Mule Variations
- Artist: Tom Waits
- Format: CD
- Year: 1999
- UPC: 8714092654721
- Item Number: PID926547
- Release date: 01/01/1999
- 1. Big in Japan
- 2. Lowside of the Road
- 3. Hold On
- 4. Get Behind the Mule
- 5. House Where Nobody Lives
- 6. Cold Water
- 7. Pony
- 8. What's He Building in There
- 9. Black Market Baby
- 10. Eyeball Kid
- 11. Picture in a Frame
- 12. Chocolate Jesus
- 13. Georgia Lee
- 14. Filipino Box Spring Hog
- 15. Take It with Me
- 16. Come on Up to the House
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Mule Variations by Tom Waits on CD
Tom Waits grew steadily less prolific after redefining himself as a junkyard noise poet with Swordfishtrombones, but the five-year wait between The Black Rider and 1999's Mule Variations was the longest yet. Given the fact that Waits decided to abandon major labels for the California indie Epitaph, Mule Variations would seem like a golden opportunity to redefine himself and begin a new phase of his career. However, it plays like a revue of highlights from every album he's made since Swordfishtrombones. Of course, that's hardly a criticism; the album uses the ragged cacophony of Bone Machine as a starting point, and proceeds to bring in the songwriterly aspects of Rain Dogs, along with its affection for backstreet and backwoods blues, plus a hint of the beatnik qualities of Swordfish. So Mule Variations delivers what fans want, in terms of both songs and sonics. But that also explains why it sounds terrific on initial spins, only to reveal itself as slightly dissatisfying with subsequent plays. All of Waits' Island records felt like fully conceived albums with genuine themes. Mule Variations, in contrast, is a collection of moments, and while each of those moments is very good (some even bordering on excellent), ultimately the whole doesn't equal the sum of its parts. While that may seem like nitpicking, some may have wanted a masterpiece after five years, and Mule Variations falls short of that mark. Nevertheless, this is a hell of a record by any other standard. Waits is still writing terrific songs and matching them with wildly evocative productions; furthermore, it's his lightest record in years -- it's actually fun to listen to, even with a murder ballad here and a psycho blues there. In that sense, it's a unique item in his post-Swordfish catalog, and that may make up for it not being the masterpiece it seemed like it could have been. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Artist: Tom Waits
- Format: CD
- Year: 1999
- UPC: 8714092654721
- Item Number: PID926547
- Release date: 01/01/1999
- Label: Epitaph
- Genre: Pop/Rock
- Style: Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Experimental Rock
- Alice
- Alice
- Beautiful Maladies: The Island Years
- Big Time
- Big Time (Import)
- Blood Money
- Blood Money
- Blue Valentine
- Blue Valentine (Import)
- Blue Valentine (Import)
- Bone Machine
- Bone Machine
- Closing Time
- Closing Time
- Closing Time (Import)
- Closing Time (Import)
- Closing Time (Import)
- Foreign Affairs (Import)
- Foreign Affairs (Import)
- Franks Wild Years
- Franks Wild Years (Import)
- Franks Wild Years (Import)
- Glitter & Doom Live
- Glitter and Doom Live
- Heartattack & Vine
- Heartattack and Vine (Import)
- Mule Variations
- Mule Variations
- Mule Variations [Japan Bonus Tracks] (Import)
- Nighthawks at the Diner
- Nighthawks at the Diner
- Nighthawks at the Diner (Import)
- Orphans (Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards)
- Orphans (Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards) (Import)
- Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
- Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
- Rain Dogs
- Rain Dogs
- Rain Dogs (Import)
- Rain Dogs (Import)
- Real Gone
- Real Gone
- Real Gone
- Small Change
- Small Change
- Small Change (Import)
- Swordfishtrombones
- Swordfishtrombones
- Swordfishtrombones
- Swordfishtrombones (Import)
- The Asylum Years
- The Asylum Years (Import)
- The Asylum Years (Import)
- The Black Rider
- The Classic Interviews
- The Document
- The Early Years, Vol. 1
- The Early Years, Vol. 1
- The Early Years, Vol. 2
- The Early Years, Vol. 2
- The Heart of Saturday Night
- The Heart of Saturday Night
- The Heart of Saturday Night
- The Heart of Saturday Night (Import)
- Tom Waits : Asylum Years
- Used Songs (1973-1980)
- WAITS,TOM: HEART OF SATURDAY NIGHT
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