Bone Machine

a classic

I am in love with everything this man does

Its a unique and singular sound - even for Tom Waits. I love the idea of him just finding this basement room in a studio, liking the echo/sound, and saying "yeah lets record my album here". Thematically and sonically really cohesive, and has some great examples of Tom Waits songwriting chops. I love "Dirt in the Ground" and "I don't Want to Grow Up".

Probably my favourite Tom Waits album, above even Raindogs. It is typically eclectic and I love the way he orchestrates such a wide variety of sounds (including whatever a chamberlin is). The tone here is more percussive with lots of banging, clanking noises, which I very much approve of. You can hear the sinews creaking as he groans about mortality. Love it.

Fucking awesome love the weird noises n shit his voice is incredible lyrics are amazing feels like death the album. Takes a few listens to hit but once it does it’s crazy

Look I love Tom Waits. His music is weird in such a perfect way. It sounds like something a carny would sing after selling their soul to a huckster, which coincidentally sounds like the subject matter of a Tom Waits song. It sounds very abrasive but there is a heart and soul in there. I get why most people wouldn’t get into his music, but I think it’s pretty damn amazing

Love it. In this life you're either a Tom Waits fan or a Tom Waits hater. I'm the former.

I don't want to grow up...

It's hard to say now that things have changed so much what a radical album this was when it was released. With his usual all star lineup of collaborators, Tom created a masterpiece. Featuring found sounds and lo-fi production there isn't a bad song on the album. The atonal jarring sounds were so different from anything anyone else was doing. This is one of my favorite of his albums (though it's tough to choose from such a varied and fantastic catalog). When the music history is written in 30 or 40 years (assuming we're all still around) Tom Waits will be recognized as one of the giants of popular music from the 20th and early 21st centuries.

Might be his best, he has such a unique style that noone else has been alle to replicate, so rough and raw. So many crazy songs, but in between the chaos there are some of the most soft and beautiful songs you will ever hear. It's sometimes almost unthinkable you are listening to the same person. I love Tom Waits.

Can't believe I slept on Tom Waits all these years. The voice that once put me off is so perfect for these songs. My second Waits album, and my second 5. Much less weird than Rain Dogs (not sure if that's a good or a bad thing) but no less essential.

Very experimental, very cool. 5 stars

I'm a big fan of music that combines ugliness with beauty, and in a lot of ways, this is sort of the granddaddy of that. Waits crafts an album about death, violence, and old age, but also manages to throw in some genuinely beautiful and hopeful moments. This record sounds amazing -- the guitar and percussion tones are all terrific and Waits has neve been better with the wide array of vocal stylings he uses here. He's joined by Waits' album regulars Larry Taylor and Ralph Carney, but there's also a great, eclectic cast of guests including Les Claypool, Brain, Los Lobos' David Hildago, Waddy Wachtel, and the man himself, Keith Richards. There's tons of highlights here including "Earth Died Screaming", "Dirt in the Ground", "Jesus Gonna Be Here", "Black Wings", "I Don't Wanna Grow Up", "That Feel", and "Who Are You", which is likely my favorite of Tom's tender ballads. "I fell in love with your sailor's mouth and your wounded eyes" is the most badass thing to say about the woman you love. Some days, this is my favorite Tom Waits album. High 5 stars.

This is one of my favorite albums and my favorite Tom Waits album.

I can understand why this has a low score, but I really enjoyed it, Tom is one of the most unique songwriters, it's quirky, certainly not commercial, but it's interesting and different to any other artist.

1992 was an insane year for music. Excellence across so many genres and styles. Automatic for the People, The Chronic, Dirt, Check Your Head, Dry, 3 years 5 months..., Dirty, Rage Against the Machine. And on and on! And in the middle of all that is Bone Machine. I was already a big, big fan of everything by Tom Waits. Then he goes and does this! Incredible lyrics wrapped in a dark, gritty, underworld that feels both ancient and futuristic at the same time. I love every gravelly note of this album.

A waits classic, goin out west is one of his best songs, just incredible

Incredible album. It actually scared me at points, the recording has a dark air around it. Like I just keep descending lower into the Earth with each song and Waits is trying to keep us entertained on the way down

I was debating between a 4 or a 5 because there are a couple tracks that are too Tom Waits-esque, like Murder In The Red Barn, but when it closes out with That Feel, I had to put up another 5. I think this is my favorite Tom Waits album for its experimentation while retaining good song structure. Goin' Out West is a banger and Jesus Gonna Be Here is one of my favorite Tom Waits songs

This slaps

Infallible record. I mean, I have tattoos of this record.

The Bone Machine was my first real exposure to Tom Waits, introduced by a friend. It blew my mind that this guy was around since the 1970s and had a massive fandom in spite of his lack of radio play. The Bone Machine is a great example of his unique and bizarre “voice” (both literal and artistic)

Actually said “Hell yeah” when this one popped up for my first draw. What a way to start. I absolutely adore his 1985 Rain Dogs and have loved every random song I’ve heard but have somehow, as far as I can recall, never made any effort to listen to other albums. Which is the kinda thing this project should be great for! Fabulous “apocalypse gospel” feel to this. Stripped down percussive instrumentation for a slinky spooky sound. He uses 2 very different voices on The Earth Died Screaming to cool effect. Such a Scream is weirdly danceable. Whistling Down the Wind is just gorgeous. And the lyrics! Dirt in the Ground has “We’re chained to the world and we all gotta pull.” And Murder in the Red Barn has the deadpan “There’s always some killin’/You got to do around the farm.” The only one I’d ever heard before was “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up.” 5/5! Fantastic! Watch me draw some fuckin’ operatic soprano tomorrow!

Bone Machine is the peak of human coal mine, Tom Waits' "Undiluted Biblical Violence" phase. For those unfamiliar, Tom Waits was a singer-songwriter/balladeer/piano-man in the 70's and the something broke in 1980. During a decade when most got glossier, Tom Waits instead brought forth his strangest tendencies, being christened anew in junkyard percussion and increasingly alienating vocal stylings. Bone Machine is a far cry from what was going on, even with Waits in the 80's. Tom Waits pushes past camp into genuine darkness, past brake drums into what may as well be the sound of a glockenspiel tumbling down a stairwell, and pushes past conventional production technique into something bold, impolite, and probably *incorrect*. This thing was recorded in the unfurnished, concrete cellar of a recording studio, and the result is claustrophobic: you don't listen to this so much as you get trapped in a room with it. This is like soul music for the end-times and Tom Waits sells it on all fronts. He is a surprisingly versatile vocalist: he growls, croons, and on songs like Dirt In The Ground and Jesus Gonna Be Here, he gives the most unhinged blues howl I've ever heard. Most songs here are a showstopper in their own right, even the weird little nooks and crannies. The Earth Died Screaming is a fantastic opener, showing off the intensity of Tom Waits over percussion that sounds at risk of falling apart at all times. Later, Murder In The Red Barn has guitar playing that sounds like the strings are being cut rather than plucked. In The Colosseum sounds like you brought a lead pipe to a gunfight, but the other guy also brought a lead pipe, so now you're just going until someone can't move anymore. The intro to Such A Scream is a rare sort of low fidelity that isn't often explored, it's bizarre and challenging. Even something little like The Ocean Doesn't Want Me is chilling and off-putting, and it brings something huge to the project as a whole. I'd also like to note that there are a few songs where Tom Waits proves that he can still write a hell of a ballad. Who Are You, A Little rain, and Whistle Down The Wind are beautiful, and they still manage to slot into the bigger picture here. Lastly, I'd like to recommend anyone reading this to at least read some of the lyrics, Tom Waits is a fantastic writer, and there are too many stand-outs for me to keep track of. I listen to a lot of Tom Waits, so it shouldn't be a shocker that I like this, but it really is a rare and fascinating achievement that deserves time and respect.

