Bone Machine

To the esteemed Princeton University Admissions Committee, Thank you, in advance, for taking the time to review my admissions essay. Becoming a student at Princeton would fulfill a life long dream and I am honored to be able to apply. It’s certainly uncommon for someone of my age, with an established career, to be applying for college into their 40’s, but I believe I am uniquely qualified to attend your university and after regaling you with this true story, I think you’ll agree: Several years ago, while shopping for records at the nearby Princeton Record Exchange, I was asked by a student from your University (easily identifiable because of his Princeton University hooded sweatshirt, backwards ball cap and worn out Sperry’s), if I knew “where they keep the Tom Waits records.” “I checked the ‘T’ section….nothing there,” he added. “Try the ‘W’ section,” I suggested to him. “They sort artists by last name.” “Oh, wow”, he sighed, with a sense of overwhelmed exasperation. “I wouldn’t have thought of that”, he said, making his way to the W section, where a likely treasure trove of Tom Waits on wax awaited him. As he searched through the W section and I continued my crate digging, a sense of pride washed over me: “Holy fuck,” I thought. “I could have got into Princeton.” Hence, my reasoning for writing this essay. As I wrote earlier, I think my qualification for admittance into your fine school speaks for itself. I have a solid grasp on alphabetical sorting and categorization and a keen ability to help others solve their problems in a quick and efficient manner. Plus, I’m not half-bad at math. I look forward to my inevitable acceptance to your school and hope to provide forward thinking leadership amongst the students. Thank you once again for taking the time to review my application for admission. Go Tigers!

my dude needs a throat lozenge and some bed rest.

This is my 3rd Tom waits album on this list and I have accepted by now that I will never understand it. I like a lot of music that can be dissonant, weird, borderline unprofessional, out of tune, not on beat, etc. But Tom Waits is always part mediocre folk and part garbage noises with this weird muppet sounding dude trying to sing over it, but failing because he misread the label and started swallowing chewing tobacco I can't

Tom Waits is nothing if not authentic, a veritable machine of authenticity right down to the bone. He lives, bleeds, drinks, sings, howls… and one day will die… authentically. Not necessarily pretty or polite. But bona fide. And I’ll take a real ‘sinner’ any day over an artificial ‘saint.’ Billy Joel was wrong, incidentally, about the sinners having much more fun. It’s not that they don’t sometimes experience pleasurable things (one of the reasons people self-medicate with alcohol and drugs is partly due to how good it feels, at least until it don’t no more), but the sinners that populate 'Bone Machine' (and every other Waits’ album I can think of) are more often than not wounded and suffering from life situations. Jesus tells my favorite story from his collection about two brothers, the younger of which could easily be counted among the many outcast, unclean characters Waits writes about. The older is morally perfect; except for his feeling of entitlement, as if he has earned and deserves his father’s blessing. The younger screws it all up, suffers the consequences of his actions, then becomes very self-aware and goes back home seeking forgiveness, of which his father, thankfully, is only too happy and eager to give. One of the many take-a-ways in this story is that those who pursue meritocracy in their relationship with the Creator and the Creator’s creation, sadly, may never know the joy of grace. Waits’ characters may be dissolute, but they are also in a perfect position to be the joyful, grateful recipients of grace. Would you rather be inside the house in Jesus’ story, a symbol of heaven, with all the other happy partying forgiven sinners, or outside by your own refusal because you feel as if you've earned an invitation while the rest of the losers have not? Furthermore, if you refuse to participate in heaven, standing outside, then where exactly do you find yourself? Another way to say this is to ask the question: are you giving more power to the sin that closes doors or the Father’s grace which opens them? Your free choice. I only bring the Bible into this because Waits does too. Like Dylan, his songs are infused with scripture. Real scripture, real people, real God, real songs. Very different from the Amy Grant ‘Jesus is my boyfriend’ kind of religious songs (no disrespect intended to Grant, nor am I suggesting that she’s not authentic, too.) It’s just that I much more identify with Waits’ creations- drunks and whores and people contemplating homicide or suicide. Demons, too, perhaps the devil himself. (Good Lord, didn’t the hair on my arms stand straight up when Waits sings in ‘Black Wings’ that ‘… he has risen,’ but rather than the crucified One it’s the one doing the crucifying.) Tom concludes that chilling number with, ‘One look in his eye, everyone denies ever having met him,’ and then whispers that several times to fade out. Brr… Or, the hellish ‘In the Colosseum,’ where ‘we call ‘em as we see ‘em,’ or the ‘Murder in the Red Barn,’ that goes unprosecuted, or worse, unknown at all, or the deceptively playful ‘I Don’t Wanna Grow Up,’ also covered by the playful Ramones, except when Waits sings it is loses any seeming playful innocence of youth and sounds as if the youth is a victim of abuse. I happen to find the crazy, clunky music and Waits’ gravely, booze and cigarette vocals rather enjoyable; but, then I also like that kind of stuff. I’m sure a lot more probably will argue that he makes Joe Cocker, by comparison, sound like Tony Bennett, but that’s ok. Music is pretty subjective to begin with, to a certain extent. You like what you like. I like anchovies and green olives on my pizza, so there. Waits can play a gorgeously melancholy piano, keys soaked in booze, and then turn around and strum a filthy, dirty guitar that probably sends forth a plume of dust when it’s set to rest in its case. Wonderful pedal steel from David Williams to accompany those piano songs. And wherever Keith Richards pops in (on the final song, written by Waits for him) can Waddy Wachtel be far behind? Les Claypool and Brain, from Primus, ‘nuff said. David Hildalgo from Los Lobos coaxes a coyote out of the violin on ‘Whistle Down the Wind.’ But the predominate sounds on this intrepid LP are all the percussion, many of which Waits plays, and I’m not talking about just drums, but an interesting variety of other things, including one Waits invented himself that he names the ‘conundrum,’ a metal instrument ‘with a lot of things hanging off it that I’ve found- metal objects- and I like playing it with a hammer.’ That said, the real draw on 'Bone Machine' is not the music, but the lyrics. And I’m not about to begin quoting them all. I simply can’t. There’s too much. He creates little worlds within each and every song, mini-novels. I know of almost no other artist who does this as/so well, save Bob Dylan. It’s an outstanding gift- God blessed, not earned- despite the pitiable inability, perhaps unwillingness, of the so-called morally upr(t)ight to look beyond his red-rimmed eyes and down into the man’s heart. By the by, that story I referenced before, from Jesus’ discography, was told as a direct cause of the religious professionals in his day grumbling about his keeping company with the kinds of folks Waits witnesses in his songs. Waits’ criminals and outcasts are treated by Jesus as friends. The religious professionals have rendered themselves criminals and outcasts to God, and not by God’s choice, but by their choice. While googling the lyrics to assist with my listening to 'Bone Machine' I ran across this little anecdote from a fan: ‘I saw this homeless guy singing a couple of summers ago. I told him he sounded just like Tom Waits. He said, ‘That’s because I am!’ I couldn’t argue with him about that.’ You can argue with me about the merits of this LP, but not it’s grace. You just can’t. You really can’t. Please don’t even try, for Jesus’ sake.

