It's Funny How You Want Things You Didn't Know You Wanted

I'm now on the hunt for the a copy of the Pretty In Pink soundtrack on vinyl. Correction, the 2012 pink vinyl reissue...because, why not? 

How did I get there? Interesting question, I hear you think. Well, Rhones and I have been watching a fair few of our DVDs lately. We started off going down memory lane, early noughties/late nineties style. We're talking The Replacements, Bring It On, Grosse Pointe Blank, High Fidelity, The Castle, The Dish, and, uh, I think that was all. Then we turned to some eighties classics.

We had already revisited Stand By Me, The Goonies, The Lost Boys and the Back To The Future trilogy fairly recently, so we looked to the work of Mr John Hughes. We quickly devoured Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and, you guessed it, Pretty In Pink. 

I can't say I'm hugely enamoured with the film, although I do enjoy the scene where Molly Ringwald's Andie confronts her father, played by Harry Dean Stanton, about his inability to move on after his wife left him. James Spader does a very nice job of being a real sleazeball, but I think Andrew McCarthy was miscast. And Jon Cryer's Duckie is overplayed. It was nice spotting Dweezil Zappa in a very minor role though.

But, I digress! As the film played, a few choice tunes appeared. Suzanne Vega's wonderful Left of Centre, Bring On The Dancing Horses by Echo & The Bunnymen, the title track of course and Shellshock by New Order. All of these songs are on the soundtrack, but I was surprised to hear New Order's Elegia as the minutes ticked over too! I had forgotten it was in there, to be honest, particularly after it was used to such chilling effect in the sublime Netflix TV series Stranger Things. 

Of course, OMD's iconic If You Leave ends the film, and also finds a spot on the soundtrack. There's also The Smith's beautiful Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want, which I didn't notice, if I'm being honest. I wish they'd used the Nik Kershaw version of Wouldn't It Be Good in there, but you can't have everything, I guess.

Anyway, me wantee. 

SIDE NOTE: After reading up on New Order's Low-Life album (which contains Elegia; and Shellshock appears on the 2008 collector's reissue), I gave that a good listen too. I want that as well now! Ha haaa!!

Oz 90's!

I'm not the massive lover of the nineties that most people of my generation are. I'll defend the seventies as the greatest era of music until my tongue falls off, but I'll concede that the nineties certainly had its moments. 

There's been a big resurgence in the decade's popularity over the last few years and I think that's a cyclical thing. In the noughties, we were all looking back to the eighties. Well, some of us. He he he... Even though the seventies are my favourite decade, I hold onto 1985 and 1986 as two of my favourite years for music. 

But, I'm here to share something about the nineties! Specifically Australian music of the nineties. I burned some CDs a fair few years back for an Australia Day BBQ we had with friends which featured all Australian tunes...from the nineties. There you go, there's the link. I think it's a pretty great list of the popular, the slightly obscure and the deep cut. Pretty sure the odd NZ track snuck in too!

I now have the songs on my iPod as a playlist. They're in a fairly loose chronological order (because, it's me) and I think you get a could idea of how music in Australia shifted through the decade. Anyhoo, have a scroll below. Remember, this list was once four burnt CDs:

