Real Gone [CD]

On Real Gone, Tom Waits and his band present a bold musical statement that is equally in tune with modern and traditional values. Blues standards are revisited, and reinvented; atypical blues instrumentation--turntables courtesy of Waits's son, Casey, and banjos--transform and refresh the design of Waits's deeply American sound.

Throughout much of Real Gone, Waits sings of desperate situations in his trademark gravelly howl, conjuring images of emotionally haunted spaces that you would not wish to inhabit but may well be familiar with. "Sins of My Father" is one such lifesong, offering a glimpse into Waits's own world of imperfection. "How's It Gonna End" offers a sepia-stained cinematic take on the theme of departure, peaking with gospel backing vocals, but Waits brings it all back down to ground level with a heartfelt repetition of the song's (mark-less) question title. These are very real songs, honestly presented and without over-elaboration.

Low down and gritty stompers provide what amounts to light relief from Real Gone's more emotionally demanding tracks. Opener "Top Of The Hill" is a raucous, bass-heavy blues number which finds Waits in exuberant form. "Hoist That Rag" follows, providing the album's catchiest hook and most formidable vocal take. Fittingly, though, as the subjects of Waits's roots and his country's changing times are woven through Real Gone's emotive songs, the album ends on a note of Dylan-esque reflection with the beautiful acoustic lake of "Day After Tomorrow". Tom Waits has rarely been a versatile as he is on Real Gone, and the record is all the better for it. --Jonathan Davies

Tom Waits' last two (simultaneously released) albums contained specifically written pieces for the theatre and found him in a distinctly Brechtian mode. While awesome, one still longed for a return to the classic days of Rain Dogs etc. Thus when it was announced that Real Gone featured the old touring band and a collection of new stand-alone songs excitement ran high. But it seems that this is actually quite a departure...What marks Real Gone as a change of direction for Tom are two things: One is his decision to excise any use of piano or keyboards from the recording process. The second is the use of his own voice. Initial stripped-back home-recordings resulted in Tom using his patent growl as the rhythm track, albeit augmented by drummer Brain Mantia (of Primus). Overdriven and primal, these lolloping grunts and wheezes give the whole album a weirdly steam-driven aesthetic, mirrored in lyrics that highlight the relentless grind of life on the underbelly.

Mainly recorded in single takes, the core ensemble of Mantia, Larry Taylor (bass) and Marc Ribot (guitar) swing wild and loose, combining dirty notes with Waits' rasped and shouted lyrics. Additional turntablism by Waits' son Casey adds to the strangely mechanical vibe. Yet it's only the repetitious vibe of men straining under post-industrialism: pile-driven into transgression and misery, but always retaining a gallows humour.

Stories of lost love, bitter regret and human life laid waste seem to be the main currency, but Waits and wife Kathleen Brennan's wordplay always narrowly avoids self-parody by use of fantastically impressionistic imagery and wry couplets. Whether it's the resigned calypso shuffle of ''Hoist That Rag'', the processional blues of ''Make It Rain'' ( which contains the priceless line 'I'm not Able, I'm just Cain') or the jazzy shuffle of ''Dead And Lovely'' (a murder ballad sketched in James Ellroy noir shades), Waits comes on, as always, like some socially aware Captain Beefheart, channelling every drunken hobo and down at heel loser that got swept under society's carpet.

It's incredible that someone who, these days, is undoubtedly more superannuated than itinerant can still sound this convincing. Only on the hilarious ''Don't Go Into The Barn'' does Tom's brand of louche gothic tip into Nick Cave/Night Of The Hunter southern surrealism territory, and you become concerned that this is grim-by-numbers. But in the company of 14 other instant Waits classics this is a mere niggle. The closing track, ''The Day After Tomorrow'', finally arrives to remind you what a consummate songwriter he is, with its war-weary soldier's letter home a stark reminder of the current world state. Already Real Gone looks like being one of Tom's best... --Chris Jones

Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window

"One of the great concerts of this era: it was a privilege to have witnessed it"

"You left feeling that, on this particular night, no one on earth had been listening to better music"

Written and produced by Waits with his wife and long-time collaborator, Kathleen Brennan, Real Gone features 15 tracks that echo everything from primal blues to what Waits calls, all mixed and mashed with rock-steady grooves, Latin rhythms and to create a unique new musical hybrid.