I've long been a fan of Tom Waits and this is my favorite of his albums. Great song writing.

Classic Tom Waits! Especially when it comes to the percussion, which he mostly performed himself using whatever random objects he had lying around. For avant-garde, alternative, and experimental rock, this album will always stand as a classic.

Incredible new creativity after a 5 year break. It's all Waits, though interestingly Keith Richards shows up again.

When I was in college in the early 00’s, I took an introductory music class to satisfy an arts requirement. We were taught how to analyze music and understand some basic elements of a song. For one assignment, were to bring in a piece of music we liked and analyze it for the class: is it 4/4 time, are those half notes or quarter notes, etc. After a few reggaeton presentations, I went up and played The Earth Died Screaming. Lemme tell you I might as well have gone up there and ripped a huge fart - just a wave of revulsion, confusion. My classmates were incredulous. I gave my analysis and turned to my professor. “Tom Waits… I’m impressed!” Sweet vindication. Anyway, reader, there’s no accounting for taste but this album rules and if you want to impress smart people and appear super cool, you will play them some Tom Waits.

The prefect mix of ballads of his earlier work and the more experimental songs of his later career. Very good late classic 4.5*

Let’s be honest here, if you aren’t already a Tom Waits fan then this album is going to be a tough place to start. It takes a very back to basics approach, recorded in a bare bones studio with concrete walls giving a raw, visceral sound. The songs take no prisoners, dealing with death, murder ballads, religion (from mawkish to fire and brimstone Old Testament stuff) and the Earth dying screaming. Cheery. Tom himself is on fine gravelly voiced form and sounds like he’s been gargling with bourbon and razor blades to get in shape. For anyone that can get on board with this, you’re in for a fine time with music that will stay with you for a long time.

This is like a Borderlands fever dream. You can almost see the midget psychos running around with the more frenzied songs. "All Stripped Down" sounds like something you might hear coming out of a burlesque show. "Jesus Gonna Be Here", shouted from the top of a mountain by a wild preacher in a dust coated robe. "Murder in the Red Barn" sung by three loonies on a hill on an out of tune banjo with three strings, while there's a dilapidated red barn in the valley below which houses Red Barn Randy, the next miniboss in your questline. All in all, a very good album of very cacophonous music, which shouldn't be good but is. My Rating: 5/5

What a surprisingly great album, so full of different sounds and originality. It's funny without losing its musical interest and experimentation. It's strange yet so enjoyable. And all of that with a great taste that makes of this album a fantastic musical experience.

Tom Waits is the king of setting a mood. This album (along with the album cover) gives me the same haunting feeling that I get listening to something like Korn’s self titled

Amazing banging, twanging rattling and howling album with so many memorable lines - 'Cause there's nothing strange about an axe with bloodstains in the barn, there's always some killing to do around the farm'. Tom Waits is always good for a 5.

I’ve tried to listen to Tom Waits before and didn’t dig it, but this is brilliant. Can’t wait to listen to it again.

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.

Very fresh

Probably the album I was most familiar with before checking it for this list, remembering it coming out back in the early '90s. Bring out your pots, pans and cutlery! It still sounds great.

Typical weird Waits combination of hotseknots and ballads that somehow works perfectly well.

👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

I've acquired the taste for Tom Waits long ago after seeing him live in Columbus, OH. Must've been 15 or more years ago now. Still one of the best shows I've ever seen and we were in the nosebleeds. Bone Machine isn't one of his albums that I'm super familiar with. It doesn't feel like it will topple my favorite (Swordfishtrombones), but it has all of the elements of later-career Waits. That snarly voice, the non-traditional instruments, old-timey yet industrial, whimsical yet dark. There's no way I'd ever rank any of his albums lower than a 4.5.

Fantastic. The song writing is unconventional and even avant garde at times, but it never loses me as a listener. Some songs are dark and grimey (The Earth Died Screaming , In the Colosseum) where others are blusey, soulful and thought provoking (A Little Rain , Whistle Down the Wind). I really love how he plays with his voice to make a unique and interesting sound. He plays with genres, especially old genres but never jumps away from a cohesive album sound. The album sounds like walking into a 1890s Vaudeville show in Los Angeles and getting the full range of weirdness and blues. Its entertaining and also makes you feel everything.

What is this movie that plays behind his eyes? This is a lot fun. He created such a rich atmosphere, filled with curious characters. Tom Waits is just very unique, an acquired taste. I’m glad to have finally gotten there. His music is so so good.

tom 4eva

literally as if I have a choice

I freaking loved this album.

One of my favorite albums of all time!

Lyrically delightful. Not quite the Tom Waits sound I know from "Blood Money" and other later stuff, but good enough that I'll give it 5 stars. He's done stuff that I like even better, but on the scale of this listening project? Definitely one of the best.

i love it. the production is weird and deranged and squeaky and sets such an atmosphere. I can feel dust, rain, darkness, this sort of silence and the moonlight. It's haunted and beautiful. Tom Wait's voice is gravelly and rough and perfectly complimented by the writing and the production. There are songs here about depression, earth's demise, life and growing up, murder and so much more. It's so good. My personal favs are earth died screaming, dirt in the ground, i don't want to grow up, that feel, the ocean doesn't want me, a little rain. It's great and i reckon it'll just grow on me with more listens. It's a strong 4 to a 5.

If you haven't heard Tom Waits before, this might be a tough listen. It took me a few tries over a few years to soften to this sound but once you settle into its uneasiness you can get lost in the world he creates. If you're curious but not sold, try Rain Dogs and come back. 4.5/5 well actually 4.6/5 so I can round up. You probably won't listen on repeat but definitely worth a listen, (and come back periodically to re-visit) it's worth the effort.)

Love this album. Loved it before, still love it. I especially love A Little Rain (for Clyde), but all the songs are great. 4.5/5

weird and wonderful and Waits-y. 5 stars.

Let’s start with the obvious - Tom Waits does not have what anyone would consider to be a pleasant singing voice. That said, I love his music. It has such a unique and intriguing sound and never fails to draw me in. The Earth Died Screaming was such a great song to open this album with. The Ocean was like a beat poet’s fever dream and strangely beautiful. Really vibed to In the Coliseum and Goin’ Out West. This was a great album. Clear 5 for me

Første gang jeg har hørt et fuldt Tom Waits album. Har en fornemmelse af at det var en god en at starte med! En af de bedste jeg endnu har hørt fra denne liste

Lyder som om det er skrevet og produceret i et andet univers. Der er intet der lyder som Tom Waits. Av av av hvor er det nice

From the howling monstrosity pictured on the cover to the haunted and twisted songs lurking within, “Bone Machine” is an unhinged record of beautiful, terrifying chaos. Released in 1992, it’s the culmination of the direction Waits began moving in from 1983’s “Swordfishtrombones”, inspired by his wife and writing partner Kathleen Brennan. The natural conclusion of this journey? The death rattle of the end of the world. Here’s how to pitch it: open with a cacophonous bluesy track named “The Earth Died Screaming”. Follow it up with a funereal musing on how everyone and everything you love will end up as “Dirt in the Ground”. And then spend the rest of the album switching between terror and tenderness on a dime. Perfect. Waits and Brennan’s production is muddy and earthy: vocals are a distant howl, grunt, snarl or moan and the instrumentation is more chaotic and homespun than ever. Theres a whole junkyard of percussion here: listen to how it bristles against each other in “Such a Scream”, creates a living slaughterhouse in “In The Colosseum”, or adds to the sheer menace and magic of “Goin’ Out West”. These tracks are cluttered and crowded, but feel so lived in with such distinct characters: it’s impossible not to be swept away. But my favourite aspect of “Bone Machine” is the bruised, barely beating heart beneath all of those bones. From the very beginning of his career, Waits has done aching and yearning ballads like nobody else, and this record has some of his very best. “Who Are You” is a downtrodden ode to a tortured relationship. “Whistle Down the Wind” personifies terminal weariness, a soul consigned to roaming purgatory in his tiny corner of earth. And “A Little Rain” is absolutely beautiful, with one of the most gut-wrenching gear shifts I’ve ever heard in its final verse: “she was fifteen years old, and she’d never seen the ocean; she climbed into a van with a vagabond; and the last thing she said was ‘I love you, Mom’; and a little rain never hurt no one.” I’m tearing up just typing it out: incredibly powerful storytelling. The two very best tracks, though, come right towards the end, summing up each of these distinct approaches. “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” is a clattery, defiant ode to youth and stubbornness: surprisingly catchy and all the more poignant for being delivered by a gravelly 43-year-old. It also has the rare distinction of being covered by both the Ramones and Scarlett Johansson. Finally, “That Feel” ropes in Waits’ old collaborator Keith Richards for a sentimental, barroom style singalong. After the ordeal of the earlier tracks, it feels uplifting, life-affirming even. The day breaks and another sun rises, and Mr. Waits goes home to take some very strong cough medicine. A superb album.

love this guy's voice and his songs are awesome!

