Mule Variations

by Tom Waits

Mule Variations cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 27 April 1999
  • Label: Anti-
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 1:10:32
  • Community rating: 4.27/5 from 11 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Tom Waits' first album for Epitaph's Anti- imprint after leaving Island, 'Mule Variations' returns to the gravel-voiced blues and junkyard percussion of his 1980s work. Co-produced with his wife Kathleen Brennan, its songs move between rural storytelling, spoken-word pieces and raw country blues.

Genres

Descriptors: atmospheric, bluesy, storytelling, personal, lo-fi, acoustic

Tracklist

  1. Big In Japan (4:05)
  2. Lowside Of The Road (2:59)
  3. Hold On (5:33)
  4. Get Behind The Mule (6:52)
  5. House Where Nobody Lives (4:14)
  6. Cold Water (5:23)
  7. Pony (4:32)
  8. What's He Building? (3:20)
  9. Black Market Baby (5:02)
  10. Eyeball Kid (4:25)
  11. Picture In A Frame (3:39)
  12. Chocolate Jesus (3:55)
  13. Georgia Lee (4:24)
  14. Filipino Box Spring Hog (3:09)
  15. Take It With Me (4:24)
  16. Come On Up To The House (4:36)

Credits

  • Ralph Carney - saxophone, trumpet, reeds, bass clarinet, alto saxophone
  • Smokey Hormel - c眉mb眉艧 [chumbus], lute [dousengoni], guitar, dobro
  • Larry Taylor - bass, bass, rhythm guitar, bass, guitar
  • Marc Ribot - guitar, lead guitar
  • Charlie Musselwhite - blues harp [harp], harmonica [harp]
  • John Paul Hammond - blues harp [harp]
  • Andrew Borger - drums, drums, percussion
  • Greg Cohen - percussion, bass

More from Tom Waits: full discography