Tom Waits: Bad as Me

Label: Anti-

It's album number 17 for one of postmodern music's elder statesmen, as well as his first set of all-new material in seven years. And yet, as kaleidoscopic as Tom Waits's sound is, Bad as Me seems to be both nothing too new for him stylistically -- a deep sack of moves, typically bold and theatrical, all served from the underside (real and imagined) of life -- and a typically varied set of songcraft that no one besides him could dream up. For such a splatter of imagery and emotions, he's assembled a supporting cast (from Keith Richards and Marc Ribot to um...Flea?) as vast as the sprawling canvas needed to display all the color and shadow that a Tom Waits record requires. There's also perhaps a bit more of the elder's wisdom that only comes from time served (on Earth) -- as on the tender, knowing "Back in the Crowd."  Always the attentive observer, he's also on-point politically, when he opts to go that route, such as on the wailing lament "Talking at the Same Time." Musically, fans will find their man in fine fettle, as songs like "Raised Right Men" prove; no matter how intensely he turns up the temperature in his kitchen, his gruff caterwaul can handle the heat. It even thrives in it! If only more artists could be as "bad" as Waits...