Seems not everyone is able to appreciate Tom Waits, and that's fair enough and not unexpected. I'll just count my blessings of what I get from this lovely album. Equally sinister and gentle, the lyrics are fabulous as usual, and it contains both I don't Wanna Grow Up and That Feel, two of his loveliest ever songs. All drenched in dirt. Other highlights for me, Dirt in the Ground, and the almost beat poem, The Ocean Doesn't Want Me.

Really fucking good

This is the Waits era I feel most at home with. I'm glad I have better understanding of his earlier catalogue now; but his grittier stuff here is what made me fall in love with him.

A darker and gritter Tom than usual, and I love it of course.

5 stars

The man knows how to make a racket.

Tom Waits is one of the most consistent songwriters I know, and one of the only ones whose joy in playing in the art is communicated through his output. Even if the lyrics are dour, there's an ineffable quality that says, "I love this medium, and this is my playground." When I want to connect with that concept of joy, I pop on some Waits.

He growls! He croons! He funks! Roll up! Roll up! One night only folks!

if a junkyard got hold of the karaoke mic

This was not actually my introduction to Tom Waits. I first heard Closing Time which is what I like to call his "piano player in a smoky bar at midnight" stuff. But Bone Machine was a huge eye opener. I always enjoy pulling this out out to listen to.

What a voice! And what great songs too. He's like a much better Bob Dylan, with Springsteen energy and Leadbelly vocals. I loved it!

I used to have this album on my iPod and listened to it at uni . It makes me feel any to smoke cigarettes and drink red wine from a paper bag . Was so good I listened to it twice.

On Bone Machine Tom Waits lets go of everything and is no longer limited by anything. This results in an intense album with primary music. Rhythms that sound like they're making use of anything that can be hit on. Strange vocals between screeching, growling and just singing. But it's also a beautiful album, although you have to put in a little bit of effort for it. This, to me, is one of the best records of all time. A sample card. Moving (Whistle down the Wind), Romantic Dark (Black Wings) Existential (Dirt in the Ground), even poppy sometimes (I don't wanna grow up). And all on bordering between genius and madness. Dark but not depressing. A masterpiece.

Always has been my favorite Waits album. Not a dud on here.

In het begin vond ik de stem wel een beetje te veel maar uiteindelijk sloeg ik toch om voor de mooie en bijzondere nummers. Kan ook niet anders als een Bob Dylan en Leonard Cohen fan

Tom Waits only makes great music. Print it.

Tom Waits is a living legend and this album is one of many testaments to that fact. 10/10

I pity the person whose first interaction with Tom Waits is Bone Machine. It is abrasive and challenging, and if you're not in the right mindset to process that it will bounce right off. But if you are receptive to this sound (and conditioned by some of Waits's other albums like Rain Dogs, Swordfishtrombones and Mule Variations) you'll find a harrowing beauty in it

I live that Tom Waits gets stranger as he gets older. Is usually the other way around. Although this album is - ouch - 30 years old now. And thanks must go to Kathleen Brennan for introducing Tom to Captain Beefheart, as it really shows here. A classic set of songs, that are just weird enough. Or is it just normal enough? There's not a duff track on here, and it all works together as an album which ebbs and flows beautifully, which isn't always the case. Goin' Out West and Grow Up make me chuckle every time. And being able to call in Keef for your closer can't be bad.

One of Tom Waits' best albums, and that is saying something! From the opening of "The Earth Dies Screaming" you know you're in the presence of greatness.

I heard Nighthawks a week or so ago and found it boring. So I approached this one ready to hand out 1 or 2 stars. After the first song I was thinking 3, then as I immersed myself in this odd sonic experience, I was thinking 4. By the time I'd run through Murder in the Barn, Black Wings, Whistle Down the Wind and I Don't Want to Grow Up I had to go 5. He takes you on a journey through weird, wonderful, scary, and hilarious. Each song uses a different voice. Each voice should grate on the ear but he's like Dylan. His voice fits the songs. He even sounds like Dylan at one stage. Bloody brilliant!

BOOMCLANKPOW

This is the Tom Waits I know and love. I think on on the bandwagon with loving Goin' Out West and I Don't Wanna Grow Up is classic.

Weird Waits is best Waits. This album directly prefigures "The Mule Variations", which has been a long time fave, so I definitely plan to come back to it more. There's even a mention of the Eyeball Kid! 👁️ Fave track - "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me" is clearly a prototype of "What's He Building In There", so I love it for that reason. "Earth Died Screaming" and "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" were also standouts...

Love Waits voice... Take a bit of listening to understand him and then the words start popping out. Some of my favorites were Earth Died Screaming, All Stripped Down, Who Are You This Time, Murder in the Red Barn, and of course, I Don't Wanna Grow Up

Tupakkaa vetänä..

Any good faith review of this album needs to buy into the Tom Waits grovelly-voiced musical ecosystem. With that predicate, this album rocks. It’s a great mix of hopelessness, wit, vulnerability, and inscrutability. Overall very Tom Waits. Nice production too, the sandpapery mostly acoustic (and sometimes non-instrumental) sounds really add to the tangible roughness of Tom’s voice.

This was unhinged and I loved it

This album came out when I was in college. It's the first Tom Waits album I had heard all the way through, and the first one I ever bought. Looking back, this must have been fairly grim and weird listening for college-age me. But I appreciated the darkness and the depth of it. This was grittier and grungier than anything Seattle had to offer in 1992, without Waits feeling a need to be loud about it. Waits has always done a great job of balancing between his noisier and quieter impulses, and this album is no different. As I said before, grim. There's a heaviness and airlessness to these songs that stands out starkly in contrast to anything else in music. But it's like peeking at a wound that hasn't healed. Waits paints a landscape that's hard to look away from. These songs are sometimes dirgeful and vulnerable, sometimes disturbing or just plain creepy. But they're never boring. Waits has other albums I listen to more often, but I enjoyed coming back to this one today. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): A Little Rain, Who Are You, Goin' Out West, I Don't Wanna Grow Up, That Feel, Earth Died Screaming, All Stripped Down, Jesus Gonna Be Here, In the Colosseum, Whistle Down the Wind, Murder in the Red Barn, Black Wings, Such a Scream, Dirt in the Ground, Let Me Get Up on It, The Ocean Doesn't Want Me

I dont have a personal ranking of my favorite Tom Waits albums on hand. If I actually had to make one this album wouldn't be in the top half for sure. If this made it over Blue Valentine or Mule Variations its a damn shame in my opinion. Now, enough negativity. This is still Tom friggin' Waits. A true G.O.A.T in my book. So even when he isn't putting out his best work, it's still damn good.

tom waits took me by SURPRISE. i have disliked other experimental albums within this list, but i am HERE FOR MISTER WAITS!!!! i admittedly haven't heard anything else by tom waits before and i'm looking forward to hearing more of him on this list. there is something about his raspy, gravely voice. he owns it and leans into it! his songs are dark with deep lyrics. he didn't restrict himself at all. i think everyone who listened to this album, whether they liked or disliked it, can agree that waits let himself create what he wanted to create. i don't know why this is listed as "experimental rock," when it touches jazz, country, rock, spoken word, and other genres i didn't catch. the album has a cohesiveness somehow. i realize this album is weird--like really weird, but i couldn't stop myself from enjoying this.