1. Blue Sky Mine MIDNIGHT OIL

2. Blush THE HUMMINGBIRDS

3. Metropolis THE CHURCH

4. Burn For You JOHN FARNHAM

5. She Goes On CROWDED HOUSE

6. Don't Go Now RATCAT

7. Don't Start Me Talking PAUL KELLY & THE MESSENGERS

8. Someone's Singing New York New York GHOSTWRITERS

9. Under My Skin DEBORAH CONWAY

10. Painless BABY ANIMALS

11. The Day You Went Away WENDY MATTHEWS

12. She Will Survive THINGS OF STONE & WOOD

13. No Time FRENTE!

14. Imaginary Girl HUNTERS & COLLECTORS

15. Father's Day WEDDINGS PARTIES ANYTHING

16. In My Command CROWDED HOUSE

17. Talking Sly THE SHARP

18. The Honeymoon Is Over THE CRUEL SEA

19. Masterplan DIESEL

20. You Were There SOUTHERN SONS

21. Persuasion TIM FINN

22. Night of the Wolverine DAVE GRANEY 'N' THE CORAL SNAKES

23. The Ship Song (live) NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS

24. Rain In My Heart WEDDINGS PARTIES ANYTHING

25. Somethings Nobody Can Change THE SHARP

26. Wildflowers THINGS OF STONE & WOOD

27. Nails In My Feet CROWDED HOUSE

28. I've Got a Plan MY FRIEND THE CHOCOLATE CAKE

29. Mountain (acoustic) CHOCOLATE STARFISH

30. Lonely FRENTE!

31. You Wanna Be Loved DAVE GRANEY 'N' THE CORAL SNAKES

32. Tomorrow SILVERCHAIR

33. Less Than A Feeling HOODOO GURUS

34. Berlin Chair YOU AM I

35. Easy HUNTERS & COLLECTORS

36. Hands Out Of My Pocket COLD CHISEL

37. Honest and Sober THE SHARP

38. Purple Sneakers YOU AM I

39. Lemonsuck POLLYANNA

40. Apple Eyes SWOOP

41. Greg! The Stop Sign!! TISM

42. Where The Wild Roses Grow NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS feat. KYLIE MINOGUE

43. Angels Heap FINN

44. Rock 'n' Roll Is Where I Hide DAVE GRANEY 'N' THE CORAL SNAKES

45. Deeper Water PAUL KELLY

46. Mr Milk YOU AM I

47. Coppertone FINI SCAD

48. Underwater MIDNIGHT OIL

49. Buy Me a Pony SPIDERBAIT

50. Jerks of Attention JEBEDIAH

51. Cromagnonman SNOUT

52. Everything Is Good For You CROWDED HOUSE

53. Who's Ever Been Using My Bed THE EARTHMEN

54. Cool Your Heels ATLAS STRINGS

55. I Make Hamburgers THE WHITLAMS

56. How To Make Gravy PAUL KELLY

57. Prisoner of Society THE LIVING END

58. Freak SILVERCHAIR

59. Just Ace GRINSPOON

60. Leaving Home JEBEDIAH

61. Captain (Million Miles an Hour) SOMETHING FOR KATE

62. No Aphrodisiac THE WHITLAMS

63. The Charles Atlas Way THE FAUVES

64. Sinner NEIL FINN

65. Music Is Crap CUSTARD

66. What I Don't Know 'Bout You YOU AM I

67. Cry THE MAVIS'S

68. Nothing On My Mind PAUL KELLY

69. Cigarettes Will Kill You BEN LEE
70. Girls Like That (Don't Go For Guys Like Us) CUSTARD

71. The Day You Come POWDERFINGER

72. Miss You Love SILVERCHAIR

73. Dig MARK LIZOTTE

74. Already Gone POWDERFINGER

Just Because You Can Throw a Train Carriage Through a Shop Window..

..doesn't mean you should. The recent trend of mindless action and city-destroying mayhem as an exciting third act/finale to a superhero film disturbs me. Actually, it bores me. Having just watched 2013's Man of Steel film for the first time, I'm worried about the future of the action blockbuster. They weren't always this banal, were they? I'm guessing that the advancement of technology and CGI is to blame for these rubble-producing scenes, but they're unnecessary. It's overkill. It's tedious. I found myself willing the film to end. Why do these movies have to nudge the two and a half hour mark now? Why is the CGI looking more and more fake? Why do the people who make these things think we need non-stop action sequences? Now, let me just add this little disclaimer...

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Honestly, this film could have been so much shorter. I think there's a fairly decent movie in there if it was shaved down to maybe 90-110min. It took twenty minutes to leave Krypton, for crying out loud! Did we need to see Russell Crowe flying a dragon? He did a pretty fine job in the role of Jor-El, but a huge action fight scene was not really needed, I feel. I just wanted the plot to progess, and get to Earth! Granted, I might have been expecting more of a similar plotline to the 1978 classic, but come on! Fire the baby into space already! And General Zod and his cronies possibly should have jettisoned to the Phantom Zone before "the last spacecraft on the planet" was used for baby Kal-El. 


I also feel that the movie would have benefited greatly from a linear narrative. When the little Kryptonian capsule was hurtling through space I was expecting to see it land. Or rather, crash. However, the next shot was an oil rig in the middle of the ocean somewhere, and dang me if we didn't get introduced to Clark Kent in the most throwaway fashion. It isn't until he's on fire and rescuing workers after an on-board accident that we realise who the character is. I didn't recognise Henry Cavill, as I'm not very familiar with him. I was waiting to see an extraterrestrial vehicle disrupt the life of the Kents, not some over-the-top oil rig disaster!  