This album feels like a Key and Peele sketch. Tom Waits (played by Peele) walks into the recording studio and talks to the recording manager (played by Key) Manager: Come on it. Were glad to have you here. The band is all warmed up and were ready to go. Tom Waits (speaking in a normal voice): Sounds great. Let's get started. Tom begins singing like he's being tortured during the Spanish Inquisition and is quickly interrupted by the manager. Manager: Ok..... that was great, but why don't we try it again with your normal voice. Tom (normal voice): Not a problem. I love the feedback. Lets try again. Tom sings in a high falsetto this time. Manager: Stop! Let's try that again. Remember, we're paying the piano and saxophone player by the hour here. Tom (normal voice): I completely understand. Tom turns around and fires half the band leaving only the drums. Manager sighs and looks down. Tom begins singing like McGruff the Crime Dog on crack. Manager: Fuck it. We recorded the band warming up earlier. We can just fill in the rest of the album with that and some background chatter.

When he's good he's great but when he is bad he is fucking terrible. This album has a lot more good than bad though.

This is probably my favorite Tom Waits album. I don't know if I heard this or "The Black Rider" first, but I remember listening to WAIF, a sort of public access radio station at the lowest end of the FM dial, when I was about 13 or 14 years old, and recording onto cassette anything that caught my ear in the night. Tom Waits certainly did. I then tried to get my hands on an album of his and went out and got a copy of "Nighthawks At The Diner." I was sort of confused by it though. It sounded like two completely different artists. I appreciated both modes, but definitely preferred his more experimental material. Nothing sounds quite like his unique cocktail of influences once he hit his creative breakthrough in the 80s with "Swordfishtrombones." His music ages well too because he largely eschewed the recording trends of the time, and pursued something much more timeless. He never quite fit in anyways, so when he really started embracing his inner madman, he stuck out so much it was sort of astonishing. One of the most amazing mid-career reinventions since Dylan went electric. Waits is certainly a polarizing musical figure, and I understand why his sound doesn't sit well with many, if not most, but I've had nothing but admiration for him ever since he had me spellbound over the radio that night all those years ago. Above all I'm drawn to his focus on texture and atmosphere. Whether you enjoy it or not, he has one of the most instantly recognizable sounds in music. A genre of his own. It must have been a difficult road being such an iconoclast, bucking trends, and simply being himself in the face of showbiz, but I'm glad he took the journey.

I don't wanna grow up

Like nothing I've heard before (only Electro-Shock Blues by Eels comes close, which I'd guess this influenced). A dark and demonic quality created by it being rhythm and percussion led, which is evocative of ungulate creatures. The latter parts of the album has more instrumentation with actual notes, which seems to imply a journey - I'm imagining someone arriving in hell and growing to accept their lot over time. I like this a lot. Dark but not depressing. Unique, evocative, interesting. 4.5/5

1 < x < 1.5, cant understand why its on the list at all

For fans of: gritty seaside shanty towns, smoking two packs a day, xylophones made from bones, drinking alone, backyard percussion with rusty tools, apocalyptic gospel hymns, etc.

