Bare Bones Beauty

Bone Machine, tom Waits' latest album, is a landmark for American pop music. Waits presents a stark series of bluesy songs that are innovative and profound. The most striking thing about the album is its spare sound. Waits strips down the blues to create a haunting timbre of heavy, hollow drums, chilling guitars and growling vocals.

The arrangements of the first three songs make an immediate musical impression. On "Earth Died Screaming," Waits sings in a low grinding voice until the chorus when he shifts to a high register and screams "And the earth died screaming/While I lay dreaming of you." The effect is electric.

The heavy first number blends into the even heavier "Dirt in the Ground." Waits' reflection on death is original and, despite the depressing topic, exhilirating to listen to: "The quill from a buzzard/ The blood writes the word/ I want to know am I the sky/ Or a bird/Cause hell is boiling over/And heaven is full/We're chained to the world/And we all gotta pull/And we're all gonna be/...Just dirt in the ground."

The third song, "Such a Scream," adds a funky flavor to the musical mix. The pounding rhythms and bursts of saxophone lighten the tone of the album. And Waits maintains his lyrical integrity.

While nearly every song after this powerful introduction stays strong, there are a few standouts. Waits' suicidal meditation, "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me," is scary, as is the deadly "Murder in the Red Barn." And the last track on the album, "That Feel," is mournfully intense.

Tom Waits has never been better. He is a true poet, musician and inventor. His latest Machine is a wonderful innovation.