Here is a snippet from E-Pulse about the new Tom Waits:
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CONTENT / January 15, 1999
1. RECORD OF THE WEEK:
A new disc by TOM WAITS is always cause for celebration, and 'MULE
VARIATIONS' (Epitaph, due in March), his first full record of fresh
material since '93's 'The Black Rider,' doesn't disappoint. While none of
the 16 new tracks would have sounded out of place on '92's Grammy-winning
'Bone Machine,' Waits' percussion-and-distorto-vocal outings ("Big in
Japan," "Lowside of the Road") and rough-hewn, down-trodden ballads
("Georgia Lee," "House Where Nobody Lives") still sound powerful and
compelling. "What's He Building?" is a creepy spoken-word exploration of a
shadowy, perhaps sinister, figure and his mysterious project, and it comes
from the same subterranean mental cavern as 'Bone Machine''s "The Ocean
Doesn't Want Me." Meanwhile, "Chocolate Jesus" gets more mileage out of
the rooster crows heard a time or two in Waits' back catalog. "Get Behind
the Mule" digs deep into the blues tradition a la "Jesus Gonna Be Here,"
with muddy electric guitar and harp trading licks beneath vignettes of
dirty deals and lost love. It's musical and thematic terrain Waits has
covered time and again in the last decade and a half. But considering the
astonishing musical merits of his most recent handful of efforts--'Mule
Variations' included--it's rich terrain indeed. Now all we need is for
Waits to play out. (Hammad)