Third Waits album of this gig, taking my total up to five. Might not be my favourite overall but on first blush contains his most eviscerating vocals. Sounds like he's singing half these songs after being shanked in the guts, his voice forcing its way through the blood rising in his throat. Pretty gruesome, and perfect for his grotesques, as is the lost and found instrumentation. He probably did stuff just as weird before this, but true to his reputation (with me) of getting better in his mid to late career, he's found a way to assemble his spare parts into a functioning vehicle rather than a rattling heap. Hence Bone Machine, not Heap of Bones.

1/5 nope, sorry Tom, but no

First album that I'm not looking forward to hearing. I'll give it a crack. Despite knowing precisely zero about this album or Tom Waits in general, it turns out that my apprehension was entirely justified. This is a falsetto cacophony of meritless free form jazz leading to bad blues. I'm pretty sure that for "Who are you this time" he was singing with his eyes closed because the music is just so damn moving. Can this pish end soon please?

Waits starts off with the screeching and the junkyard percussion and you can’t imagine a whole album of this- but then he sings a love song of such exquisite beauty and tenderness it knocks your socks off. Nobody makes music like Tom Waits. A unique artist.

There has never been a more apt album title. The music is indeed stripped down to its bones. Tom sings his existential angst over percussion that sounds like it's just Tom Waits banging on shit with whatever he can find (because it is). It's all so very Tom Waits, and so very 90s (check out that album cover, complete with font that looks like a cross between the espn2 logo and anything produced by Tim Burton), and it works. Best track: That Feel

Strange dude. It's like an album recorded in a dungeon, with the skeletons keeping rhythm and Tom is in the corner growling about craziness. Percussion stuff was interesting. Quite a singular record, though not something I'll probably listen to again.

Torn between 3 and 4, as there are some shit songs in there, but the good ones are so effing good...

I remember seeing the album cover back in the 90's (definitely a memorable cover) but I never listened to this. Some wild stuff in here, lots of weird noises and fun (sometimes funny, though I can't tell if that's on purpose) singing and playing, and a lot of interesting things going on. Each track seems to stand on its own stylistically. I have heard other Tom Waits music (I love the album "Closing Time") and whenever I've seen him in a movie, if a scene includes him I always know it's going to be good. I don't know much about him, and I have a feeling I should. Glad I heard this.

I was obsessed with Bone Machine from the first time I heard it. It's strange and funny and scary and atmospheric and noisy and surprising and moving and unique. It was marketed (and won a Grammy) as an alternative album, which kind of worked because what other pigeonhole would you put it in? It's an extension of his 80s work, but taken to quite an extreme. My mate Peter bemoans that Tom Waits stopped writing 'proper songs' and just started screaming over recordings of trash cans ceasing around. A fair critique, but I believe that there are real songs in here, underneath the kitchen sink percussion (which is, admittedly, pretty full on). You can tell by the number of covers by other artists, where the melodies often reveal themselves from behind the noisy production. Some favourite moments: - Going Out West is just funny. - the last verse of A Little Rain ("she was 15 years old and had never seen the ocean...") is possibly the most heartbreaking stanza ever written. I have to fight back tears every time I heard it - Black Wings is terrifying. There is also this bit in Joe Gore's beautifully melodic guitar lead at about 2:38 where a descending run starts to rattle the grill on the front of the guitar amp that sends a chill down my spine everytime I hear it. "They say he killed a man with a guitar string" - "there's always some killing to do around the farm" - That Feel is the best song Keith Richards has written since 1975. The loose playing and vocal harmonisation (they were all drunk, I presume) is a perfect realisation of what the song is about. "It's harder to get rid of than tattoos" It's a strange beast, this record, full of apocalyptic stories and frightening characters, but it is engrossing and vivid. Most valuable player has to go to Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits' wife and collaborator. Across the 80s she had encouraged him to lean into his artistic vision, to produce his own records, to embrace his own aesthetic, which you have to admit,has become less fashionable and more idiosyncratic. Her co-writing has increased significantly on this album, but she is so central to the "Tom Waits oeuvre" that I can't detect the seams. His name is on the album, but this is a powerful collaboration. Honorable mention to Tchad Blake's mixing, which is spacious and organic. His name turns up on a lot of 90s album credits, and his work always sounds amazing. I'm sure this album was a particular challenge, due to Mr Waits' interesting recording techniques. I can see that this record is not to everyone's taste. It is not a sugar-coated record, there is not much to sweeten the medicine. But there is so much richness there. I've been listening to this album for 30 years now, and it still surprises me. I searched for many years for a copy on vinyl. I eventually paid too much money for what I suspect is a bootleg pressing of uncertain origins. But that feels strangely appropriate, like a shady character of dubious integrity from a Tom Waits song.

p694. 1992. 5 stars. American companion piece to Nick Cave's "Murder Ballads". Sharp lyrics mixed with rage, longing, anger and melancholy. If you can live with the gravel vocals (and I can) this is an easy 5 stars.

