Producer Bones Howe said that he and Waits conceived Foreign Affairs as a ‘black and white movie,’ and everything from the cobalt-tinted album cover to the similarly smoky material within captures this noir-ish sensibility. Side one in particular maintains this pulpy, Raymond Chandler atmosphere with the aid of lounge piano, saxophone solos and songs about hiding from memories in whiskey bars. Waits even flirts with Bette Midler on the unlikely duet “I Never Talk To Strangers,” whose lyrics are little more than a transcription of singles bar repartee. Side two retains the jazzy, lush arrangements but adds an orchestra for the mazy and cinematic “Potter’s Field.” Still, it is only the vivid and mysterious “Burma Shave” that truly redeems this dull entry in a catalog that is anything but.