Mule Variations by Tom Waits

Mule Variations, Tom Waits' thirteenth studio album, came out on ANTI- on April 16, 1999, his first studio record in six years, since The Black Rider in 1993. Waits produced it with his wife and longtime collaborator Kathleen Brennan, and it's the whole junkyard carnival in one place: clanking, experimental rock, back-porch blues and tender balladry, all delivered in that deep, gravel-pit voice of his, spinning tales from society's underbelly.

"Hold On", "Big in Japan", "Get Behind the Mule" and "What's He Building?" were the songs that found their way onto the countdowns, and "Hold On" earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Performance. The album itself won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. He took it on the road through Europe and North America that summer and autumn, his first proper tour since 1987, and stopped in for a solo VH1 Storytellers. It has sold more than 500,000 copies, and Rolling Stone later ranked it among the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.