Im a Tom Waits listener but not a fan. Growing up this was featured on a shelf in my local music shops. I remember giving it a listen on the headphones at a Sam Goody and being turned off at the time. Listening to it again as a part of this project has me hooked. I paused the release for a few days so I could immerse myself in this album. It’s raw, dark, and beautiful. I can’t get enough. Maybe I just hadn’t experienced enough hardship and trauma in my teens to truly understand this masterpiece.

5/5. Wild how this is not only a super uncomfortable record but so strangely beautiful at the same time. Each song is so minimal in instrumentation but feels so different, less is more and Tom knows how to use each instrument to its fullest potential. I feel passion and sincerity in some songs, and then the next I am listening to a serial killer, also sincere unfortunately. Awesome album, just really unique and well-written.

Had this album on tape when it got released before buying a cd copy at some point. One of these albums that is hard to listen to in heavy rotation, but obviously very high quality and very listenable. Not the same impact as Franks Wild Years but clearly 5*.

I don't listen to this one as often as other Waits albums, parts of it are a challenging listen for sure and it requires your full attention. That being said, the percussive nature of the more challenging tracks pull me in, Goin' Out West is a monster groove. And songs like Who Are You and Jesus Gonna Be Here keep me coming back. 5/5

This is Tom Waits' third album in this project. The sound is - once again - very unusual. But I like it. I like Tom Wait's smoky, raspy voice. The music and sound aren't very catchy, but I like them. The album won't be in my daily stream, but it's quite possible that I'll listen to it from time to time. 4/5

Did not know tis one that well. but thoroughly enjoyed it, Black as the night,, music and lyrics. My favourite song is Black Wings". Give me lyrics like "I can't stay here and I'm scared to leave." and I'm happy. 4 stars only because compared to albums I know better, Swordfishtrombone, Raindogs and Franks Wild Years music was bit less varied.

No, Tom's voice isn't pretty, but it works okay, and he's a good singer. If his voice was what people considered traditionally pretty, some (most? all?) of these songs wouldn't work as well. I feel like this is one of many 3.5 star albums, but Tom is a 4 star artist, and this is one of his best albums, so I'll round up.

The sounds of a nightmare. The songs here have been stripped down to their bare bones leaving only gristle left. You'll either love or hate this. I personally love it. Best Tracks: Goin' Out West; Murder in the Red Barn; I Don't Want to Grow Up

This one is a difficult one to rate, because it feels intuitively like a 4, but it reminded me a lot of My Aim is True by Elvis Costello, to which I gave a 3. In the end, I decided that while I prefer it over Elvis Costello, it's still a high 3. Favorite Track: In The Colosseum

I imagine if Roz from Monsters Inc. was the lead singer of a band this is what their music would sound like. Such a Scream and Goin’ Out West are jams. The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me is creepy. I wouldn’t mind having a couple songs from this album come up on a shuffle of my entire library but I won’t be seeking out this album on its own. That being said, it still wasn’t a struggle to get through it.

1/5

It's good when music evokes feelings—positive or negative—but when it makes you want to turn it off, what's the point of listening? That's basically this album in a nutshell for me. I kind of understand what the artist was going for there, but I could not get past those awful vocals. Whenever I was beginning to enjoy the melody or instrumentation, he opened his mouth and ruined it. It's a pity too, 'cause I really liked most of the songwriting on this album. The ideas were great, but the execution... not so much. I'm sorry, but I'd never willingly put myself through listening to this man's voice ever again. I get it, it's art, blah blah blah... but I'm listening to music for fun too, and where was the fun in this sh*t? I want to be objective and base my rating on every aspect of this album, but when the singing ruins everything else, what should my score be?

Ah man, yet another entry in the weird, wild catalog of Tom Waits. Why does this guy get this much shine? Obviously he's unique, but he's the kind of unique you understand in one album, not five. Again, just...decidedly not for me. Waits is really quirky, and while I respect that, it's a flavor of quirk that I'm just not into. I hope this is the last we get from him, it's getting tiresome. Favorite tracks: In the Colosseum. Album art: Really cool cover, a shot of Tom screaming to oblivion with devil horns and glowing eyes. This is how Alex and I look when we wake up to find another Tom Waits album on the list. 1.5/5

It is a weird album and I did not care for it. I don't know this album is on the list or why people like Tom Waits. The album is better than a one but not really a two. A couple of songs were alright but Waits cannot sing. I am going to round down to a one but it is better than some of the other ones.

Mad as a box of frogs, and about as much fun

Tom Waits' Bone Machine is something I would never consider putting on. Every track is too bleak, morbid, and Tom's grating voice makes for a very annoying listening experience. 1/5.