The sound of the tracks on this album are what first come to mind when someone mentions Tom Waits. I enjoyed listening to the album on my walk today and I am happy that I am getting more exposure to Tom Waits through this project.

This is the third appearance so far by Tom Waits in this project (we're about 25% through). This isn't an album I've listened to before and the first time through, I wondered why this one? He's got so many albums, why choose this one over any others? And what's it adding that the other included albums haven't already given us? It wasn't clear to me at first what made this one different. After two more times through the record, the answers to those questions didn't matter. There's room in my heart for as much Tom Waits as you want to give me.

This is another 5 star-er for me. I like the world Tom Waits comes up with. His albums are one of a kind. And this one is a favorite. Goin' Out West is an all-time great song.

Waits has carved out quite the niche, playing rackety, gothic shaggy dog tales from the demimonde on a bunch of instruments that feel like they're on the verge of falling apart. And I love it!

5.0 - Another masterpiece, this time drawing cues from the American songbook. There are blues dirges like “Jesus Gonna Be Here” and vaudeville-style ballads like “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up.” Themes of sin, life, death and redemption. This one demands repeated listens and I’ll be happy to oblige.

Love Tom waits, not my favorite album but definitely a solid album

Hullu viikko! Ihan parhaita levyjä ja yks hirvee sonta. Mitäs tästä nyt sanois. Tää on mun lemppari Tom Waitsin tuotannosta. Yksi kaikkien aikojen lempi levyistä! Hullunkurinen, pelottava ja järjettömän väkevä. Minimalistisuudessaan jotenkin todella raaka ja anteeksiantamaton. Tää voitti kai Grammyn vaihtoehtomusa-genressä julkaisuvuonnaan. Ei toki turhaan. Todella hienosti nyrjähtänyt levy! Sillai just oikeella tavalla pois paikaltaan oleva nivel tjs. 5/5

the best!

Questo album mi ha totalmente spiazzato. Conoscevo Tom Waits come attore, sapevo che faceva pure il musicista e godeva di ottima fama e forse proprio per questo ho deciso di non ascoltarlo. L'avevo liquidato come l'ennesimo attore musicista. Gravissimo errore! Questo disco è fantastico, non c'ho altri aggettivi. Sicuramente fa capire bene la differenza tra realmente impegnativo e palloso. E' un disco impegnativo sì, ma ad ogni pezzo, se hai un minimo di aspirazioni artistiche, non puoi non rimanere a bocca aperta davanti al livello di libertà espressiva di Tom Waits. Ogni pezzo non mi arriva come una canzone ma come una sorta di diorama che descrive delle scene, scene incredibilmente precise e da cui è difficile non essere catturati nella loro stranezza romantica. Veramente questo album per me sta su un altro livello di genio artistico e penso che avrò bisogno di molti più ascolti di due per comprenderlo bene. Per me Tom Waits è veramente quello che Leonard Cohen vorrebbe farci credere di essere. Grandissima scoperta!

Fantastic. Excellent mix of Tom's classic 70s sound and his more experimental stuff

A pedigree of Wait's sound!

Delightfully weird and twisted

This album came as a surprise. I knew what I was getting into with Tom Waits, but it might’ve just came at the right time

Crazy album in all the right ways

Tom Waits' experimental period reminds me of aural smelling salts. He occupies and embodies such a specific side of uniquely-American songwriting, running a 100-year spectrum of sound and texture and lyricism. This is maybe the weirdest of them all. Pretty great! "Who Are You" is the most normal song and my favorite above all else.

If anyone is familiar with pathfinder, this what I imagine the risen band of a dirge bard would sound like. Gary the Ghoul on the vocals, Bart the Bone Lich on percussion, and Vinny and his Vertebrates taking up the rest of the work. This is the second Tom Waits album I’ve listened to on this process, I’ve seen that there’s many. That being said, this one is waaaaayyy better. He has only gotten more edgy and the instrumentals on this album are really cool. I don’t know what the hell kinda bongo they’re banging on in this album but it’s really cool. The harsher rock songs are jazzy, moody, and a little silly, but it comes together in a way I really liked. The slower piano led songs are spectacular, I really enjoy his lyrics writing on this album. Fav songs: Dirt in the Ground, The Ocean Doesnt Want Me 4/5

It’s dark and twisted and I regret all the decisions that lead to me not hearing it in the 90s when it came out. This is expression and because it’s sometimes uncomfortable it’s not for everyone.

90s folk rock. Creepy, rough blues. Spooky, unique. Cool rhythms.

Strikes a good balance between interesting and crazy. Very visceral and bare stuff. Instrumentals are very good

It’s so improbable that Tom Waits would become a rock and roll star and lasting influence on the art form. His voice is … iconic and grating. But it works. These are great songs, steeped in the dark corners of dark bars. Only Waits can deliver them in this way. It’s not always an easy listen, but it was very worth it. A 4.

I like this album and really most anything Tom Waits releases. He has released a lot of albums and there is some breadth to his sound and style but this is a limited list and you want to be sure to include as broad a variety as possible (or so I would think). Maybe two Tom Waits albums would be okay--one from early career and one from later. This is better than a 3 compared to a large number of other people's albums, but there are other Tom Waits I would select for this list before this one.

I found it funky. I liked it.

i love you tom waits

Maybe I was just in the right mood for this, but I found this to be extremely entertaining, and usually I find Tom Waits a little …cartoonish? for my tastes, even though I respect his artistry. Something about the instrumental arrangements on this album just made the songs click. Ragged and raw but restrained, too. Really cool! Must-listen #359

Blind album, know the artist by name. Some songs give me captain beefheart vibes but more modern and polished, but gritter vocals too. And then theres nore singer/songwriter style, with folk, it blends all very well. I surprisingly liked this and some hooks are insanely catchy. TIL Keith Richards and Les Claypool (favorite bassist) are both featured on this album. 4.

Tom Waits (90s era) is not for the faint-hearted. I was already familiar with the album and I think this is actually a very good album. And, definitely, an interesting one. May reach 5 stars if a bit shorter. Songs I particularly enjoy: "Dirt in the Ground", "Who Are You", "In The Colosseum", "Going'Out West" (probably my favourite), "Black Wings", "Whistle Down The Wind", or "I Don't Wanna Grow Up",

Utmanande lyssning. Först tänkte jag: herregud, vad är detta? Bara oväsen och sedan övergick det till: herregud, vad vackert. Vissa låtar är goosebumps faktiskt medan andra är nästan olyssningsbara. Svårt att inte bli fascinerad och nyfiken på mer. Jag kan lugnt säga att jag aldrig hört ett album som detta förut och det måste väl ändå vara poängen? Tom Waits röst är hjärtskärande och det blir så vackert ibland att det gör lite ont. Konstigt och underbart på samma gång.

this has some really fantastic songs on it but despite that its weakest tom waits albums weve had

Yeah that’s the haunted Mardi Gras bullshit I was expecting from Tom Waits!

The “Good Weird” to Nick Cave’s “Bad Weird”

He's such a creative song writer. So original. I don't exactly enjoy listening to his songs or his singing, but I do like getting into them. If that makes sense. Prolly doesn't.

