Bone Machine

by Tom Waits

Bone Machine cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: September 8, 1992
  • Label: Island
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 53:28
  • Community rating: 4.41/5 from 18 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

'Bone Machine' is defined by a raw and percussion-heavy sound, an aesthetic achieved by recording in a bare cement-floored cellar room which imparts a primal, lo-fi quality to the tracks. The album's lyrical focus is a stark exploration of death, decay, and macabre biblical imagery, with Waits' varied vocal performances ranging from gravelly growls to a strained falsetto. Featuring guest artists like Keith Richards and Les Claypool, and marking Waits' first extensive use of drums, the Grammy-winning album is a visceral and pivotal entry in his discography.

Genres

Descriptors: percussive, lo-fi, storytelling, death, biblical, experimental, theatrical, avant-garde, abrasive

Tracklist

  1. The Earth Died Screaming (03:37)
  2. Dirt In The Ground (04:07)
  3. Such A Scream (02:08)
  4. All Stripped Down (03:02)
  5. Who Are You (03:56)
  6. The Ocean Doesn't Want Me (01:50)
  7. Jesus Gonna Be Here (03:21)
  8. A Little Rain (02:59)
  9. In The Colosseum (04:50)
  10. Goin' Out West (03:19)
  11. Murder In The Red Barn (04:28)
  12. Black Wings (04:37)
  13. Whistle Down The Wind (04:35)
  14. I Don't Wanna Grow Up (02:31)
  15. Let Me Get Up On It (00:55)
  16. That Feel (03:13)

Credits

  • Tom Waits - lead vocals, chamberlin, percussion, guitar, sticks, piano, upright bass, conundrum, drums, acoustic guitar, producer
  • Brain - drums
  • Kathleen Brennan - sticks, associate producer
  • Ralph Carney - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
  • Les Claypool - bass guitar
  • Joe Gore - guitar
  • David Hidalgo - violin, accordion
  • Joe Marquez - sticks, banjo, recording, mixing, second engineer
  • David Phillips - pedal steel guitar, steel guitar
  • Keith Richards - guitar, backing vocals
  • Larry Taylor - upright bass, guitar
  • Waddy Wachtel - guitar
  • Biff Dawes - recording, mixing
  • Tchad Blake - mixing
  • Joe Blaney - mixing
  • Shawn Michael Morris - third engineer
  • Bob Ludwig - mastering
  • Frances Thumm - musical security guard

More from Tom Waits: full discography