On the heels of being inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame, Tom Waits releases another of his many works of art, Bad As Me. This has everything in the Waits canon: beautiful ballad-types, bizarre outsider sounds, memorable story-songs, great lyrics. A few of Tom’s latest characters: Mackey Debiasi, Gunplay Maxwell, Flat Nose George. A few of Tom’s support cast: Larry Taylor, Marc Ribot (who’s got one of the most disctinctive guitars in music and a long time Waits sideman), Augie Myers, Flea, Les Claypool, David Hidalgo, Charlie Musselwhite, his son Casey on drums, and Keith Richards on vocals and guitar. An absolute killer of an album, and, definitely, one of his best. Included are 3 bonus songs which appear on the deluxe CD package (#14, 15, 16). FCC #12.

*My Favorites*: All, of course.

1. (2:15) Mid. Ominous, staccato horns, driving with drums, gutiar, harmonica as the train leaves, fade-out.
2. (3:24) Mid. Augie on the Halloween organ, Tom on the tabla, Flea on subdued, but funky bass. ‘It takes a raised right man to keep a happy hen’.
3. (4:14) Slow / Mid. High-register vocal, very swampy and dark. ‘someone makes money when there’s blood in the street’. Great piano, guitar.
4. (2:42) Mid / Fast. Upbeat, channeling some ’50’s R n R stylings. ‘Roll down all the windows / turn up Wolfman Jack / please, please love me tender / ain’t nothing wrong with that’. Fade-out with Spanish lyrics. Kick ass.
5. (3:43) Slow / Mid. Dreamy, swirly keys, cool percussion. Spacey, mellow and beautiful.
6. (3:14) Slow / Mid. Accordion, vibes, violin lend a carnival feel. Song about performing on the road. Great vocal.
7. (2:49) Slow / Mid. Guitars, brushes on drums, blocks. Heartbreaking beautiful number. Spanish guitar styling. Highly recommended.
8. (3:10) Mid. Title track. Mean horn, pounding beat, harmonica, wailing vocal. Killer.
9. (3:41) Slow. Guitar, bass, piano, vocal, very sparse. Crackling fire or playing vinyl backdrop.
10. (4:05) Mid / Fast. Nod to the Stones, featuring Richards on vocal and guitar. Horns out the gate, Claypool bass, great Ribot guitar, classic Tom vocal wailings. Killer breakdown, Musselwhite harmonica, swirling keys. Great ending. Kicks ass.
11. (2:56) Slow. Last leaf as metaphor for an aging musician. Duet with Richards. Guitar, bass, pump organ, great lyrics. Really beautiful.
12. (3:57) Mid / Fast. FCC. Warning: this song will change you!! Song about a soldier and his experience. This may be the most haunting, disturbing song ever written. Frightening horns, Ribot’s guitar will scare, Tom’s vocal is infectious. Machine gun guitar. Almost a carnival ending with Ribot going off on guitar. Heavy shit.
13. (4:26) Mid. Accordion gives this a Mexican sound. Very mellow, heartbreaking and beautiful. Incorporates Robert Burns’ ‘Auld Lang Syne’ poem.
14. (2:51) Mid. Big drum, horns, bass. A bit sparse, great vocal, fades out.
15. (3:43) Mid. Beautiful guitar, shaker, bass, violin. Lyrics structured a bit like Bob Dylan’s ‘Seven Curses’. Great stuff.
16. (2:47) Mid. Great vocal. Eerie with organ, cool guitar.