Anyway, the bits in between Kal-El's arrival on Earth and his wandering the globe get given to us via the odd flashback sequence. The best thing about these scenes, in my opinion, is Kevin Costner who fabulous as Jonathan Kent. I know there are some who dislike this portrayal of Clark's Pa, John Schneider for one (Bo Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard and Smallville's Jonathan Kent), but I think he is trying to protect Clark from the fickle attentions of humanity. This is a Superman for this age after all, but Pa's advice is possible misguided, and fails to make Kal-El the best Kal-El he can be. Diane Lane is great as Martha Kent, but it's Costner as Clark's (mis)guiding star who shines brightest. I have to say that his death scene was horrible though. Again, an action sequence for the sake of an action sequence. Death by tornado? Ouch.
 
As the film moves on Kal-El finds not a Fortress of Solitude, but rather a crashed Kryptonian spaceship, and is reunited with his dead father via awesome Kryptonian hologrammatic technology. He meets Amy Adams' Lois Lane in this icy region as well and so begins the digging into the mysterious alien's background. I thought Laurence Fishburne was a great choice as Perry White, but he feels somewhat wasted in the role.

To cut a long story short, the film reaches its messy conclusion with General Zod coming to Earth to create a new Krypton; so Kal and Zod and his cronies proceed to throw each other around like all get-out. Metropolis cops a fair hiding, and no doubt many innocent people died as a result. Not that you see a single civilian death. Michael Shannon's Zod stands well on its own, and doesn't owe anything to Terence Stamp's iconic portrayal in the Richard Donner films. He does get a little chompy on the scenery though, occasionally comes across as a melodrama villain.

I had issues with the movie from the very start, but it well and truly lost by the last forty-five minutes or so. Gah! And if that wasn't enough, we decided to punish ourselves further and watch Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as well! Hahaaaaa!! I did enjoy BvS:DoJ a bit more than MoS though. It still could have been forty minutes shorter though. Once I got over the fact that Lex Luthor was a manchild, I quite enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg's twitchy turn as Superman's nemesis. Superman was his usual moody self, and while I think Henry Cavill does the best he can, the writing lets him down. Superman comes across in both films as a mopey and reluctant superhero. That's no fun.

I really liked Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne and Jeremy Irons as Alfred. Great casting, and they worked well together. Affleck's take on an aging, world-weary Wayne was pretty great, and I think his Batman was as good as anyone else, although we didn't see much of him. There was one fight scene between Batman and a room full of cronies that was arguably the highlight of the whole movie. Both Rhona and I exclaimed "Alright! Here we go!", but that was about as good we got. For a superhero movie, there should way more of those moments.

The showdown between Superman and Batman was good, not great, but one of the better scenes in the film. It's made me want to thumb through my old copy of The Dark Knight Returns. Wonder Woman's appearance was another big highlight, but it just took too long for her to arrive! When the three heroes get down to battling Doomsday, I thought we were headed into the same smashy-smashy direction, but it seemed a little more restrained this time around. 

I am hopeful that the remaining DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movies will be a big improvement on the first two. I thought that Wonder Woman was much better than either MoS or BvS:DoJ; and it was on the strength of that film that we went back and endured the other two. Even WW descended into smashy-smashy territory by the third act, but it was easier to handle. While the third act was the weakest part, it didn't overwhelm the whole movie, thankfully. Gal Gadot does a wonderful job in the role, and although her costume is quite drab, the excitement of seeing her in action is pure cinematic joy. That's what you go to the movies for. That's why it was so refreshing to cheer at the screen in The Force Awakens and Rogue One.

Having grown up in an era of classic action/adventure and superhero films, it's a bit easier to be let down by today's blockbusters. The original Star Wars trilogy, the Back To The Future trilogy, the Indiana Jones trilogy and the, um, first two Superman movies all hold up very well. The character development and story lines are far superior too. In the last few years the box office has been ruled by sequels, action, reboots, action, CGI, 3-D and more action! The New York battle scene at the end of The Avengers is one of the biggest offenders of overkill in recent memory. Of the limited number of Marvel movies I've seen, I don't think any of them have outdone the first Iron Man. 

Maybe that's the difference between Marvel and DC here. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films were borne out of the success of Iron Man, but the DCEU has been constructed from the outset. The little peaks of The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman were quite enticing, and if the DC movies improve on the trend they're currently on, we could be in for some cool flicks. I don't think Zack Snyder is wholly to blame for the failings of the first two films, but having Patty Jenkins direct WW was certainly a step in the right direction. Snyder did helm 300 and Watchmen, both of which I enjoyed immensely, particularly the latter, but I'm hoping he learns the principle of 'less is more' for the next installments. 

