Tom Waits is a veteran in the music world. Spanning his nearly 40-year career, Waits has produced over a dozen albums to varying success. Given his tenure as a musician, this poses the question “does this grizzled old man have anything to say about our generation?”

The answer? Hell yes. Bad As Me is an album infused with commentary on contemporary social issues like war, poverty, and the decline of a conducive political climate. Just like his previous albums, Tom Waits is directing a narrative. His unique style positions himself as a literary drifter—a hobo poet of sorts—“spinning the yarn” of the average man. This content is a staple for Waits’ music, and it is expected that he would not break away from this formula.

Musically, “Bad As Me” is a sporadic, multi-genre, cesspool. There are influences from all over the music spectrum, including rock, folk, acoustic, jazz, and blues, with an industrial metallic percussion. It’s the musical equivalent of taking a “Best of the ‘60’s” CD compilation and pushing it through an industrial strength blender in an iron mill. The signature that ties the chaos together, though, is Tom Waits’ voice. For those unfamiliar, Waits’ voice has been described as being “soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car,” which is a fair but critical description. But his smoky resonance carries well through the fast, rockabilly swing of tracks like “Raised Right Men” and “Get Lost”, and coasts over the slower ballads like “Kiss Me” and “New Year’s Eve”.

And now for the big question: will you enjoy it? Flip a coin and run the stats. Tom Waits’ career has been dotted with success and failure. What puts “Bad As Me” in the forefront is that the bitter old man is addressing our social climate for a change. Listeners who enjoy a diverse sampling of early rock fusion will align themselves with this album. Variety is the gumbo of life, and Tom Waits is the extra bourbon-soaked kick.

8.5/10

By: Nash Hott

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