Bohemian balladeer

Singer-songwriter Tom Waits releases first CD in six years

By Chris Samson

Tom Waits, the reclusive singer-songwriter-actor who has made his home near Petaluma for nearly 10 years, is back in the public eye with the release of his first studio album in more than six years and a role in an upcoming motion picture.

Over the past 25 years, Waits has carved out a singular, yet ever-changing place on the musical landscape. He has evolved from a scat-singing, bluesy balladeer to a composer of theatrical and movie soundtracks to a rock 'n' roll eccentric who experiments with odd percussion sounds and homemade instruments.

Along the way, the 49-year-old Waits has cultivated a mystique and cult status fueled by his bohemian background, sartorial style, dry humor and trademark gravelly voice.

His new CD, "Mule Variations," is Waits' first for Epitaph Records, a Los Angeles-based indie punk label, after more than two decades with the Asylum and Island labels.

Waits, whose songs have chronicled the dreams and disappointments of lonesome travelers, restless strangers and down-and-outers, expands his musical palette on "Mule Variations," finding inspiration in vintage American blues and folk music as well as real-life stories.

The songs are a mixed bag, ranging from tender ballads ("Take It With Me," "Picture in a Frame") to blues- and gospel-inspired tunes ("Get Behind the Mule," "Come On Up To The House") to loud, percussion-driven shouters bordering on cacophony ("Big in Japan" and "Filipino Box Spring Hog").

The urban landscape of Waits' earlier albums has given way to a more down-home feel -- a change partially attributed to his decision to move from Los Angeles to Sonoma County in 1990.

"Definitely part of the original idea was to do something somewhere between surreal and rural. We call it surrural. That's what these songs are -- surrural. There's an element of something old about them," Waits said.

The album continues a musical collaboration with his wife, Kathleen Brennan, who co-wrote 12 of the 16 songs on the album with Waits.

"We've been working together since 'Swordfish Trombones' [his 1983 album]," Waits said. "I'm the prospector, she's the cook. I think we sharpen each other like knives."

"Mule Variations," recorded last year at Cotati's Prairie Sun Recording Studio, has an earthy, low-tech feel, continuing Waits' fascination with unusual sounds. The first thing the listener hears on the CD's opening track, "Big in Japan," is Waits beating on a chest of drawers.

Another song, "Chocolate Jesus," was recorded outdoors, and a rooster can be heard crowing several times, almost on cue. On a couple of tracks, you can hear the squeaks and pedal noises of Waits' old upright piano.

"I try and keep some of that rough-and-tumble alive when I'm recording," Waits said. "It's amazing how your surroundings will collaborate with you, and will be woven into the songs."

Waits used local and Bay Area musicians on the album, including harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite and Primus bassist Les Claypool.

The most moving song on the album is one that hits very close to home for Sonoma County residents. "Georgia Lee" is about the murder of 12-year-old Georgia Lee Moses, whose body was found a few yards off the freeway onramp on Petaluma's southern outskirts in 1997.

Accompanied only by his piano, an upright bass (Petaluma's Dalton Dillingham III) and a violin, Waits sings, "Cold was the night, hard was the ground/They found her in a small grove of trees/Lonesome was the place where Georgia was found/She's too young to be out on the street."

Other songs are drawn from stories, observations, newspaper clippings or an overheard phrase. Waits' appreciation of American roots music -- Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson and other Library of Congress recordings -- inspired some of the songs on "Mule Variations." "Get Behind the Mule," which has a straight-ahead blues feel, came from a comment that the father of legendary bluesman Robert Johnson made about his son: "Trouble with Robert is he wouldn't get behind the mule in the morning and plow." The last track on the CD, "Come On Up To The House," sounds like it could be from the repertoire of a gospel church choir.

"Picture in a Frame" and "Take It With Me" are soft, tender ballads, just Waits singing and playing piano.

A few of the songs are reminiscent of earlier Waits tunes. The poignant "Pony," for example has the same feel of "Jitterbug Boy." "Hold On" has echoes of "Downtown Train" and "Time." Characters with colorful names like Burn-Face Jake, Blind Darby, Jimmy the Harp and the Eyeball Kid pop up throughout the album.

Each song has a distinctive texture and atmosphere, but the most unusual cut of all is "What's He Building?" It's a spoken-word piece, with radio static and other strange sounds in the background, in which Waits asks questions about a mysterious neighbor about whom he has only bits of information.

Waits, who has only performed a handful of concerts in recent years, may tour to promote the new album, but nothing definite has been announced.

Meanwhile, he can be seen on the big screen in July when "Mystery Men" is released. Waits plays the part of Doc Heller, a weapons designer. Directed by Kinka Usher, the film is based on the Dark Horse comic of the same name and co-stars Geoffrey Rush, Ben Stiller, William H. Macy and Paul Reubens.

Waits' previous film credits include "Short Cuts," "Ironweed," "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "Down By Law."

His 17 albums include 12 studio albums, one theatrical and two movie soundtracks, a live album and a "best of" retrospective.

(Published May 12, 1999)

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