So there.

Album of the Week - Vol.4

Tango In The Night FLEETWOOD MAC (1987)
Week: Sat 3rd June to Fri 9th June
Format: Vinyl
Producer(s): Lindsey Buckingham & Richard Dashut
Track listing:
SIDE 1
1. Big Love *
2. Seven Wonders
3. Everywhere *
4. Caroline
5. Tango In The Night *
6. Mystified
SIDE 2
1. Little Lies
2. Family Man
3. Welcome To The Room... Sara *
4. Isn't It Midnight
5. When I See You Again *
6. You and I, Part II
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 44:28

This album has the honour of being Fleetwood Mac's second highest selling record after Rumours (1977); and, at the time of blogging, the last to feature the classic line-up of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Apparently when Christine rejoined the Mac in 2013, the band started work on a new studio album. They toured as the classic line-up, but no new record eventuated. Stevie left to further her solo career and instead we have the new offering Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie by, you guessed it, Lindsey and Christine. John and Mick are on the album too. Bizarrely, Tango In The Night started off as a solo album for Buckingham, and ended up being the last official studio Mac release. To paraphrase Nick Cave, it's funny how things go. Apparently Stevie was pretty hard to nail down for these sessions too! Over the eighteen month recording period, she was there for about three weeks.

Anyway, this album is an absolute corker. I now own my dad's old vinyl copy (I may have mentioned in a previous blog entry that he got it for his 40th birthday many moons ago), but I also bought it on CD while I was in Adelaide with my family in early 1992. In the argument of CD vs vinyl, the artwork looks a damn sight better on a record sleeve, compared to the CD booklet. I was always more impressed with the digital sound as an impressionable young teen though. 

If you're only familiar with the hits here, you're doing yourself a disservice. I mean, the hits are good and plentiful, boasting Little Lies, Seven Wonders, Everywhere and Big Love (the latter has now almost been eclipsed by Buckingham's amazing solo performances of it); but the whole album is pretty bang on. Even the gimmicky Family Man has some great guitar lines and a fairly catchy refrain. Stevie Nicks' Welcome To The Room... Sara is as classic as anything off Rumours or Tusk and the sonic majesty of the title track is electrifying. Some of Buckingham's best soloing right there, I reckon; although he does give it welly on Isn't It Midnight too. Christine McVie's Mystified is a very subdued, but nonetheless pretty track which sounds like it could be the album's closer, instead of ending the first side. 

Some of the production is a little dated, particularly the drum sound and the keyboard saturation, but that doesn't take away from how good the songs are. Those distinctive voices blend as well as they ever did, sharing harmonies and counter melodies like so much oxygen and bliss. Nicks' lead vocal on When I See You Again giving way to Buckingham's works a treat. There's a thread connecting these songs together that makes it all cohesive...it sounds like an album despite no running concept or overarching theme. I can't put my finger on it, but they belong in this group. 

Since I started listening to this record recently, I learnt that a deluxe edition of the album was reissued earlier this year, as it is now thirty years old! Freak me! Of course it is! Might be worth a look-see, methinks.

I doubt we'll get another album like this from them again, but we can always watch The Dance one more time, right?

Album of the Week - Vol.3

Back to Black AMY WINEHOUSE (2006)
Week: Wed 10th May to Tue 16th May
Format: CD
Producer(s): Mark Ronson, Salaam Remi
Track listing:
1. Rehab *
2. You Know I'm No Good *
3. Me & Mr Jones (Fuckery) *
4. Just Friends
5. Back to Black *
6. Love Is a Losing Game
7. Tears Dry on Their Own *
8. Wake Up Alone
9. Some Unholy War
10. He Can Only Hold Her
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 32:10

When the world lost Amy Winehouse, I was not her biggest fan. Her image had overshadowed her creative output, and I didn't feel like she was an artists I could get into. The only song of hers I knew was Rehab, and the point of that track was lost on me. I wrote it off as some kind of rebellious boast-type affair, but I've come to see that there's more to it than that now. 

A little after her death I really started to get into her and Mark Ronson's cover of The Zutons' Valerie. A bit late, for sure, but better late than never. I slowly sampled the odd track from the Back to Black album as well, particularly You Know I'm No Good and Tears Dry on Their Own. 