I absolutely love the caveman-esque music that Tom Waits manages to create on this album. Some tracks remind me a lot of the 'Underground Theme' music in Super Mario World. It's the same vibes. Almost as if he's playing music on anything he can get his hands on, including bones. 'The Earth Died Screaming', 'Such A Scream', 'In The Colosseum', 'Goin' Out West' all have this exact sound, and Waits lets out his trademark gravelly shouts. Interspersed between these tracks though, it's the opposite end of the spectrum. There are some really lovely ballads on the record where Waits still has his usual gritty raspiness, but this time it's being sung over a hauntingly beautiful piano, or some lovely acoustic guitar. Some of these are pretty gorgeous. 'A Little Rain', 'Who Are You This Time' and 'Whistle Down The Wind' are very pretty with the latter even adding some nice violin and slide guitar. In 'Dirt In The Ground' which is another ballad, Waits puts on this almost falsetto vocal, but still maintaining the husky gruffness in his voice. It's certainly bound to be controversial, but I enjoyed it a lot. 'Goin' Out West' has the really cool, almost muted and muffled guitar riff. This isn't your typical "5 star album". It's not 'Abbey Road', 'Rumours' or 'Dark Side Of The Moon' where the overwhelming majority of people agree it's a classic or masterpiece. This will split people, but I for one am on the side of people that enjoy Tom Waits. I only thought there were two or three tracks out of fourteen that were "meh", and that's a good enough ratio for me to award it full marks. Maybe on a six month relisten, when I'm not particularly in the mood for this dissonant, weird music I'll feel differently, but right here, right now, in the mood I was in at the time of listening, I loved it.

Tom Waits might be the best to ever do it, and this might be in my top 3 of his records. This is just so fucking cool, and all the reviews of this moaning about his voice are written by absolute losers.

In my top 3 Waits albums. Might be my favorite from this phase of his varied career. Faves: "Earth Died Screaming", "I Don't Wanna Grow Up", "Goin' Out West", "Jesus Gonna Be Here"

One of his best.

Excellent album.

Surprisingly amazing! Hard rock turned musical! Awesome concept album!

Tom Waits is a genius

I like this more melancholy Tom Waits, not quite as full-on bonkers as some of his albums but some.of the arrangements and turns of phrase are just exquisite

J'aime ça la grosse voix de Tom Waits. Je connaissais ses tounes plus folks, mais pas ce genre d'amalgame de travailleur d'usine à métal. C'est hot.

Je dois avoir le CD de Bone Machine depuis pratiquement sa sortie via les deals de Columbia. Le disque de I Don't Wanna Grow Up... Tom Waits est une influence majeure pour moi. Goin' Out West. That Feel avec Keith Richards.

Wow du gros blues sorti des tripes! Je connaissais rien sauf Way down in the hole (The Wire) Goin' Out West ça bute Whistle down the Wind m'a donné des chills dès la première écoute. Les évocations sont sublimes, il y a une unité sur l'album tant dans les thèmes littéraires traités avec humour et émotion(beaucoup sur la dualité accepter/défier la mort, accepter/défier la foi "I keep myself faithful except for drinking but He knew that I would"). Tant sur la sonorité, enregistrer sur du béton faut le faire! Je comprends mieux d'où Bernard Adamus prend sa folie et sa poésie. Désolé pour ceux que ça offense mais oui je l'aime encore.

Love Tom

“Dirt In the Ground” made me pause my walk to the station and almost miss my train - outstandingly beautiful. I almost can’t believe it. Bone Machine is an insane album. It’s definitely not pretty, but you can find immense beauty in ugly. This album is proof of that.

everyone should hear this album.

Love Tom Waits, and I love this album.

está muy guapo, experimental, crudo, macarra. No sabía que I don't want to grow up no era de los Ramones. Gratamente sorprendido.

Unreal how many negative reviews on here for this incredible album. Tom Waits is one of the greatest musicians and songwriters of all time and this is one of his best.

Raw and beautiful. 9.4/10 Best Tracks: "The Earth Died Screaming" "All Stripped Down" "Goin' Out West" "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" "That Feel"

How can I grade the only artist I would pay a kidney to see live? Not my favourite album with Tom, but still amazing.

Waits does the spooky Americana thing so well. Despite its gruffness, his voice is actually rather delicate and is quite convincing in all of its various inflections. And even when these many grim voices begin to grate on the ears, his lyrics and his soundscapes save the day. Bone Machine is among his best.

Great album front to back! This should be in everyone's collection.

Like if half of Closing time was dropped into a blender with a handful of glass and gravel. I loved it. Goin Out West is a banger. 5 Stars.

God this is good. It’s half a nightmare dreamscape and half those tear jerking Waits ballads that sound as though they are coming to you through history.

This is the forty seventh album I’m rating. I’ve heard some good things about his songwriting but I’ve never to listened to a song. Adding to my Playlist - Earth Died Screaming, Dirt in the Ground, Such a Scream, All Stripped Down, Who Are You, The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me, Jesus Gonna Be Here, A Little Rain, In the Colosseum, Goin’ Out West, Murder in the Red Barn, Black Wings, Whistle Down the Wind, I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, Let me Get Up on It, and That Feel. Not Adding to my Playlist - Nothing. Dirt in the Ground - This is very well written and sounds so different. All in all I liked 16/16 songs. This was very very well written. Tom Waits in a excellent lyricist.

I can see why this wouldn't be for everyone, but I love it. His turn from a crooner extolling the romance behind a forgotten America morphed into an industrial breakdown, and it's just fantastic.

