Record Boy Ink:

I think Tom Waits is great. Here’s a guy who after almost 25 years as a recording artist, refuses to be pegged. Is he a found noise performance artist, a soul-searching balladeer or a true bluesman with hellhounds on his trail? He’s all of the above and more.

On his first new album in six years, MULE VARIATIONS (epitaph… yeah the heavy metal label!) Waits delivers a triumphant album of 15 songs, 12 of which were co-written with his wife Kathleen Brennan, and a spoken word piece that captures modern suburban paranoia called "What’s He Building?". So many of these songs are bound to filter into other peoples repertoire ( Lessee now, the Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart are among those who’ve covered Tom before…). "Hold On", "Picture In A Frame", "House Where Nobody Lives", "Georgia Lee" and "Take It With ME", are ripe for the picking.

My favorite songs on the albums are the haunting blues numbers. Tom seems to channel both Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson through him when he sings. Smokey Hormel ( from Beck’s band) plays some great guitar and dobro and Charlie Musselwhite makes a splendid guest star on several tracks.

Of course Waits’ sense of humor is what has always appealed to me through the years and he doesn’t disappoint here. Especially funny throughout are "Eyeball Kid" ( about someone born without a body…just an eyeball) and "Chocolate Jesus" ( The singers preferred way to see God). However, the best lyric that makes me laugh every time I think about it is in "Come On Up To The House". In a wonderful admonishment to someone feeling way too sorry for themselves, Tom sings " Come down off the cross- we can use the wood…"

Record Boy welcomes Tom Waits back with an enthusiastic recommendation.

Listen and enjoy!