Music review – Tom Waits: Bad as Me

Tom Waits
Bad As Me
Anti- Records

Despite the fact that Tom Wait’s Bad As Me is the 20th record in his 40-year career, its rock- and jazz-influenced sound is as vibrant as ever. The album harkens back to his back catalogue, specifically to “Goin’ Out West” and “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” on 1992’s Bone Machine. Bad as Me proves to be a good assortment for new fans by giving the listener a nice overview of his music.

Unless you ordered a copy ahead of time, you will get 13 different tracks to go through.  “Talking At The Same Time” seems to be talking about world issues and how they are all strewn together in the news in a confusing manner, while ”Kiss Me” is a soft-paced song about an aged relationship where he wants the spark back like when they were strangers. “Hell Broke Luce” is one badass song, filled with energetic-war-perspective lyrics. “Satisfied” is an obvious poke at The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction,” but where Jagger and the Stones couldn’t get any satisfaction, it’s clear that any listener of Bad As Me will.

Leland Foley
Contributor