Mule Variations

Mule Variations
Studio album by Tom Waits
Released	April 16, 1999 (1999-04-16)
Recorded	Prairie Sun Studios, Cotati, California
Genre	Rock, experimental rock
Length	70:33
Label	ANTI-
Producer	Kathleen Brennan Tom Waits
Tom Waits chronology
The Black Rider (1993) Mule Variations (1999) Blood Money (2002)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(A-)[2]
Pitchfork Media	(9.5/10)[3]
Music Emissions	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
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Mule Variations is an album by Tom Waits, released in 1999 on the ANTI- label. It was Waits's first studio album since 1992's Bone Machine (the later The Black Rider was a collection of songs originally written for a play). It won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album and was nominated for Best Male Rock Performance for the track "Hold On". It also sold more than 500,000 copies world wide.

The album was backed by an extensive tour in Europe and North America during the summer and autumn of 1999, which was Waits's first proper tour since 1987. Other promotional stops included a solo performance on VH1 Storytellers.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 416 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.^[6]

Chart information

Chart	Peak position
Norway	1
Switzerland	7
United Kingdom	9
North America	30

Track listing

All songs by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan unless otherwise noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Big in Japan"		4:05
2.	"Lowside of the Road"		2:59
3.	"Hold On"		5:33
4.	"Get Behind the Mule"		6:52
5.	"House Where Nobody Lives"	Waits	4:14
6.	"Cold Water"		5:23
7.	"Pony"	Waits	4:32
8.	"What's He Building In There?"	Waits	3:20
9.	"Black Market Baby"		5:02
10.	"Eyeball Kid"		4:25
11.	"Picture in a Frame"		3:39
12.	"Chocolate Jesus"		3:55
13.	"Georgia Lee"		4:24
14.	"Filipino Box Spring Hog"	Waits	3:09
15.	"Take It with Me"		4:24
16.	"Come On Up to the House"		4:36

Related promo CD

As a promotional limited offer, an EP titled Hold On was later released with two of the tracks from the Mule Variations album plus two previously unreleased tracks. Track listing:

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hold On"	Waits, Brennan	5:34
2.	"Buzz Fledderjon"	Waits	4:14
3.	"Big in Japan"	Waits, Brennan	4:05
4.	"Big Face Money"	Waits, Casey X. Waits	0:38

The Australian/New Zealand and Japanese releases of the album includes "Buzz Fledderjon" and "Big Face Money" as bonus tracks as tracks number 17 and 18 respectively.

Musicians

• Tom Waits - vocals (1-7, 9-16), The Voice (8), Guitar (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 12), Piano (5, 11, 13, 15, 16), Organ (3), Pump Organ (7), percussion (9, 10), Chamberlin (9), Optigan (2)
• Andrew Borger - drums (9, 14, 16), Percussion (14)
• Kathleen Brennan - Boner (14)
• Ralph Carney - Trumpet (1), Sax (1, 16), Alto-Sax (11), Bass Clarinet (10), Reeds (8, 9)
• Les Claypool - Bass (1)
• Greg Cohen - Bass (11, 12, 15), Percussion (10)
• Linda Deluca-Ghidossi - Violin (13)
• Dalton Dillingham III - Bass (13)
• Joe Gore - Guitar (3, 16)
• Chris Grady - Trumpet (2, 14)
• John Hammond - Blues Harp (7)
• Stephen Hodges - Percussion (3, 4)
• Smokey Hormel - Guitar (4), Dobro (7) , Chumbus & Dousengoni (2)
• Jacquire King - Programming (2, 14)
• Larry LaLonde - Guitar (1)
• Brain Mantia - Drums (1)
• Christopher Marvin - Drums (6)
• Charlie Musselwhite - Blues Harp (4, 12, 14, 16)
• Nik Phelps - Bari-Sax (11, 16)
• DJ M. Mark "The III Media" Reitman - Turntable (8, 9, 10, 14)
• Larry Rhodes - Contrabassoon (10)
• Marc Ribot - Guitar (3, 9, 10, 14), Lead Guitar (5), Guitar Solo (6, 9)
• Jeff Sloan - Percussion (8), Boner (14)
• Larry Taylor - Bass (3, 4, 5, 6, 14, 16), Guitar (14), Rhythm Guitar (5)
• Wings Over Jordan Gospel, Bali Eternal - Turntable Samples (10)

References

1. ^ Mule Variations at Allmusic
2. ^ Robert Christgau
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ Music Emmissions
5. ^ Rolling Stone
6. ^ "416 Mule Variation" "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" 1 November 2003. Retrieved 2 December 2009.

External links

• Mule Conversations