The outcome of this review is a foregone conclusion. I borrowed this album from Deal Library when it was released, and a friend who had this new fangled CD copying technology made us both a copy. It's been a firm favourite ever since, yet I only picked a genuine copy up for myself recently, in a bulk buy on EBay.
Waits had, by this album, moved far beyond the 1970s singer/songwriter days, and developed his own style via some of his 1980s albums, which are often more cited as landmarks, but for me still lack some depth. But I feel it all comes together here. It's a wonderful mix of the growl, the sparse and crackly arrangement, interspersed with a number of songs so beautiful it hurts.
Big In Japan opens, a forceful growl, starting off with a very percussive backing, adding brass as it gets going, then Lowside Of The Road, laidback, minimal and into the utterly fantastic Hold On, a simple, gentle and beautiful song. And so it continues - Get Behind The Mule another minimal bluesy number is followed by the utterly lovely House Where Nobody Lives.
Cold Water has a singlong feel to it, as well as some lovely guitar work from Marc Ribot, Pony is slower and more reflective, then the baffling, bonkers yet wonderful What's He Building? - a spoken prose piece, accompanied by industrial noises (a song that still frightens my kids!).
And the quality continues - slower songs like Black Market Baby, a story ballad in Georgia Lee, the hilariously satirical Chocolate Jesus, and the tear jerkingly beautiful Picture In A Frame, climaxing with the finale, the powerful welcome Come On Up To The House, a fantastic conclusion to a great album.
This is still my favourite Tom Waits album, and the one where I thought I really 'got' Waits. It's an absolute belter, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
5* - a fantastic collection of Waits' songs, showing him at his best.
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