I began to appreciate just how amazing her voice was, and how the production of those songs brilliantly recreated classic R&B and girl group values. I think I finally took the plunge and nabbed the album on CD a coupla years back. It's quite rooted in the sixties, while having fairly, frank not-so-sixties subject matter. While only just breaking half an hour of playing time, Back to Black is also very personal. Most of the songs deal with her break-up with Blake Fielder-Civil, who she would later marry and divorce.

Amy Winehouse didn't leave behind a massive back catalog, but I'm determined to dig a little more. I haven't even listened to her first album, Frank. This CD sounded fantastic through our little system in the lounge room and I may have pulled Rhona off the couch for a dance over the course of the week. As I said earlier, the production is truly stunning, and it's interesting trying to pick the producer of each track (either Mark Ronson or Salaam Remi). The Motown-esque horns and strings together with the doo-wop backing vocals are just sublime. I'm amazed at how listenable (and re-listenable) this album is. My only big issue with it, is that's too short. Maybe it was kept to a short length so it stood comfortably next to other long players from the sixties, or to ensure it didn't outstay its welcome.

I also listened to this album on Spotify with the headphones on, and that was a fantastic experience. Not only did it sound brilliant, but there was a Genius pop-up function that scrolled lyrics and offered facts about each song. It also included the track Addicted, which is not on the CD I own. I don't think it's an essential part of the album, but it does include the memorable lyric: "It's got me addicted/Does more than any dick did". Anyway, I think this album is one of the best releases of the noughties, and I wish I that had appreciated it during Amy's lifetime.

Album of the Week - Vol.2

Hit PETER GABRIEL (2003) - 2CD UK Edition
Week: Sun 16th Apr to Sat 22nd Apr
Format: iPod (MP3s)
Producer(s): numerous
Track listing:
CD 1 (HIT)
1. Solsbury Hill *
2. Shock the Monkey (Single edit)
3. Sledgehammer (Single edit)
4. Don't Give Up (Edited version) *
5. Games Without Frontiers (Single edit) *
6. Big Time
7. Burn You Up, Burn You Down
8. Growing Up (Tom Lord-Alge mix) *
9. Digging In The Dirt
10. Blood of Eden (Radio edit)
11. More Than This (Radio edit)
12. Biko (Edited version) *
13. Steam
14. Red Rain
15. Here Comes the Flood (1990 version)
CD 2 (MISS)
1. San Jacinto *
2. No Self Control
3. Cloudless
4. The Rhythm of the Heat
5. I Have the Touch (Robbie Robertson mix)
6. I Grieve
7. D.I.Y. *
8. A Different Drum
9. The Drop
10. The Tower That Ate People (Steve Osborne mix)
11. Lovetown *
12. Father, Son *
13. Signal to Noise
14. Downside Up (live) *
15. Washing of the Water
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 2:30:19

I'm not going to make a habit of choosing compilations or greatest hits albums for these blogs, but I just happened to be listening to this one quite a bit lately. Bizarrely, and fairly out of character for me, my method of choice for digesting this one was to dial it up on my iPod and hit shuffle. I think I liked the unpredictability of it - what song would be next? 

My first big memory of Peter Gabriel came in the form of the vinyl long player So that my dad found among his presents for his fortieth birthday, an age I've now surpassed. That stark black and white image of Gabriel's face, with just a hit of blue. Only the promo sticker gave away the title. I soon became fairly rapt in the music therein. Sledgehammer was a massive hit, and you couldn't escape it due to the film clip being on TV every hour or so. I think I remember the first time I listened to the album, and how the hi-hat intro on Red Rain struck me. Both of these tracks are included here. I'm quite puzzled that In Your Eyes isn't here (it did make onto the US 2CD edition though), as I think that is one of Gabriel's most beloved songs, thanks partly to John Cusack. As fun as Big Time is, I don't think it's as essential to the former Genesis frontman's canon. Who knows how tracks (and their versions) make it onto compilations? 

Despite that oversight, I think this is a pretty good overview for the casual Gabriel fan. I would put myself in that category, but over the last year or so, I've been more intrigued by his work. And by his work ethic. Did you know that since we were pounded by Sledgehammer, he has only released two studio albums? There's been soundtracks, live offerings and other experimentations, but only two solo albums, 1992's Us and 2002's Up. Both releases are represented well here, with my big favourite from the former, Digging In The Dirt, sitting nicely before the latter's Growing Up.

