When discussing Tom Waits’ 2004 album Real Gone, I used the concept of the essential nature of a pair of blue jeans to illustrate how that record could be used to get at what Waits’ music is all about. It could be seen as an introductory album of sorts, one with a high score on the “Waits-y Scale.”
Much of the idea of Waits’ essential nature revolves around the fact that there is nearly equal interest in his music and his persona. We don’t really know what Tom Waits the man is like, but the image of a cranky guy in a garage full of calliope parts, bullhorn collections, and a rusted-out Nash Metropolitan? Well, it’s kind of compelling.
Why, I’ll never forget the time me and TheWife™ were out walking the dog and discovered that one of the neighbors’ goats had gotten loose and was wandering around their house. As we passed by their open barn, I half-expected to see ‘ole Tom in there, tinkering around amongst the rolls of fencing wire and farm implements.
Bad As Me, released on Oct. 21, 2011, had that kind of effect on me. Waits and co-producer Kathleen Brennan put together a smart and eclectic collection of tunes employing a tremendous cast of guest musicians including: Marc Ribot on guitar, Keith Richards on guitar and vocals, and Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica. Together, the group delivered a set of short but focused songs that spanned a wide range of Waits-isms, both old and new.
The decision to keep the songs short (the longest coming in at only 4:30) made the set play out like a series of stylistic vignettes. There were the barn-shaking rockers: “Satisfied,” the opening endorphin-shuffle of “Chicago,” the R&B boogie of “Get Lost,” and the lopsided bump and grind of the title track. And spooky film-noir escapades: “Face the Highway,” “Talking at the Same Time” (with delicious twangy guitar), and “Kiss Me,” with the line “Kiss me like a stranger once again” set off so perfectly against the bluesy piano and acoustic bass.
Waits also added a twist to his canon of romantic muses with the beautiful Latin-tinged “Back in the Crowd,” as well as the touching “Last Leaf,” a duet with Keith Richards.
Bad As Me ended with a pair of contrasting songs. Both dealt with situational breakdowns (the inherent mess of war and its aftermath vs. a relationship flying apart) but were presented in completely different musical contexts. “Hell Broke Luce” was all noisy clatter and boot-stomp while “New Year’s Eve” was a waltz that draped romantic music (including a very affecting morph into “Auld Lang Syne”) over sad happenstances. Great stuff.
Looking back now, maybe Real Gone wasn’t the best introduction to Tom Waits’ music. I might suggest a mashup of Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs. Or maybe you should just get a copy of Bad As Me … but give it a first listen in your garage.
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