Due October 25, “Bad As Me” is being billed as a pivotal work that refines the music that has come before and signals a new direction. Waits worked with a veteran team of gifted musicians and longtime co-writer/producer/wife Kathleen Brennan.
From the opening horn-fueled chug of “Chicago,” to the closing barroom chorale of “New Year’s Eve,” “Bad As Me” displays the full career range of Waits’ songwriting, from beautiful ballads like “Last Leaf,” to the avant cinematic soundscape of “Hell Broke Luce,” a battlefront dispatch.
On tracks like “Talking at the Same Time,” Waits shows off a supple falsetto, while on blues burners like “Raised Right Men” and the gospel tinged “Satisfied” he spits, stutters and howls.
Like a good boxer, these songs are lean and mean, with strong hooks and tight running times. A pervasive sense of players delighting in each other’s musical company brings a feeling of loose joy even to the album’s saddest songs.
“Bad As Me” will be available in a deluxe version that includes three bonus tracks and a 40 page book of lyrics and photos taken by Waits himself; the project will also be available on vinyl, which will include the LP and CD, plus full-size 12-page book.
The title track is also the first single and available now…check out the track below.
Tom put together a plan for a private listening party for himself and fans….check out the video below.
Tom Waits
“Bad As Me”
Release date: October 25, 2011
01. Chicago
02. Raised Right Men
03. Talking At The Same Time
04. Get Lost
05. Face To The Highway
06. Pay Me
07. Back In The Crowd
08. Bad As Me
09. Kiss Me
10. Satisfied
11. Last Leaf
12. Hell Broke Luce
13. New Year's Eve
Tom Waits – "Bad As Me" private listening party (2011)
Tom Waits Tom Waits – Bad As Me (audio only) (2011)
See also:
Tom Waits: New single due next week
VIDEO: Tom Waits, Neil Young at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
