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Critic Reviews
100
Listening to this album is like going through an amusement-park fun house. You never know when youβre going to be shocked, thrilled, or just plain unnerved by some startling image or sound.
10y
96
If Waits’ songs can be divided into brawlers, bawlers and bastards, some of the best from each category appear on Bone Machine.
2y
90
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.
13y
80
His drunken bluster to the fore, Waits tramples melodies with an ear for twisting clichΓ©s. The music matches Waitsβs hollers with plenty of upright bass, late-night piano and over-the-top percussion.
11y
Now that's how you start an album; the sounds of blunt instruments clanking together, followed by a harsh, animalistic voice, chanting "The Earth died screaming, while I lay dreaming." Our introduction into the Bone Machine.
I've been thinking for weeks now, how the hell do I even attempt to tackle this album in a review? An album so personal, so powerful, so goddamn haunting, that no words could possibly do it justice. And even as I type this, I honestly doubt that I'll be able to ... read more
Honestly pretty impressed by the sound of this, kinda reminded me of ween at points for the wacky moments and interesting instrumentals, other albums of his didn't click but i liked this one quite a bit!
ARTIST BINGE #2 : TOM WAITS, PART. 10
So, dear sir... You thought you knew all about sordid music? You thought you had scoured all the emotions buried in your bête noire and come back from so many macabre experiences that nothing could frighten you anymore? So, dear sir... have you ever ventured to turn on the Bone Machine?
In 1992, Isaac Asimov took his last breath. In 1992, Tom Waits pushed the limits of his art and released an album about death. No, he released THE album about death. ... read more
Absolutely fantastic. I liked this one quite a bit when I first heard it but it somehow grew on me even more. Lots of fun homemade experiments in here. I would say this album is Tom Waits at his most primal, there is more experimental stuff to come but this is 100% his most primal. My favorite tracks had to be The Earth Died Screaming, Such a Scream, All Stripped Down, Who Are You, Goin' Out West, MITRB, and I Don't Wanna Grow Up. It's really hard to choose a favorite on this ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | Earth Died Screaming 3:38 | 88 |
| 2 | Dirt in the Ground 4:07 | 89 |
| 3 | Such a Scream 2:08 | 85 |
| 4 | All Stripped Down 3:03 | 78 |
| 5 | Who Are You 3:55 | 88 |
| 6 | The Ocean Doesn't Want Me 1:51 | 81 |
| 7 | Jesus Gonna Be Here 3:18 | 83 |
| 8 | Little Rain (For Clyde) 2:58 | 86 |
| 9 | In the Colosseum 4:50 | 83 |
| 10 | Goin' out West 3:20 | 90 |
| 11 | Murder in the Red Barn 4:28 | 82 |
| 12 | Black Wings 4:35 | 86 |
| 13 | Whistle Down the Wind (For Tom Jans) 4:35 | 84 |
| 14 | I Don't Wanna Grow Up 2:31 | 88 |
| 15 | Let Me Get up on It 0:53 | 72 |
| 16 | That Feel 3:12 | 88 |
Total Length: 53 minutes
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4mo
"Murder in the Red Barn" would fuck so hard if someone covered it on a cigar-box geetar
7mo
for an album with an 85 average there being no track with an above 90 score is quite bizzare
10mo
This album gives you a chronic smoking habit, a DUI, and four estranged children you never knew about
1y
Why does this look like that one picture of Kanye if anyone knows what I'm talking about