Bad as Me - Tom Waits' last disc...

... cool title, "Bad as Me"... Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, the couple guilty of among the best discs of the last two decades are always joining and joined by the ol' bunch of trusty friends... Marc Ribot, Larry Taylor, Augie Meyers, Charlie Musselwhite, David Hidalgo, Flea, Casey Waits (Tom's son), plus Keef Richards' cameos on vocals on one track and his raw 5 strings Telecaster almost everywhere... the best songs - like "Face to the Highway" - from the gorgeous 180 grams vinyl including a superb booklet of Tom's pixes and the complimentary full disk are, strangely, reminding to me the best forty years old songs - i.e. from Blue Valentine and Small Changes and all first Asylum album, where say, Ray Crawford, Shelly Manne, Chuck Domanico and other L.A.'s scene top session-men were greatly supporting Tom's sandpaper younger voice... recording, in best tracks, are as lo-fi as some Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards' cuts, including el cheapos tubey sounding, hissing and buzzing guitar amps and greasy voice and all.

A nice disc, supported by a nice recording, as well... as a blue label says on cover "The first disc in seven years"... but sooo far from being a tired proof, as it is still fresh as, say, much beloved Swordfishtrombones or Mule Variations...