As I wasn't a massive Gabriel fan when I got Hit, this album was how I heard some of these tracks for the first time. Except for Solsbury Hill and Shock the Monkey, I didn't think I knew any of his pre-So catalog. I was surprise
Md to learn that I did know Games Without Frontiers though; I just didn't think it was a Peter Gabriel song for some reason. After being initially disappointed by my first listen of Biko, it's now one of my strong favourites. I particularly like live versions, as he encourages the audience to keep singing while the band leave the stage one by one. 

While not everything here is absolutely stellar, it's all interesting. It's a pet peeve of mine when collections like these aren't in chronological order, but what are you going to do? I think there are better tracks off Up that could have been included, namely The Barry Williams Show and Sky Blue. The latter is somewhat represented in the form of Cloudless, a piece from Gabriel's soundtrack for Rabbit-Proof Fence. All his releases up to 2003 are represented except for the Birdy soundtrack, and the new song Burn You Up, Burn You Down is quite good. I'd recommend this for anyone wanting to have a bit of a sampler of Gabriel's solo work. 

Album of the Week - Vol.1

Mule Variations TOM WAITS (1999)
Week: Sat 8th Apr to Fri 14th Apr
Format: iPod (MP3s)
Producer: Kathleen Brennan and Tom Waits
Track listing:

1. Big in Japan *
2. Lowside of the Road
3. Hold On *
4. Get Behind the Mule
5. House Where Nobody Lives
6. Cold Water
7. Pony
8. What's He Building? *
9. Black Market Baby
10. Eyeball Kid
11. Picture in a Frame *
12. Chocolate Jesus
13. Georgia Lee
14. Filipino Box Spring Hog
15. Take it With Me
16. Come on Up to the House *
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 70:33

I got into Tom Waits quite late in life. It wasn't until I turned forty that I listened to a whole album of his. A couple of friends had suggested to me that leaping down this particular rabbit hole would be an interesting one, and not one I'd regret. How right they were. After being exposed to a couple of choice tracks via Spotify's Discover Weekly playlists, I sought help from a big fan. Let's call her Ang, because that's her name. 

Ang likes music just as much as me, I reckon. She had made a Spotify playlist of her favourite Tom Waits tunes a while back, and I asked her for the link. Upon wading through a good whack of the list, I made a decision to start listening to albums in their entirety. After being particularly struck by Hold On from Ang's playlist, I turned to Mule Variations. So it was, one day in March last year I listened to a Tom Waits record for the first time.

While I didn't get through more than about eight or nine of his long players, I have become quite the Tom Waits fan. His delivery runs the gamut from melancholic mumbling to raucous rambling, but there's always heart there. Or a little grit, if nothing else. He certainly is an acquired taste, but I doubt it's one you would lose once you got it. I'll be digging through more of his work in the future, I have no doubt. 

Now, Hold On was the bait on the hook, but I really enjoyed my first listen of Mule Variations. I've now come to see it as an astonishing set of songs that truly showcases Waits and what he does best. I've been listening to it quite a bit lately, and that's why it's my inaugural entry for this semi-regular Album of the Week blog thing. 

One of my favourite ways to listen to music is while driving, and in particular on the way to a gig; or heading home from one. It's usually nighttime, the traffic is lighter and I'm thoroughly ensconced in what I'm hearing. During the packdown of a Wesley gig at The Saint recently, I spontaneously started spouting lyrics from Big In Japan, the opening track of Mule Variations. It's a fun song, and I decided right then that I would listen to the album on the drive home. As the record's running time was longer than my journey, the second half of the album served as my soundtrack on the way to a wedding gig up in Gnangara. Bizarrely, the reception was being put on in the big, beautiful backyard of the groom's parents' house, and the final track from Mule Variations, Come on Up to the House was nearing completion as I parked. I've listened to the album several more times during the week. It's just brilliant.

A good album will change its attack and bounce between moods as it unfolds. This one does exactly that. You get wailin', found-object romps and tender, poignant ballads. The rollickin' Filipino Box Spring Hog sits right next to the lovely Take it With Me; and after being lulled by Pony, you're hit with the eerie, spoken-word prose of What's He Building?. The only element missing from this album is his jazz leanings. So, didn't expect anything like Step Right Up from Small Change or Blue Valentine's wonderful $29.00. 

As I continue this blog idea, I will mark my favourite songs in the track listing at the start with an asterisk. Not sure when (and if - let's face it) I'll do another album. Hey, anything can happen. But, let me strongly recommend Mule Variations to you. Even if you're not a Tom Waits fan, I'm sure you'll take something away from it.