Tom Waits: “Bad as Me”

Tom Waits is back!!!!

How in the world do you review Tom Waits? You can’t compare him to anything. You can’t predict what the album may sound like because he lays low and doesn’t tour. So saying that, this album sounds like exactly like Tom Waits. There is growling. There are love songs. There is abrasiveness. There is beauty. But, mainly, there is music that is unmatched by anyone in the past 30 years. In his first true album since 2004, Waits surprises without surprising, which is something he has mastered and you can really only know if you are into Tom Waits. If you are not familiar with Tom Waits, a review won’t do anything (and you better become familiar!). Jay Leno once wrote something that stated it’s impossible to describe a Far Side (if you’re not into Far Side you should be!) comic without sounding like an idiot and completely diluting the importance and brilliance of the comic. It’s exactly the same with Tom Waits. You can’t understand Tom Waits without experiencing Tom Waits. Play this album because this is the music that college radio gravitates around!

Reviewed by: A happy Zachary Graham on October 27th, 2011

Recommended Tracks: All! Upbeat songs: 1!, 2!, 4, 8. Slow songs: 3, 5, 6, 7, 9!, 11, 13

FCC Warning: 10, 12

Label: Anti-

Release Date: October 25th, 2011