Mule Variations
by Tom Waits

A unique and interesting release from an artist with one of the most consistent discographies in the history of music. This record feels really dark and gritty right from the opening song and it possesses this bluesy feel to it which I love and it really suits his vocal work. He does cross into a few genres on this album and that keeps it enjoyable for the full run time as you never know what your going to get from track to track. It is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster as well and can go from deeply disturbing on What's He Building? to tear jerking on Georgia Lee and you have to admire the quality it takes to do this. His vocal is phenomenal as always and the instrumentation is just as exciting, diverse and experimental as you would expect on a Waits record. To go through every outstanding instrumental performance on this record would take hours so the vital ones that are the most effective and important are the piano, blues harp, bass and all the percussion. Despite this, the one weakness I have with the record is that there are a few filler tracks which does make the record drag for the 70 minute run time. It would be better if it was cut to a 50 minute mark and then it would rival the quality of his better albums. Overall, another elite album by Waits who is on a dark path on this record and he really takes you on this journey with him and we are really blessed to be able to do that.

Excellent record.

From Sandrof1969 02/18/2018 17:08 | #208696

Ottimo disco, qualche grande canzone, ma anche i primi segni di imbolsimento...

Now I wasn't a Tom Waits fan. Albums like Rain Dogs put me off of this man. However, this album right here is completely amazing. A mix of folk, muffled rock, beautiful ballads and southern jazz won me over. His voice on this record is husky but also down to earth. Even when the subject matter can be dark. And their is multiple tracks that are just incredible that you can have a fun time but also have songs like House Where Nobody Lives or Georgia Lee that are legitimate tearjerkers. If anybody is having a hard time listening to Tom Waits and think he is weird, listen to this album at least once. You may have the same reaction as me and think this album is amazing. Oh and if people are worried about the length of this album, don't worry it goes by really quickly that you would be surprised that it was 70 minutes long.

It had been six years since Tom Waits' last album when he released, mule variations, in 1999. In a way, it was his most conservative release for a while, although it is difficult to describe an album as conservative when it features songs such as, eyeball kid, and, Filipino box spring hog. Either way, it was still an accessible record by Tom Waits standards. Stii, this didn't detract anything from the music, mule variations, features some of Waits' best writing for years. Opener, big in Japan, is an excellent dirty rock track, and this high quality is consistent through the whole album. From the bluesy, get behind the mule, to the Springsteen-ish, hold on, the beautiful ballad, the house where nobody lives, and the sublime, what's he building, surely Waits' greatest narration track ever. Elsewhere, the high standard continues with, Georgia Lee, pony, take it with me, and the aforementioned, Filipino box spring hog. The LP is actually my joint favourite Tom Waits album with, rain dogs, and catches Tom with arguably his best collection of compositions ever. Fantastic.

Tom Waits is so much fun.

From swhaze 10/20/2014 18:30 | #124891

The first sound you hear on pressing play is a grinding, grating blues tune with heavily distorted, humorous lyrics. It's hard to distinguish this song from noise. And for a moment, you think this album may be hard to listen to, even for a Tom Waits album. As the first few songs progress, though, something strange begins to unfold. Waits is doing more than entertaining his own love of outcasts. He's doing more than having fun with styles and words.

From Decurso 08/12/2014 13:55 | #119275

As others have said, this is incredibly engaging, and I prefer it even to Rain dogs. It invokes such a wide range of moods and emotions....from from the self-deprecating humor of Big in Japan, to the gut-wrenching sentiment of Hold On, to the sheer creepiness of What's He Building....there isn't a bad song on this album.

From Mercury 07/02/2014 05:26 | #115821

Yeah, I really love this record. From start to finish I find it to be really engaging and interesting and really effective at all the moods and styles it tries to take on. The slow numbers are just really sad and romantic. And the louder and more abrasive numbers are equal parts funny and disturbing. Lyrically he is great here as well. I feel the lyrics on "Take It With Me" are stunning because they really carry the whole song as the musical accompaniment is very minimal, and the mood is very hushed and intimate. To me that song feels like a quiet conversation with Tom or whatever character he is playing, about his life and the love he's had and lost and his philosophy and his adentures. It's breathtaking! The opening lines of "The phone's off the hook. No one knows where we are. It's a long time since I drank champagne. The ocean is blue, as blue as your eyes." Just sets up the whole track beautifully.

And this album has similar tender successes with the simple, blues style lyrics of "Picture In A frame" and the rambling songwriting gem "Hold On".

As for the more wild and raucous side, everything from the opener "Big In Japan", and "Chocolate Jesus", "Eyeball Kid" (HAIL HAIL! THE EYEBALL KID!/... He doesn't have a body! Not even a brow!") and "Filipino Box Spring Hog" all work and are funny and enjoyable.

There's also other aspects to this album. There's a whole folk side to it. But it's not a simple guitar and vocal rendition of folk and roots, it's a down and dirty rendition. Waits really knows how to get to the essence and spirit of old time music - folk, blues, work songs, etc. but he does it with his own stamp or style all over it. Great examples of this on this album are standouts like "Get Behind The mule", "Georgia Lee", "Cold Water" (especially love this song to its core) and the old time preacher gospel of "Come On Up To The house" which also happens to be a PERFECT and super uplifting closer to this master work.

In closing, this thing just features almost everything I love about Mr. Waits. He's such a musical genius and such an important artist in my life. And I feel this is his best album and most well rounded and consistent, bar none. I think it's got a better sound and production than "Rain Dogs" and some of his earlier albums and it balances songs with experiments better here than on some of his other modern (last 30 years) classics. Yeah, this is honestly the best album of his. But there are so few bad ones it's wild.

This album is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! If you love this, also check out "Alice" and "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers an Bastards". He really hasn't released a whole lot of less than great stuff in the last, oh, 40+ years.

From meccalecca 05/07/2014 22:31 | #111116

Out near the swamp sits a strange old man who claims to have the answers you're looking for.