{"id":669,"date":"2014-02-07T17:17:18","date_gmt":"2014-02-07T17:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/batterymedia.com\/blog\/?p=669"},"modified":"2014-03-20T20:36:46","modified_gmt":"2014-03-20T20:36:46","slug":"rs-416-tom-waits-mule-variations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/batterymedia.com\/blog\/?p=669","title":{"rendered":"RS #416: Tom Waits, Mule Variations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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#416<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Tom Waits, Mule Variations<\/em><\/h3>\n

Release Date:<\/strong>\u00a01999
\nPreviously Owned:<\/strong>\u00a0Yes
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“I didn’t marry I man. I married a mule,” Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits’ wife<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Impressions: <\/strong>Tom Waits is a good candidate as any to be immune from the dreaded late-career album doldrums. He always seemed like a old guy on the inside with his whiskey and cigarette rasp, beatnik\/bluesy subject matter and general craggy demeanor, so naturally it would follow that could age nicely into his persona. He never really went away, but Mule Variations<\/em> at the time was well regarded as a “comeback.” Let’s put it on\u2026 The lo-fi, junkyard percussion blasts in on the odd-ball boast opening track “Big In Japan” and lets you know he’s not reinventing the wheel, just refining his style. He sounds more natural on this record than early in his career when he would sometimes strain to sound like Howlin’\u00a0Wolf. “Hold On” is a gentle, heartbreaking ballad as good as anything in his catalog. A cracked, beautiful masterpiece. The bluesy “Get Behind The Mule” is a nice showcase for \u00a0Waits’ secret weapon, guitarist Smokey Hormel. He provides deft support throughtout, never overwhelming the tunes.\u00a0For all the high points of this album, I forgot how his albums can get caught in an slow-paced undertow for periods (i.e., “Cold Water,” “Pony,” and “Black Market Baby.”) Honestly, I thought I remembered liking this album better when it came out, but maybe my brain edited out the sluggish patches.\u00a0Despite this, when everything comes together, Waits is capable of getting to me emotionally like few artists can. Maybe it’s his impossibly sad, spare piano sound that is somehow has a direct connection to my heart, I don’t know. In the end, the album won me back with strong run at the end with the jaunty “Philipino Box Spring Hog,” the heartbreaking “Take It With Me” and the soulful “Come On Up To The House” has wry but uplifting lyrics like “All your cryin don’t do no good\/Come on up to the house\/Come down off the cross\/We can use the wood.”Starred Songs:<\/strong>\u00a0 “Big In Japan,” “Hold On”
\nSneaky Track:\u00a0<\/strong>“Philipino Box Spring Hog,” “Come On Up To The House”
\nShould this album be on the\u00a0list?\u00a0<\/strong>Yes
\nWill you listen to this again?<\/strong>\u00a0Yes<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Verdict:<\/strong>\u00a0Solid late-career entry for the incomparable Waits drags in the middle, but it has a batch of his all-time best songs make it a classic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 (If it was cut down to 45 minutes (LP length,) I might rank it higher.)
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