I had to wait almost a year to finally get a Tom Waits album, easily one of my all time favourite artists. While this is still a very characteristic sound, it's very different from his '80s run. Waits sounds more mature, serious and sinister. Bone Machine offers a constant clash of tone that oddly works. At one moment you're listening to a...well, a literal bone machine, and at the other you'll stumble upon an emotional piano ballad. It's a frequent contrast present in many Tom Waits albums, but it was never this obvious, in my opinion. With that being said, the result is slightly inconsistent. It's one of those incredibly rare albums you'd call backloaded. The second half of this album consists of wall-to-wall bangers and it's one of Waits' finest hours as an artist. The first half is great as well, but there are definitely a couple of tracks I'll skip during a casual listen, and I don't really feel the need to do so with many of his other albums. Still, this was a great beginning of a new phase in his career that he'll only proceed to perfect with his upcoming albums. Favourite track: Goin' Out West

Starting to really love this upon multiple listens - way for accessible than I expected and some great tracks I can't wait to revisit (who are you, jesus gonna be here).

It's OK to be a sook about Tom Waits, I really like the guy though.

I can well imagine that Waits vocals would alienate many potential listeners but for me his vocals coupled with the musical arrangements make this album oddly compelling and very distinctive. The album doesn't strike me as 'essential' but it's hard to ignore. Four stars. 1 "Earth Died Screaming" (4/5) 2 "Dirt in the Ground" (4/5) 3 "Such a Scream" (4/5) 4 "All Stripped Down" (4/5) 5 "Who Are You" (4/5) 6 "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me" (4/5) 7 "Jesus Gonna Be Here" (4/5) 8 "A Little Rain" (5/5) 9 "In the Colosseum" (3/5) 10 "Goin' Out West" (5/5) 11 "Murder in the Red Barn" (3/5) 12 "Black Wings" (5/5) 13 "Whistle Down the Wind" (4/5) 14 "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" (4/5) 15 "Let Me Get Up on It" (2/5) 16 "That Feel" (4/5) Total - 63 Average - 3.94 319/1001 173/319 albums reviewed were new to me.

Great Tom Waits album. Has a few of those vibes I really love in Rain Dogs. Not too much of the slower stuff. Will listen to again for sure. 4/5 on first listen, but could see argument for 5.

Not quite as good as Rain Dogs, but not far from it. Interesting album where the ballads really shine, but no tracks stand out as being bad. Best track: Dirt in the Ground

I enjoyed this album. I think I might be a Tom Waits fan. This is the second album of his that I really enjoyed.

Probably my fav Tom Waits!! This or Blue Valentine... That Feel is one of my fav songs ever!

learning to love this incredible weirdo. this album was super cool... what a guy!

I had a huge Tom Waits phase when I was 18 or so. This is a very nostalgic album for me. The songs range from Circus Screamers, to Funeral Dirges, to Americana-infused rock and roll. Goin Out West and I Don't Wanna Grow Up are my favorite songs.

I hope there are more Tom Waits albums on here. This isn't his best but its a really good one.

Bone Machine is pretty good! Not his best, but it was his best record in nearly a decade when it released.

Så fandt vi boots on the ground samplet, men det vidste ANDERS sikkert allerede :D Er det cool? Helt klart. Er det lige meget min smag det hele? Nej. Jeg er vild med lydene på In the Colosseum, Jesus Gonna Be Here, Murder in the Red Barn og The Earth Died Screaming, men der er også tracks jeg ikke kan være med på. Kan bedre lide anden halvdel af pladen, jeg føler umiddelbart en 3.5-ish. Men det kan godt være vi sniger os op i en lille 4 faktisk, der er mange highlights, jeg lyttede igen

Someone recommended Tom Waits me a long time ago and I really didn't enjoy what I heard. So my expecatations for this were prett low. And while there are definitely bits I didn't like, overall it's really good. I'm a bit torn on the rating since it feels like one that would grow on you

His voice is so rough, you wonder how he manages to sing at all. There were some pretty good songs on this album, but none that I recognized.

I'm not a big Tom Waits fan, but out of the 3 albums on this list, this is maybe my favorite or tied with "Rain Dogs." I still don't know how much I'd listen to Waits on my own time, but I do appreciate what he's doing. I do think he may be a bit overrated, but I think he's the type of artist where many people can hear his artistry and at least appreciate what he was going for.

This album scared me as a kid, and is one of the most textured albums of Waits’ catalogue

It grew on me

Death as a journey? Or death as a carnival? Death as a dance party? Death as a state of being? Whatever it is - strange percussion leads the way and no sound is left untouched. Layers of texture - normally used to elevate - here pulls you down into the muck. We're all just dirt in the ground. Knowing that - maybe get of a shake something. All the tricks accumulated over 20 years really blossom here. Singular.

more (good) weird shit.

Raspy, gravelly voice. Classic Waits

it truly baffles me how many of this man's albums are on this fucking list Earth Died Screaming - 4/5 Dirt in the Ground - 5/5 Such a Scream - 4/5 All Stripped Down - 3/5 Who Are You - 5/5 The Ocean Doesn't Want Me - 3/5 Jesus Gonna Be Here - 4/5 A Little Rain - 3/5 In the Colosseum - 4/5 Goin' Out West - 5/5 Murder in the Red Barn - 4/5 Black Wings - 5/5 Whistle Down the Wind - 3/5 I Don't Wanna Grow Up - 4/5 Let Me Get Up on It - 3/5 That Feel - 4/5 Average score: 3.9/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ i think i have a love/hate relationship with Tom Waits's music. sometimes i genuinely dig what he's throwin down, other times i think his music is "so bad it's good." hell, sometimes i find it just plain bad (particularly Nighthawks At The Diner). however, as someone who hasn't really been exposed to his music prior to starting this 1001 album journey (if you don't count his singing in the movie Robots), i still can't help but admire how Tom Waits has kept me on my toes. i never know what the hell i'm in for until i press play now, all that growling on the 1st track had me ready to write this off as another bad album. but after giving it one more listen? it ain't half bad. in fact, compared to the other albums i've heard from him, i think this is easily his best album. color me shocked

This is probably the most Tom Waits-y album of Waits' later period. Lots of marimbas and xylophones that evoke the bones of the album title are the perfect accompaniment to Waits' dark and gothic lyrics. Some moments on the album are almost industrial in nature, like on "Goin' Out West", although never quite commit entirely. Most of the album, though, stays in this very specific Gothic Blues (is that a thing?) style, specially on the deliciously grim "Dirt in the Ground". There are even more pastoral tracks like "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" which hint at Waits' masterful later album Mule Variations from 1999. Definitely not my favorite in his discography, but it's still well worth a listen, and it sees Waits expanding his style after the revolutionary "Frank" trilogy from the 80's. Key tracks: Earth Died Screaming Dirt in the Ground A Little Rain In the Colosseum Goin' Out West I Don't Wanna Grow Up

What a great album! I don’t think I have ever listened to a Tom Waits album before, but I loved this one. So gritty and raw, and so much variety - just a bloody good album.

Licorice Pizza two nights ago... IS THAT REX DAMN BLAU?

I've tried to listen to some Tom Waits before and really couldn't get into it, I really enjoyed this though!

“Excuse me while I sharpen my nails!”   “The riptide is raging and the lifeguard’s away, but the ocean doesn’t want me today..but the ocean doesn’t want me today. The ocean doesn’t want me today.” You don’t normally hear lyrics like this, and there is nothing “normal” about the music of Tom Waits.  His albums don’t contain pretty little pop songs, but the ugly pictures of life he paints with his music and gravelly voice are somehow…beautiful.  

