Bone Machine

by Tom Waits

Overview

Perhaps Tom Waits' most cohesive album, Bone Machine is a morbid, sinister nightmare, one that applied the quirks of his experimental '80s classics to stunningly evocative -- and often harrowing -- effect. In keeping with the title's grotesque image of the human body, Bone Machine is obsessed with decay and mortality, the ease with which earthly existence can be destroyed. The arrangements are accordingly stripped of all excess flesh; the very few, often non-traditional instruments float in distinct separation over the clanking junkyard percussion that dominates the record. It's a chilling, primal sound made all the more otherworldly (or, perhaps, underworldly) by Waits' raspy falsetto and often-distorted roars and growls. Matching that evocative power is Waits' songwriting, which is arguably the most consistently focused it's ever been. Rich in strange and extraordinarily vivid imagery, many of Waits' tales and musings are spun against an imposing backdrop of apocalyptic natural fury, underlining the insignificance of his subjects and their universally impending doom. Death is seen as freedom for the spirit, an escape from the dread and suffering of life in this world -- which he paints as hellishly bleak, full of murder, suicide, and corruption. The chugging, oddly bouncy beats of the more uptempo numbers make them even more disturbing -- there's a detached nonchalance beneath the horrific visions. Even the narrator of the catchy, playful "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" seems hopeless in this context, but that song paves the way for the closer "That Feel," an ode to the endurance of the human soul (with ultimate survivor Keith Richards on harmony vocals). The more upbeat ending hardly dispels the cloud of doom hanging over the rest of Bone Machine, but it does give the listener a gentler escape from that terrifying sonic world. All of it adds up to Waits' most affecting and powerful recording, even if it isn't his most accessible. ~ Steve Huey

Product Details

Release Date:	10/06/2023
Label:	Island / Umr
UPC:	0602448898470
Rank:	12613

Tracks

1. The Earth Died Screaming
2. Dirt In The Ground
3. Such A Scream
4. All Stripped Down
5. Who Are You
6. The Ocean Doesn't Want Me
7. Jesus Gonna Be Here
8. A Little Rain
9. In The Colosseum
10. Goin' Out West
11. Murder In The Red Barn
12. Black Wings
13. Whistle Down The Wind
14. I Don't Wanna Grow Up
15. Let Me Get Up On It
16. That Feel

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tom Waits   Primary Artist,Drums,Piano,Stick,Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards,Chamberlin,Percussion,Double Bass,Bass (Upright)
Ralph Carney   Guest Artist,Sax (Alto),Sax (Tenor),Clarinet (Bass)
David Hidalgo   Guest Artist,Violin,Accordion
Les Claypool   Guest Artist,Bass,Bass (Electric)
Keith Richards   Guest Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Joe Gore   Guitar
Joe Marquez   Banjo,Stick,Percussion
Waddy Wachtel   Guitar
Kathleen Brennan   Stick,Percussion
Brian "Brain" Mantia   Drums
Larry Taylor   Bass,Guitar,Double Bass,Guitar,Bass (Upright)
Brain   Drums
Richard Wachtel   Guitar
David Phillips   Guitar (Steel)

Technical Credits

Kathleen Brennan   Producer,Composer,Associate Producer
Tchad Blake   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Biff Dawes   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Joe Blaney   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Joe Marquez   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Mixing Engineer
Tom Waits   Composer,Producer
Keith Richards   Composer
Bill Dawes   Engineer
Sean Michael Morris   Engineer