Rains Dogs and Bad as Me

A nice piece on my favorite record, Rain Dogs by Tom Waits. Speaking of Waits, he has a new record out, Bad as Me, which I bought this weekend. My thoughts on this new CD… a mixed bag. Some songs are immediately striking, such as “Talking at the Same Time,” “Pay Me,” and “Kiss Me” (the ballads and slower songs definitely best the rockers on this record). While others grow on you—I’m thinking of “Chicago” but mostly the title track, an odd ditty that I’m learning to love. Others can be skipped. “Satisfied” is a nice rejoinder to the Rolling Stones and even name checks Jagger and Richards, all while Keith plays along on guitar, but the song is the very definition of filler. “Last Leaf” struck me as sad and poignant the first time I heard it, but annoyed me upon second listen. And every review I’ve read seems to love the song “All Hell Broke Luce” but I find it embarrassingly bad. That said, three dispensable tracks out of thirteen is not bad. The CD is a sold B, which still makes it better than most of what’s out there. But when I think back to the perfection of Rain Dogs and much of the Island era records, I have to admit that Tom’s best days are behind him.

Tom, I still love you, though. Never stop being you.