Album #41, Tom Waits, Bone Machine ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love Tom Waits’ philosophy on sound. I remember reading an interview years ago where he talked about how he knows he could push a button on a computer or a mixing desk to get a certain reverb or percussive sound, but instead he prefers to go out and actually find that sound himself, track it down and capture it. This album feels like that philosophy in action. Some of the sounds on this record are just crazy. It’s so raw. It’s stripped back in places but layered in others, and some of the percussion genuinely sounds like he’s kicking and battering furniture around a room. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if that’s exactly what he was doing. It’s a great record and I’m very fond of it. It contains three of my favourite Tom Waits songs: Earth Died Screaming, Jesus Gonna Be Here, and Goin’ Out West. It’s a heavy, nasty album in a lot of ways, but it also has some really tender moments. It almost feels like it’s caught between two moods. There are very delicate songs like A Little Rain, but the album overall is dark and pretty bleak in places. That’s fairly typical of Tom Waits though. He rarely sticks to just one style across a whole album. There’s a raw edge to everything here. His vocals are incredible throughout, which is nothing new. It’s one of the most unique voices in popular music. I love the album and I think it’s one of the best records of the 90s. It’s not quite a five for me though. There are a few weaker moments that drag a little, especially In the Colosseum. I’m not a huge fan of that carnival or festival kind of sound. Two other things stand out. I genuinely wept at the final verse of A Little Rain. It’s one of the saddest verses I’ve ever heard in any song. Absolutely devastating. And the introduction of that chainsaw guitar on Goin’ Out West is one of my favourite moments in music. That tone is incredible. One of the best guitar sounds ever recorded. I’d fight any guitar snob who says otherwise. Great album. Not five stars, but a very, very strong four.

Roughly ten years after Swordfishtrombones, Waits is wailing in the Bone Machine. Still troubling the songs with junk percussion and clap-trap instrumentation. There's continuity here even as the record is much closer to death in a number of ways: from that oft broken-down entropic sound to lyrics about no longer being around. And, I don't know how you can have an album where Keith Richards appears on a track and still legitimately win the Grammy for best "alternative music album" or whatever — I find it hard to believe that Waits is somehow an outsider at the time in terms that really matter like access to resources, etc. but it certainly sounds like he's coloring outside the lines of song structure with the crayons of instrumentation. And yet, as said at the outset, you can sit this right next to his earlier work and the elements are all there: spoken word bits, some musical howlin' supported by rhythm and atmospherics, plenty of character studies and first person exploration of failures, heartache, and resistance. Maybe I've unfairly pulled Waits out of the timeline having so many of his recordings on hand; it's possible I no longer hear a record like this with surprised ears. Overall, it's a little longer than I'd like but still a good way to fix a certain craving for Waits' music and signature voice. Nearly 5 stars today, could be 5 tomorrow.

I’d forgotten how much I love this album. There’s nothing quite like a Tom Waits album that’s simultaneously experimental and accessible. An amazing raconteur and storyteller.

I can understand people not liking Tom Waits and the way he sings. But here's the thing. I had Ute Lemper's Punishing Kiss yesterday. And it was clear that Ms. Lemper had a tremendous voice. But that didn't move me. It was, to me, one note and boring which is really the worst thing an album can be. Tom Waits on the other hand is very very interesting. And that's what makes it better to me.

Raw blues rock is a yes from me

I keep seeing this album cover pop up everywhere, and has high ratings on music rating sites. Was curious to see what was up. I didn't know the Ramones' I Don't Wanna Grow Up was a cover from this album. I can see why music critics and people on RYM, AOTY like this. This is giving Time Out Of Mind by Bob Dylan, except this came out 5 years earlier

3.5/5

Ok - “I don’t wanna grow up” just made me cry. And I don’t mean it made me tear up a little bit I mean, full on bawling. Maybe I was having a bad day (I was), or maybe it just hit me funny, but - goddamnit Tom Waits. You absolutely got me right in the heart. So I wept. That and “a little rain” are just devastating. Wasn’t expecting that. “Going out west” also totally rules. And “in the colosseum.” Ok- most of this album is great. It’s also very primitive, and challenging, and dissonant- but it really works with these songs. FOUR STARS

One time in college a friend played some of Rain Dogs at me and I thought, "what is this unlistenable shit"? But 20 years later I heard it again and loved it. Tom Waits has the folk-blues-rock growly weirdo genre sewn up. This isn't my favorite collection of his songs, but it's solid. Earth Died Screaming may be my favorite -- it's (I think) a great cry of environmental protest.

I liked this more than I thought I would. Stopped down, surreal and kind of despondent. Not easy listening, but melodic at times and does what Tom Waits Does best- pushes music to its edge while sometimes going over it.

Not my favourite or the most accessible Tom Waits album, that's to be sure. It starts off *rough*. But it does get progressively stronger.

Not my favourite TW, that would be mule variations, but great nonetheless. Such variety. 4 stars. Fave track - dirt in the ground.

Another 'why do I know this album so well?'. Must've had it on tape at some point. Thoroughly enjoyable trip down memory lane.

Tom Waits can do no wrong.

Amazing unique vocals

Epic.

Stash it under albums I appreciate, but are super rough to listen. I love "Goin' Out West", but I sometimes feel like Tom Waits didn't want me to have a good time.

I enjoyed this way more than I expected to. Gives hope to heavy smokers that their singing career isn't dead in the water.

Giving Geese

Really interesting what the prospect of death does to artists like Bowie and Waits. While this album is inconsistent in its quality, it has a consistently dark theme and I dig it.

Listen, man. Tom Waits is like black licorice. You either hate it or you're someone like me who has impeccable taste.

Another surprise album…I haven’t heard Tom Waits since the 1970s. Maybe I’m listening to the wrong stations. Some albums would make good background music, but not this one. This one makes you listen. Well, Tom always has been quirky musically and this album is a good example. Very enjoyable despite the dark themes.

Great

4.2

Jag har försökt mig på några Tom Waits-album tidigare men aldrig riktigt känt att det har varit min kopp te. Men nu för första gången uppskattade jag det! Jag vet inte om det beror på att jag gillar detta album mer eller för att det bara tagit lite tid för mig att vänja mig med hans röst och arrangemang. Stark trea eller till och med fyra?

Stenhårt. Louis Armstrong har horsat satan i 40 år, flyttat till ett träsk i djupaste södern och gjort ett album med konservburkar och plåthinkar. Så stark 4a att den sniffar på 5an. Sån jävla bredd från elaka In the colosseum, till läspande gospel, till vackra in the rain. Fint att få spendera dagen i Tom Waits industri-iga och sinnessjuka era.

Så jävla fett. Som att råttkungen själv skulle besjunga allt den ser I världens mörka vrår. Stark fyra

Wonderfully odd and clangy cacophony

So, the album is good. It's dark and dirty, like everything from Waits "later" career. I respect the decision to have this album be stripped down in its instrumentation, with rhythmical parts that are so in your face loud so they emphasize the dark themes in the lyrics. Though I respect it, it leaves some things to be desired. I guess I was spoiled by Waits' other work, which I find better. All in all, this is still an enjoyable album, with some truly great songs, but an album I probably won't be returning to. 3.5/5

7.5/10 Didn't think I would like this, but apart from being intriguing and strange it was also sometimes surprisingly moving. Don't want to listen to this more than once a year I guess. Highlights: Black Wings Dirt in the Ground Whistle Down the Wind The Earth Died Screaming I Don't Wanna Grow Up

When I first saw this album, I thought it was a grunge or hard rock album. It's definitely a good album, but it was not what I expected. The percussive sound is a very nice touch. Overall a really good album!

Ókei elska. Tom Waits er svo klikkaður marr.

Það er bara einn Tom Waits.

Percussion driven music with a personality that bridges past to present. Nostalgic and inspired

Damn this motherfucker Tom Waits really did just make the exact same album over and over but I can't get enough of it either way. Not really his best but still pretty damn cool

When it's great, it's great. When it's bad, oh it's bad. I think that's just what you get with Tom Waits. Stuff like "Dirt in the Ground", "Who Are You", and "Goin' Out West" are really cool, while others just kinda meander and Waits' monotone growl and random percussion doesn't work. Still, I enjoy most of it and the production is cool.

Surprisingly liked that more than I maybe should have

Always fun listening to a Waits album. I love the quirkiness and the originality.