Waits is certainly a polarizing musical figure, and I understand why his sound doesn't sit well with many, if not most, but I've had nothing but admiration for him ever since he had me spellbound over the radio that night all those years ago. Above all I'm drawn to his focus on texture and atmosphere. Whether you enjoy it or not, he has one of the most instantly recognizable sounds in music. A genre of his own. It must have been a difficult road being such an iconoclast, bucking trends, and simply being himself in the face of showbiz, but I'm glad he took the journey.

I love this album, makes me remember university days, working on projects all night long with friends. So good!

Tom sings like an early Leonard Cohen while tries to fuse Indonesian gamelan into his music half the time. the other half is torturing ballad with hoarse singing. 2/5 Update (on 4/11/2025): Now I am on RYM. And during my time on the site, other users has long suggested me to re-evaluate my rating for "Bone Machine". So here i am. cling-clang. cling-clang. "Earth Died Screaming" started the album with a series of woody percussion and horror imagery: stars falling, hellfire, chaos everywhere, the craziness of the apocalypse expressed through equally crazy accompaniment. A surrealism of death. Than out of the blue, the soft piano and horns of "Dirt in the Ground" sets the stage in a post-apocalypse world after the last track, while Tom sang this most charming dirge for the dreams, the men, the bible stories, everything once existent on the earth. and by the lyrics and the arrangements, these two beginning tracks singlehandedly established the album as the most unconventional death and loss themed concept album. One finer than The Black Parade and can compete head to head with what else than Murder Ballads. The death count on the album may not be the most impressive one in all death albums (well, of course. Compare Murder Ballads with a death count of 64 people, one dog and a uncountable number of guys living in a slum) but the musicality peaked here, along with the other albums mentioned before. And hey! somehow there's a murder ballad presented in this album too: "Murder In The Red Barn", a half deadpan half simplistic song detailing the aftermath of the murder is chilly even the listener have no sense of what is going on in the lyrics. Surely the creepy arrangement shows Tom being experimental and weird, but the songwriting also shows how good a writer he is. And as people may agree, Tom always has two sides: the experimental side and his singer-songwriter side. This album took the two and juxtaposed them together with the unique and appealing soundscape: In the experimental side, we have the ever-changing genres of the songs: the cling-clang of "Earth Died Screaming" and many other songs that are unable to generalise in a single genre, piano ballads such as "A Little Rain", "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me" with its creepy spoken word performance, old time blues such as "Jesus Gonna Be Here", and even punk-sounding stuff. Example: "Goin' Out West". But rule number one: don't talk about this song. While for the songwriter side, we get touching ballads such as "Who Are You" telling about lifes with a mercurial lover, "A Little Rain", detailing stories of all the lonely people, nearly resembles piano ballads by his fellow singer-songwriters, like Nick Cave on "The Boatman's Call". Right before the end of the album, there's "I Don't Wanna Grow Up". But while listening to the song i was just in my room, using my time that i should use to write my AP art history essay practise to listen to this album and re-evaluate it, thinking about how my other 10th grade classmate are all doing mock exams but i am here writing a fucking review and wishing that i was still a child. Isn't that IRONIC? But that's life. We are all growing up, becoming boring adults, decaying as an inreversible process of life, and finally becoming dirts in the ground. That, is what "Bone Machine" was made to do: give us some advice, make us see something in life and then just leave, and carry on, as Tom and Keith Richards sang in the last track, "That Feel": "And there's one thing you can't lose, and it's that feel".

Tremendous!

I'm a casual Tom Waits enjoyer but this one is maybe my favorite. It's consistently weird and cool and embodies his vibe perfectly.

Loved it. Weird and I really enjoyed the percussion heavy songwriting.

Love it

tom waits is one of music's great worldbuilders...esp in this stretch of his career where his arrangement ideas bring dizzying cohesion to his always-striking words (rly rly effective here, there is an emotional bluntness and clear expression to all of them even at their most cryptic). here is where also he reveals himself to be one of music's great worlddestroyers....the ever present sense that these songs had some semblance of organic life springing from them, which is now rotted away, but they still dont feel Aesthetically like theyre Missing Anything is a triumph. im not super familiar with most of tom's records but this has always leaped out to me as probably my favorite effort of the ones i do know...the strange feeling of emotionally opening up over time hit me especially hard this time. endings only hurt if there was something worth losing im not v good at ritual-type deliberateness structured around specific Time so i pay no mind to what the first and last things i listen to in a different year are but the last song i listened to in 2024 was definitely some taylor swift song and the first album i listened to this year is the apocalypse tom waits record..........slightly cursed foreboding energy i have to admit

simultaneously insanely freaky and one of tom waits’s most vulnerable albums

Janky and gnarly, it's easily identifiable. This was one of my favorite albums when I first moved out from home and got to hear different music.

I know that gravely voice anywhere. Always unique and raw!

