by Fred Smith of Television and Jay Dee Daugherty of The Patti Smith Group and others - that elevates Songs and Other Things to must-hear status, worthy of its prominent position as the final release of Tom Verlaine's career. Bassist and original recording engineer Patrick Derivaz mastered the album for its vinyl debut; Verlaine's longtime partner Jutta Koether provides annotations.