Ass vs. Cock

Mule Variations by Tom Waits

I like Tom Waits a lot, especially his post-Swordfishtrombones output. I can remember picking up this album when it came out and listening to it several times. But for some reason it ended up shelved before long, and I can't say I have pulled it out a heck of a lot since. I'm not even sure exactly why, especially after listening to it for this assignment. (My best guess is that Rain Dogs, Bone Machine, and most recently Blood Money all just resonated more immediately with me...) But I can now verify that Mule Variations really is a pretty solid listen. I don't think Waits actually breaks any new ground here. He just does what he does best: adopts the persona of a world-weary-beat-poet-hobo-troubador-sideshow-preacher-bluesman (with a very singular voice), assembles a junkyard band of talented kindred spirits, and makes the music to match. My highest rated tracks here are "Big in Japan", "Get Behind the Mule", "Cold Water", "Chocolate Jesus", and the amazing almost hymn-like closer "Come On Up to the House". There are a few more slow tracks sprinkled throughout the album than I would have preferred, giving it at at times a somewhat uneven sense of flow. But really... that's just nitpicking at the Mule, isn't it? Hee-haw.

Rating: 4.1

Stormcock by Roy Harper

I wasn't familiar with this album or even Roy Harper before the Death Match. And Lord knows I had no idea what the hell a "stormcock" was. Thanks to Wikipedia, I learned that it is another name for the mistle thrush, which "sings its loud melodious song...often during bad weather or at night" - thus, its nickname. Genuinely interesting. (This was a relief, as I had secretly feared that the album title was a reference to some imaginary 70s British porno star -- say "Johnny Stormcock"--who wreaked sexual havoc with his enormous lightning-bolt-shaped genitalia...) At any rate, I listened to the album. That I did. And I didn't really like it. But I didn't hate it either. It was, you know... something different.

All Music Guide suggests that this album encapsulates a genre unique to Harper alone: "epic progressive acoustic". To me these sound like words one might use to describe a chronic degenerative ear problem. But the album isn't as bad as its respective genre label would suggest...It's just 4 songs, all roughly between 7 and 13 minutes long, of pretty impressive acoustic guitar playing (and some British-stoner-hippie-folk singing). The problem for me is that the music itself comes much too close to sounding like acoustic versions of Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd songs...which is just not my bag. I can see how this might appeal to some, especially appreciators of the aforementioned bands, but should I get the urge to listen to some unique acoustic guitar wizardry from this era, I would much prefer to pull out some John Fahey (I refer the uninitiated to The Best of John Fahey (1959-1977) ).

Rating: 2.8

Winner: Tom Waits' Ass Modifications