Dark... Scary... But, fantastic

tom waits is such an interesting case throughout this journey in music this year alone. he's one of my past coworkers favorite musicians, and i've always found it interesting dabbling into his work. this album, which debuted after a small hiatus on regularly releasing albums is from another world, with many of these tracks sounding like they're from the pits of hell itself. it's a heavy listen. grim and grimy, this album is much more innovative and peculiar compared to his typical jazzy, bluesy rock music, dealing with issues of mortality, absurdity and and deep thoughts. i like his songwriting, but his instrumentation is a little out there.

Probably Tom Waits' artistic masterpiece - it's been a while since I've sifted through his discography but 'Bone Machine' has always stood out to me as his experimental magnum opus. At its dirtiest, it's the harshest he's ever sounded, significantly less accessible than say 'Rain Dogs'. The production at times is filthy, tribal, and non-sensical, fitting the album title 'Bone Machine' quite well. The "bone" part, I'd say, fits the more skeletal-sounding moments here, like on the unpredictable percussive barrages of 'Such A Scream' or the overblown metallic clanging of "In The Colosseum" - a song melodically driven by a sole low-mixed double-bass line. The "Machine" part plays into this album's industrial tendencies, like with the almost dark-ambient-sounding 'The Ocean Doesn't Want Me'. But that's only half of the story, like many of Waits' previous works, you still have these gorgeous ballads that break up the at-times exhaustingly oppressive production with songs like the twinkling arpeggiated-guitar driven 'Who Are You', the steel-pedal kissed dreary piano-ballad 'A Little Rain', and the warm horn-driven 'Dirt In The Ground'. Some upbeat bangers here as well - 'Goin' Out West' did not need to go this hard and 'Black Wings' might have the best guitar work on the entire album. I'm not going to talk about Tom Waits' vocals because it's not something that needs not be talked about - it makes its brilliance known almost immediately. And like on many of his records, it sort of takes on many different forms. 'The Earth Died Screaming' alone shows both of Tom's "extremes" with the dirty blues affectation in the verses, and the howling and slurred cries in the chorus. One thing's for certain though, no matter what direction he goes in vocally, you can rest assured knowing that this growly, smoky, "Are you holding in a cough?" vocal delivery is going to be there. It's the mark of Tom Waits' music, NOBODY sounds like him. Lyrically, this one's a masterwork. Right off the bat, you get two relatively pessimistic songs, featuring the oh-so-gleeful topics of apocalypse and morality. The twisted narratives of 'Black Wings' and 'Murder In The Red Barn' sort of reinforce this album's morbid themes, and they're so beautifully contrasted by 'Whistle Down the Wind' which has similar messaging, following a man at the end of his life, but it presents itself more peacefully. While 'Whistle Down the Wind' deals with acceptance, the following (incredibly catchy) folksy 'I Don't Wanna Grow Up' almost goes in the opposite direction - sounding like a man realizing the horrors of life's mundanity as an adult and going crazy. The back-and-forth between easily digestible, and harsh sounds is the main attraction here. Regardless of which clump of songs you may prefer, the constant change-ups make for a perfectly balanced listen, one where you don't feel like you're hearing the same thing over and over again. A kickass album with so many kickass moments, there is just no one like Tom Waits.

I dig this weird and wonderful record

This was the album that got me into Tom Waits, and he subsequently became one of my all time favorite artists. There's truly nothing else like his style of music, and this album captures his unconventional, raw, experimental, yet even at times beautiful, creativity in its fullest. A masterpiece in my eyes.

Greatest scene setter in music

What can I say- one of my favourite Tom Waits albums. I still remember discovering this in the 90s - it felt strange, harsh, and beautiful all at the same time. Just listen to Going Out West. I remember downloading the mp3 of Dirt in the Ground on my parents computer on their dial up internet and listening to this on repeat for days. The ultimate memento mori. So beautiful and sad and urgent. I also love ‘A little rain’ and ‘who are you’ - both are incredible songwriting. As I get older, ‘I don’t wanna grow up’ hits so hard. When I’m in my car by myself I sing this at the top of my lungs and I always find it difficult to get through without getting a lump in my throat. How do you move in a word of fog that’s always changing things? The only thing to live for is today.

The incredible run of Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Frank’s Wild Years solidified Waits’ shift from a jazz-inspired singer-songwriter to an avant garde genre-bending freak. Bone Machine is his first album for five years after that landmark trilogy and he kept that momentum going and then some. It’s his darkest record and sheds the extravagant cabaret he sometimes dabbled in for a more straightforward blues sound, featuring some of his grittiest stompers and most heart wrenching ballads, and probably his most strained and haunted vocals which is sure saying something. He raves and rants and croons about growing old and religion and murder over janky guitars, out of tune pianos, and guys beating the shit out of some metal. The whole thing sounds like it was recorded in an abandoned shack in the middle of the woods and I just love it

It is a masterpiece! I like it.

i recently watched the original creature from the black lagoon, and i imagine this is the type of music he would make

A 5 star album

Easy 5 stars !

