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Perhaps Tom Waits' most cohesive album, Bone Machine is a morbid, sinister nightmare, one that applied the quirks of his experimental '80s classics to stunningly evocative -- and often harrowing -- effect. In keeping with the title's grotesque image of the human body, Bone Machine is obsessed with decay and mortality, the ease with which earthly existence can be destroyed. The arrangements are accordingly stripped of all excess flesh; the very few, often non-traditional instruments float in distinct separation over the clanking junkyard percussion that dominates the record. It's a chilling, primal sound made all the more otherworldly (or, perhaps, underworldly) by Waits' raspy falsetto and often-distorted roars and growls. Matching that evocative power is Waits' songwriting, which is arguably the most consistently focused it's ever been. Rich in strange and extraordinarily vivid imagery, many of Waits' tales and musings are spun against an imposing backdrop of apocalyptic natural fury, underlining the insignificance of his subjects and their universally impending doom. Death is seen as freedom for the spirit, an escape from the dread and suffering of life in this world -- which he paints as hellishly bleak, full of murder, suicide, and corruption. The chugging, oddly bouncy beats of the more uptempo numbers make them even more disturbing -- there's a detached nonchalance beneath the horrific visions. Even the narrator of the catchy, playful "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" seems hopeless in this context, but that song paves the way for the closer "That Feel," an ode to the endurance of the human soul (with ultimate survivor Keith Richards on harmony vocals). The more upbeat ending hardly dispels the cloud of doom hanging over the rest of Bone Machine, but it does give the listener a gentler escape from that terrifying sonic world. All of it adds up to Waits' most affecting and powerful recording, even if it isn't his most accessible.
© Steve Huey /TiVo
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Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Tchad Blake, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Les Claypool, Electric Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer - Biff Dawes, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Tchad Blake, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer, ComposerLyricist - Biff Dawes, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Brain, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Tchad Blake, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer - Biff Dawes, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Tchad Blake, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer - Biff Dawes, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Tchad Blake, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer, ComposerLyricist - Biff Dawes, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer - Biff Dawes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer - Biff Dawes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Joe Blaney, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer, ComposerLyricist - Joe Marquez, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Brain, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Tchad Blake, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer, ComposerLyricist - Biff Dawes, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer, ComposerLyricist - Biff Dawes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Tchad Blake, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer, ComposerLyricist - Biff Dawes, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Tchad Blake, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer, ComposerLyricist - Biff Dawes, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
David Hidalgo, Accordion, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer, ComposerLyricist - Joe Marquez, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer, ComposerLyricist - Biff Dawes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Tchad Blake, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer - Biff Dawes, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Waddy Wachtel, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Waits, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - KEITH RICHARDS, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Joe Blaney, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Kathleen Brennan, Producer, Associate Producer - Biff Dawes, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
Perhaps Tom Waits' most cohesive album, Bone Machine is a morbid, sinister nightmare, one that applied the quirks of his experimental '80s classics to stunningly evocative -- and often harrowing -- effect. In keeping with the title's grotesque image of the human body, Bone Machine is obsessed with decay and mortality, the ease with which earthly existence can be destroyed. The arrangements are accordingly stripped of all excess flesh; the very few, often non-traditional instruments float in distinct separation over the clanking junkyard percussion that dominates the record. It's a chilling, primal sound made all the more otherworldly (or, perhaps, underworldly) by Waits' raspy falsetto and often-distorted roars and growls. Matching that evocative power is Waits' songwriting, which is arguably the most consistently focused it's ever been. Rich in strange and extraordinarily vivid imagery, many of Waits' tales and musings are spun against an imposing backdrop of apocalyptic natural fury, underlining the insignificance of his subjects and their universally impending doom. Death is seen as freedom for the spirit, an escape from the dread and suffering of life in this world -- which he paints as hellishly bleak, full of murder, suicide, and corruption. The chugging, oddly bouncy beats of the more uptempo numbers make them even more disturbing -- there's a detached nonchalance beneath the horrific visions. Even the narrator of the catchy, playful "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" seems hopeless in this context, but that song paves the way for the closer "That Feel," an ode to the endurance of the human soul (with ultimate survivor Keith Richards on harmony vocals). The more upbeat ending hardly dispels the cloud of doom hanging over the rest of Bone Machine, but it does give the listener a gentler escape from that terrifying sonic world. All of it adds up to Waits' most affecting and powerful recording, even if it isn't his most accessible.
© Steve Huey /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 16 track(s)
- Total length: 00:53:28
- Main artists: Tom Waits
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Island Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2023 UMG Recordings, Inc. ℗ 2023 UMG Recordings, Inc.
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