By / Heather Seidler
October 25th is quickly approaching—the day I’ve been patiently awaiting for seven years. Mark your music calendars for that long-awaited day that Tom Waits’ releases his first studio album Bad As Me in seven years. He teams up again with his skillful wife and longtime co-writer/producer Kathleen Brennan to create thirteen all new songs, possibly the finest of his career.
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 lissome falsetto, while on blues burners like “Raised Right Men” and the gospel tinged “Satisfied” he spits, stutters and howls in true Waits fashion. 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 available October 25th.
Pre-order Bad As Me at the Tom Waits Store.
Get the “Bad As Me” MP3 at your favorite digital retailer.
Bad As Me Tracklisting
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