Here we have another album returning from my tier list project with Bone Machine. I have a friend who is a huge fan of Tom Waits and with an album like this, i can absolutely see why. Tom Waits has one of the most unique and original styles of music and singing that i have ever heard and this album truly brings it all out. The songs could go from a haunting show with some crazy instrumentation to a somber and mellow piano ballad which can really move you. Tom also really knew how to adjust his voice to each and every style and made it fit very well with every song. This is truly one of the greatest albums i have done for this project. Best Song: Goin' Out West Worst Song: A Little Rain

big call here after just one listen but i think this is fantastic. chilling, heavy, melancholy, aching and beautiful.

The junkyard instruments work perfectly with the junkyard voice. The ballads (Who Are You, A Little Rain, Whistle Down the Wind) are heart-wrenching because of that voice.

Dan, I was just saying the other day how when I was a kid I used to throw a blanket over my head and dance around the living room to "The Earth Died Screaming." I thought it was such a weird, spooky song. I think I was originally making fun of how strange it sounded and how crazy it was that my dad actually liked this music. But there's something about that rhythm and that bluesy melody. It's powerful. It's a good example of the magic in a lot of Tom Waits songs: they sound strange and foreign at first but once you realize what an incredible songwriter he is, you hear the beauty and pain and humor in his music. "Dirt in the Ground" is a stunning song. Gut-wrenching and beautiful. "All Stripped Down" is such a jam. There’s a bunch of unconventionally rocking songs on this album. "In the Colosseum" is another catchy one and "Goin' Out West" oozes swagger. "Who Are You" has a lot of great lines but that opening line is incredible: "They're lining up to mad dog your tilt-a-whirl." And of course "I Don’t Wanna Grow Up" is a classic in my books. Such a true, real feeling that we all know. In a way, I think I’ll always be a kid and this song reminds me of that.

Another teetering between a 4 and 5. This is the best blend of Tom Waits in many ways — the weird careening compositions, the stark strange arrangements, the mood of despair and danger, the generally avant-garde approach to art and music... it's all here. So I guess I just wrote my way into a 5-star. I mean, what else do you want from the guy? I suppose I'm hesitant only because an album like this requires a lot from the listener, and its bleak eeriness also requires a certain mood — otherwise this could be a chore. But good art can be challenging, and I think that's what we've got here.

I see greatness here. Such imagery. A dirty floor of an album: people walking over life not seeing what is under their feet. Rainbows in puddles. Moonlight creating shafts of light in an abandoned coal mine: light getting in through the dark and finding hidden depths that were once used to keep us warm. A weird tree in a desert, with jangled notes for leaves. A shady spot with its own cloud. Are you still jumping out of windows in expensive clothes? I love this.

This is a top 10 album.

The more I'm exposed to Tom Waits, the more I love him. Part of me completely understands why so many people dislike him. These aren't exactly accessible, radio-friendly pop songs that you put on for a nice dinner party. But another part of me thinks you're all crazy for not loving this raw, humorous, genuis mess of a person. Waits is a rare combination of vivid poetry, rough authenticity, and experimental musicology. His use of unusual instruments add to the feeling of being in the shadows of polite society. 'Bone Machine' leans heavy on percussion and was recorded in an echoy boiler room, to further cut into the listener and remind them of death and decay. Ok, fair enough, it really isn't for everyone. The two more stand out songs 'Goin' Out West' and 'I Don't Wanna Grow Up' are equally memorable but completely different. Such a great album.

spectacular. Tom Waits sounds like Louis Armstrong went to hell and learned the blues from Robert Johnson. he brings this cold and moody album to life. in every technical aspect this album excels too, the production choices are kind of insane sometimes but they all work perfectly. everything is so minimal but completely fills the soundscape. this album goes above and beyond in every way i can think of. 5/5

True classic. Jesus gonna be here 6 stars

Great album. One I have heard, and would put on any list. From the growling tones, to the remarkable lyrics, this is amazing.

BL: After listening to "Nighthawks at the Diner" which was my first proper Waits LP i'd listened to the whole way through, I was eager to hear more. Thus the generator has presented me with another offering. This one often regarded as his best, or atleast most notable one, so we will see if its rightly famous, or infamous. AL: I was originally going to write that this was not as strong as NHATD, but then I considered that these two records are not at all comparable. While that captures the discontentment of the working class in America, and the angers spoken in blue collar art and poetry this focuses on something much more harrowing. Concerned with themes of death and the nihilism that comes with pondering such sober thoughts - this captures a feel seen more in the likes of Jason Molina's works. This lives and breathes the discontentment of the rust belt, where nothing ever really lives - and humans are bone machines to their masters until they wilt away and return to the dust they came from. This is absolutely amazing and almost certainly a definitive album of a time in which rock music was oversaturated with RHCP and Grunge. FT: "The Earth Died Screaming", "Dirt in the Ground", "A Little Rain", "Goin' Out West", "Whistle Down The Wind", "That Feel" 5/5

sbam

Descriptions for these songs are like bowery blues, acid torch songs, music from the depths of tortured souls. Such quirky wonderful compositions and sounds. Favorites are Earth Died Screaming, Who Are you, Goin' Out West, Black Wings, Whistle Down the Wind, and That Feel.

This album is a beautiful meandering masterpiece.