Unmistakable TW. The voice and weird percussion at first a bit too much. Then some more palatable, Jesus Gonna Be Here and A Little Rain. And then once tuned in the noisy crazy man ones and the lyrics are really good. 4.0.

Mad percussion and distinct Beefheart vibes..good enough for me!

This is proper Tom Waits and if you don't get this you don't get him. I'd listen to this twice instead of the live double which is missable. Not everyone's cup of tea but a very clear piece of cultural breakthrough by a distinctly individual artiste who has penned some top songs.

This is a strong Tom Waits album, though not one that’s among what I’d consider his best.

Great album

I haven't listened to a lot of Tom Waits before, but I really liked this album.

Should have been shorter, but I like it.

Album 979 of 1089 Bone Machine - Tom Waits (1992) Rating : 4 / 5 I’m a big Waits fan, and this one sits right in that fascinating “post-reinvention” era where he had fully thrown out the rulebook and built an entire new musical world out of rust, clatter, gravel, and poetry. It’s dark, rough-edged, a little unhinged in the best possible way - and yet somehow still deeply musical. What I’ve always loved about Waits is that he isn’t just a songwriter, he’s a performer in the truest sense. Every track feels like a little stage production of its own, full of characters, mood, and atmosphere. The songwriting here is sharp as ever, and the oddball arrangements only make the emotional moments land harder. There’s nobody else who can make something this messy sound this intentional. It’s not the easiest album in his catalog, but it’s absolutely one worth holding onto. One of a kind - just like the man himself.

Perhaps this is not the most compelling Tom Waits' album but still a great one: great sound, great lyrics, great cover...

1st listen - "It's amazing how weird and unusual Tom Waits' songs are" 2nd listen - "Oh, underneath the percussion, the songs structures etc are quite standard" 3rd listen - "Oh. No they're not". Brilliant imagery, a unique sound, and some pure little nuggets of songwriting genuis, plus that glorious whisky soaked gravelly tone. Will have to dock a madk for the falsetto in one tune though, that was lainful to listen to.

Very good, borderline great, Tom Waits album. 4.5 stars

If Led Zeppelin represented the blues twisted and turned inside out, Tom Waits is a more traditional blues artist b/c he's thoroughly more American than any blues-loving Brit could ever hope to be. His renditions are often bizarre, of course, but for every 'All Stripped Down' there's 'Who Are You,' this record's 'Downtown Train.' The thing about Waits - what makes him a touchstone for me - is that he's essentially a historian of American music + religion, the only sensible thing to be if you aim to command this country's folkloric accents: 'And the great day of wrath has come / And here's mud in your big red eye'; 'I wanna know am I the sky or a bird? / 'Cause hell's boiling and heaven is full / We're chained to the world and we all gotta pull.'

Not my favorite Tom Waits, but it has some breathtaking moments.

I think quite unlike the last Tom Waits album, the production is fully embracing his vocal style to create the full atmosphere. The last one had somewhat normal instrumentals, but this one there's loads of amazing, but really strange ones. He seems to be going for that horror gravedigger gritty gloomy type feeling, which he TOTALLY nails. Again quite similar to Nick Cave in many aspects, but definitely more traditional blues influences. Lyrics wise its incredible, again, totally committing to the gritty storytelling. I think the way some of these songs were recorded makes a huge difference, I think he sometimes gets way to close to the mic, which makes his voice incredibly bassy, but here he sounds quite distant (might be a pretentious thing but..). Yeah not much else to say, this is the sort of stuff I'd listen to on the daily if I owned a haunted house. Favourite songs: pretty much all. Overall around 7/10

me when im in the colosseum

Percussive and sinister, mixing old-style blues with traditional styles and some beautiful ballads, all delivered with a bourbon and cigarette ravaged vocal delivery. I can understand how this wouldn't be for everyone, but I find this era of Tom Waits unendingly interesting and the records excitingly adventurous. There are some misses, and sometimes the overall effect seems a bit too contrived, but overall the style works and this album is one of the best examples.

This album sounds like it was sung by some random crackhead warning that aliens will destroy Earth if you don’t hand over a dollar, and somehow I fucking love it. Every song feels like he’s bleeding emotion through his voice. "Earth Died Screaming" and "Who Are You" are so raw with painful energy that feels completely real. The way he experiments with his vocals is wild, like Johnny Cash on shrooms. There are a few misses like "The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me," but even that track still adds to the weird atmosphere. It’s chaotic, emotional, and unforgettable. Easy 8.5 out of 10.

Tom Waits

3.75-4.0 Really like the creativity ...but will scare the hoes away.

Chewing on gravel

3.7 3x took a few listens to grow on me. interesting and love the cover

Tom is such a goober, I love him.

4.5

At first I did not think i was going to get into this album. I was going to get into this album. On first listen the first four songs "Such A Scream" was the only one I liked. But somewhere in the trio of songs "Who Are You", "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me", and "Jesus Gonna Be Here", in started getting into the mood and motion of the album. By the beatastic "In The Colosseum", I was hooked. I found myself really enjoying the rest of the album, that I decided to revisit the first three songs again and enjoying all but "All Stripped Down" Honestly with its overall macabre feel and they almost fall like weather we had today it really put me in the Halloween mood. I'm giving this a good four stars, with room to grow 8.5 ★★★★

Strong

Well, I’m usually not the biggest Tom Waits fan but this is great! It just works. His voice, the interesting sounds, the storytelling. Some of the lyrics are quite moving even. Bonkers in a great way. His best on here by far

It's a bit Out There for sure, but this really isn't worlds apart from someone like Dr. John, honestly! I really enjoyed this one; Tom Waits is one of those guys I've only listened to a handful of times, but each time it's like "wow! I really like this!", and then I totally forget he exists for a couple years.

This doesn't work in the background. It's a piece of art with intention, it's easier to digest if you're actively listening, or have already understood the general energy. I think. I'm surprised I felt so much by such an unconventional voice in so little time. I also feel like it has the replay value of a concept album. 3.5/5

A lesson in the art of sound. Amazing music.

This is #day435 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to my first of five Tom Waits records on this journey. As with Sonic Youth, I think three albums would've been absolutely enough. Instead, you have to go through almost a third of an artist's discography. Oh well... I had my Tom Waits "moments" around fifteen years ago, during the winter of 2010–2011, when I was exploring some jazz and all that (I was very much into "All the World Is Green" in particular), but I haven't really listened to him since. Although "Goin' Out West" is a definite standout, as are "Who Are You" and "Jesus Gonna Be Here," I'd probably have preferred something from his '70s or early '80s work. That said, I can't deny the record's experimental nature, and that always appeals to me. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day436.

This is the weird Tom Waits. I really like it but not as much as the classic one....

Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: The Earth Died Screaming, All Stripped Down, In The Colosseum, Murder In The Red Barn This was a really interesting one. Unlike 1975's Nighthawks At The Diner (also from the List), which played as a much more traditional jazz album, albeit with a lot of crowd work, this album had a real grunge/industrial rock feel to it. Industrial rock with... bones (like, playing drums using bones, drumming on bones, etc); All while also still somehow being jazzy. What really stuck out to me is the emphasis on the percussion, combined with Tom's voice, it really reminded me of some of the music Issac Brock of Modest Mouse has put out. If you listen to, for example, This Devil's Workday or Dance Hall (from Good News For People Who Love Bad News), there's a lot of the same elements present, jazz trumpet and other jazz elements, Issac's very gravelly voice, and an emphasis on percussion. The primary difference is that Modest Mouse feels much more polished (in the studio), whereas Tom seemingly wanted a much more stripped down album. The stripped down nature of the music lends itself to some industrial rock and grunge influences. Overall, I thought this album was pretty good. Weird, but interesting and definitely worthy of being included on the List.

