The legendary Tom Waits is due to release a new album soon....
Bad as Me is the upcoming seventeenth studio album by Tom Waits, due to be released on October 25, 2011 byANTI- Records.[1] The album is known to have been recorded as early as February 2011[2] and was officially announced for release on August 23, 2011 on Waits' official web site[3] and various social media networks. On the same day, the title track, "Bad as Me," was released as the album's first single on iTunes.[4]
The album is also Waits' first album consisting completely of new material in seven years since Real Gone (2004). Waits' label, ANTI-, recently agreed on a distribution deal with Warner Music Group allowing them to release the album internationally. This marks Waits' first release through the Warner organisation since Heartattack and Vine (1980).
Background
In October 2004, Tom Waits released his sixteenth studio album, Real Gone. The subsequent Real Gone Tour saw Waits tour North Americaand Europe extensively throughout October and November in promotion of the album. Following the tour, Waits returned to his side career of acting and in 2005, he appeared in the Tony Scott film Domino as a soothsayer. In the same year, he also appeared as himself in Roberto Benigni's romantic comedy La Tigre e la Neve, set in occupied Baghdad during the Iraq War, a war which influenced a lot of material on Real Gone.
In November 2006, Waits released a 54-song three-disc box set of rarities, unreleased tracks, and new compositions, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards. The box set also continued Waits' new-found interest in politics with "Road to Peace," a song about the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The album was a major commercial and critical success and is currently included in Metacritic's list of the "All-Time High and Low Scores"[5] at number 10, as of August 2011. In May 2008, the Glitter and Doom Tour was announced, though only initially meant to include tour dates in the southern United States. However, ANTI- subsequently announced a series of dates in the United Kingdom, Ireland and mainland Europe.[6] The tour lasted for almost three months, commencing on June 17 in Arizona and concluding in Dublin, Ireland on August 1. Selected recordings from the tour were compiled and released on the live album, Glitter and Doom Live, released worldwide on November 23, 2009.
In early 2011, Waits released a set of 23 poems entitled Seeds on Hard Ground alongside portraits by Michael O'Brien and was inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Neil Young on March 14.[7] Upon his induction, Waits stated "they say I have no hits and that I'm difficult to work with... like it's a bad thing."[8]
Recording
On August 16, 2011, amid the rise of many rumours concerning Bad as Me, Waits announced on his official web site and through various social media outlets[9][10] that he would "set the rumors straight" on August 23. On this date, the title track was released as a digital single through iTunes[4], a video with previews of the album was released on YouTube,[11][12] and was followed by a press release on his site and ANTI-'s blog, which read:
| “ | Bad As Me is Tom Waits’ first studio album of all new music in seven years. This pivotal work refines the music that has come before and signals a new direction. Waits, in possibly the finest voice of his career, worked with a veteran team of gifted musicians and longtime co-writer/producer Kathleen Brennan. From the opening horn-fueled chug of “Chicago,” to the closing barroom chorale of “New Year’s Eve,” Bad As Me displays the full career range of Waits’ songwriting, from beautiful ballads like “Last Leaf,” to the avant cinematic soundscape of “Hell Broke Luce,” a battlefront dispatch. On tracks like “Talking at the Same Time,” Waits shows off a supple falsetto, while on blues burners like “Raised Right Men” and the gospel tinged “Satisfied” he spits, stutters and howls. Like a good boxer, these songs are lean and mean, with strong hooks and tight running times. A pervasive sense of players delighting in each other’s musical company brings a feeling of loose joy even to the album’s saddest songs.[3] | ” |
The album is due to be released worldwide on October 25, 2011[1] in three formats: a digipak CD version with a 32-page booklet and free digital download in FLAC, AAC or MP3; a deluxe edition two-CD version with 40-page booklet and free digital download; and a 180 gram LP and CD with a lyric sheet and free digital download.[13] A sole digital download of the album is also available for pre-order on iTunes.[14]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chicago" | |
| 2. | "Raised Right Men" | |
| 3. | "Talking at the Same Time" | |
| 4. | "Get Lost" | |
| 5. | "Face to the Highway" | |
| 6. | "Pay Me" | |
| 7. | "Back in the Crowd" | |
| 8. | "Bad as Me" | |
| 9. | "Kiss Me" | |
| 10. | "Satisfied" | |
| 11. | "Last Leaf" | |
| 12. | "Hell Broke Luce" | |
| 13. | "New Year's Eve" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "She Stole the Blush" | |
| 15. | "Tell Me" | |
| 16. | "After You Die" |
Personnel
- Musicians
- Technical personnel
- Kathleen Brennan - producer
- Tom Waits - producer
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