Culture Blues

Album Review: “Bad As Me” – Tom Waits

Bad As Me - Tom Waits

If you ever bothered to turn on the radio these days, and listened to your town’s most popular station, you would hear the aural equivalent of factory conveyor belts. It is easy to dismiss the inherent similarities of everything enjoyed by the proletariat (or deemed popular) as merely “the sound of the times,” but my cynical ears perceive an undercurrent of dormancy within this artistic inertia. To be fair, it takes a substantial modicum of bravery to fly in the face of sonic conventions; in most cases an artist takes monetary risks, and faces the possibility of having their unique vision ridiculed and lambasted by both the bourgeoisie and critics alike. Tom Waits soars in the face of sonic conventions with a peerless voice and uncompromising musical aesthetics that for close to thirty years have made him a singular artist who does what he does, no matter the consequences.

Bad As Me is Waits' 17th studio album, and his first LP of completely new work since 2004’s politically charged Real Gone. Over 13 tracks spanning nearly 45 minutes, Waits reacquaints his listeners with his greatness in a surprisingly vibrant fashion. Don’t get me wrong, like everyone else with two ears and taste, I was very much looking forward to hearing Bad As Me, but I could not have anticipated that the 61 year old Waits would start off his record with a track as loose and rollicking as Chicago. The record’s tremendous opener is followed by Raised Right Men, a track which sputters and lurches forward with a momentum that is as unorthodox as it is superb. Other examples of Waits’ potently animated saunter on Bad As Me are Get Lost, Hell Broke Luce, and the album’s title track, all of which show that he has lost no vitality or verve in the last seven years (I wish the same could be said about all of us).

Of course there is more to Bad As Me than its swing and swagger (don't you dare, that word existed before Tyler The Creator). Take a song like Pay Me, for instance, which evokes such stately elegance that it sounds like it has been part of our romantic collective memory, like sonnets and candlelight. Then there is Back In The Crowd, a track whose music take you back to an era that can only be seen in black and white. And let us not forget Kiss Me, which was produced so immaculately that your brain will swear you are listening to vinyl and not MP3. Finally, there is Bad As Me’s last track, New Year’s Eve, which has an arrangement both familiar and exquisite, and will, thanks to it’s Auld Lang Syne motif, no doubt be playing at a lot of intensely hip end of the year parties next month.

There is no doubt that Tom Waits is the star of this show, but I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to praise the supporting cast of Bad As Me. First there is his wife and longtime collaborator, Kathleen Brennan, whose role as muse and co-creator is as crucial to any Waits record as his trademark croak. Next on the list would have to be his band leader Marc Ribbot, who helps direct a lot of the musical splendor. And of course, David Hidalgo, a man who can seemingly play any instrument, and adds profound twinkle and spark to the proceedings. Throw in some top veteran session players, and some celebrity participation from the one and only Keith Richards, along with bassists Flea and Les Claypool and it is easy to see why this record sounds as sublime as it does.

With the release of Bad As Me, Tom Waits has returned in top form, which is great news and gives us all hope that we can still be spirited and dynamic in our sixties.