Might be the typical Tom Waits sound, but hey, if it ain't broke. Solid 4 Stars.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump down to a 4. I think I understand what this album is going for, or at least in broad strokes; it’s a view into how people confront & cope with the very concept of mortality. Some people go out screaming about the eventual destruction of the world, some people reject both heaven & hell to accept the idea of dust, & others get denied death by an ocean that refuses to let them drown, or just rot away with regret in their hometowns. When this album focuses on the morbid & cruel side of mortality, I think its writing shines at its best, and Tom Waits’ scratchier vocal tones work well as a worn down soul unable to care any more than that. This album also focuses on the occasionally brighter-ish side of mortality, though still from a sort of cynically celebratory tone. Some people dream of being Hollywood stars (in their own fucked up way), some find a weirdly perverse pleasure in seeing the almost gladiatorial forms of destruction happening across the country, other people wait for Jesus to return not as a messiah, but as a celebrity to be worshipped, & others see him as an evil figure after they leave the confines of a religion that’s trapped them. This album’s commentary on religion & fame are pretty sharply written as well, and I do think Tom Waits carries that vocal weight in a way that works. It’s a storytelling album, one that leans on the writing talents that were present on “Swordfishtrombones”, but with the heavier tone of a Nick Cave album. On paper, it’s a good blend, and honestly, it mostly works well in execution. I think Tom Waits does a damn good job with the writing across the board. It’s the musicality that brings the album down to a 4 for me, because for as well-written & as well-performed as a good number of these tracks are, there’s just far too many things that feel bad to the ears. This album is a “death by 1,000 paper cuts” situation. I think there are moments where the instrumentation is severely overblown in the mix, especially the horrid tambourine on “All Stripped Down”. I think there are some tracks where a singing vocal would have a better impact than the spoken word approach that’s occasionally taken. I think Tom Waits could use a lozenge half the time. The biggest paper cut, at least for me, is that the album just doesn’t find the right balance between atmosphere & musicality until about halfway through the album. The first half here is a little slower to get going, especially on a first listen, but the second half strikes more consistently, and it feels more aligned with the previous Tom Waits albums we’ve had, save for the baffling “Let Me Get Up on It”. Make no mistake; I did enjoy this one. Slow to start, yes, but it does come together as a really cohesive package, and an interesting set of tracks that all tackle mortality in a good way. I don’t think too many tracks overlap with their concepts, and if they do, they play a sort of devil’s advocate vibe that keeps it fresh. This is a longer album at 53 minutes, and I do think it could easily weigh down a listener, especially if the first half of the album strikes a really bad chord. For my storytelling brain, I can’t say it ever became a big issue, but there are probably tracks here that could’ve been cut to make the pacing work better. I can honestly understand someone going as low as a 2 or as high as a 5; this is not an album for everyone, and I think if this were someone’s first Tom Waits album, it could leave a bad taste in the mouth, or act as a sign of brilliance. Since this is our third, and I’ve enjoyed the last 2 we’ve gotten, I never felt like it got to that latter point. If this album were cleaner, tighter, and perhaps not partially recorded in a literal cellar (seriously, look it up), perhaps I could look past its early flaws & bump it up to a 5, but since they just compound in a way that never really shakes away, I’m stuck bumping it down to a 4. I did like it though, and I’m glad it’s on the list.

Incrdible voice and orchestration.

I have a soft spot for albums where older artists sing about their mortality…and this time I was ready for Tom Waits voice!

what the fuck even is this who hid beefheartcore from me

Your Bone's got a little Machine

Creepy, weird, and sad: Classic Tom Waits.

hehe bone machine. The name alone is worth a star.

I never quite understand Tom Waits. It feels like his stuff shouldn't work, but for some reason it does?

This is a Tom Waits album that I like. Earth Died Screaming is clickity clackity & some kind of surreal eco-nightmare. So that's a fun way to start things off. The percussion and instrumentation is really creative throughout the album. Also the lyrics are great. His poetry hits me like wet grass and rusted cars. It smells like black molasses and june bugs. He's like some kind of Walt Whitman junkyard medicine man. Such a Scream is one of my all time favorite Tom Waits song. It just has a really bizarre herky jerky energy & some fun horns. Jesus Gonna Be Here is genuinely soulful. This is my kind of blues and his singing is fucking great on that one. In The Colosseum = yes!! Love the way those beats are hammered out. Goin Out West is rocking and I especially like that haunting surf rock guitar sound. Black Wings isn't my most favorite song but it kind of reminds me of Leonard Cohen. I Don't Want to Grow Up = great song! I don't want to grow up either.

Certainly deserves a place on the list. Such a unique album. The vocal is something else. Man must have been drinking whiskey and smoking filterless Marlboro Reds straight out of the womb. 4/5.

A little disappointed this is the latest Waits album on the list. Justice for Mule Variations and Real Gone!

Something about Tom Waits voice always fascinates me. Everything he does makes he feel like I'm in some kind of dark twisted carnival or I'm hearing a man telling his story before he leaves this earth.

Tom Waits' signature sound is divisive but incredibly unique. You love it or you can't stand it. But he doesn't give a shit. That being said, I really do love it. Waits feels like a folktale character with his permanent scowl, his tilted hat, and a voice made for grinding coals into diamonds. He's like an omen you encounter in an open desert. His music isn't conventionally pretty and that's on purpose. This album sounds like it was made in a cellar (because it was). The percussion sounds like it's made up of a trash can and some pots and pans. The songs build up like they're coming from the sewer. They're grimey and wet but that doesn't mean they can't also be sweet. There's a wide range of emotion in this album scattered in the clinking and clanking beats. Passionate love songs mixed with angry warnings of a collapsing earth. They may feel sonically similar but that's where the lyricism shines. Waits can tell a story like no other. Songs like In the Colosseum, Goin' Out West, Murder in a Red Barn, and Black Wings really stood out to me for this reason. For someone with such a massive discography dating back to the 70s, it's interesting that an album from the 90s is the one on this list. Anyways, time to dig into more of the Time Waits well. 4.5 stars

It’s incredibly hard to rate a Tom Waits album on first listen, which goes the same for most lyrically-focussed albums that I get on this list, unless they’re relistens. For the lyrical content of any Waits album is so intelligent, sometimes complex and sometimes simple - so that you may appreciate on first listen what you then come to adore on repeat. It’s OK for instruments to take a back seat here to let Waits’ unique and polarising voice carry the things he needs to say across unimpeded. This differs largely between slow songs such as Dirt in the Ground, where the listener must listen carefully and reel from the bleak contents of the lyric sheet, and more punchy songs such as the most popular Goin’ Out West, which may attract repeat listens through its supermassive percussion rather than its lyrics, although they themselves are of course mean as ever. Bone Machine is far from my first Waits album, but I’d say if you were to try him out then this is as good a place as any to start, as long as you give him a chance, for God’s sake. Too many people hear a non-singing voice and switch off. Listen carefully... and you will be rewarded.

Really liked "Who Are You" and "That Feel". My first time listening to Tom Waits - super interesting!

Respect for the lyrics. The sound is what you expect from TW.

Blijkbaar is Tom Waits-bashing populair op deze website. Het zal zonder mij zijn. Tom Waits kan vreemd zijn, akkoord, maar is altijd puur en rauw. What you see is what you get. En dat levert prachtige en unieke albums op, waaronder ook deze. Het komt niet eens in de buurt van Closing Time (wat volgens mij niet eens in deze lijst voorkomt, maar bon), maar het is echt wel een goed album. 3.5

My man!

Another stupendous albo from Tom. By no means is this a Rain Dogs contender. But he still perfectly encapsulates the insansity of solitude in creativity. Its cathartic to hear how hoarse his voices is as he wimpers for love and affection, then absolute goes bonkers in the next track. True poet and artist. I enjoyed Bone Machine alot.

Liked this one better than Rain Dogs. 3.5 stars rounded up.

The man can make engaging music with a dumpster. I respect that.