Tom Waits has shared an unreleased version of 'Get Behind the Mule'. The song, which originally appeared on his Grammy-winning 1999 studio album Mule Variationscomes out to ring in the 25th anniversary of the LP. Listen to “Get Behind the Mule (Spiritual)” below.
“Certainly part of the original idea was to do something between surreal and rural,” Waits said in a statement. “We call it supernatural. These are these songs: surrural. There is an element of something old about them, and yet it is somewhat disorienting…”
The drought of new music from Waits continues, as is now tradition for the eccentric musician. The same year he released his most recent album, 2011 Bad like meWaits was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since then, however, Waits has continued his lifelong career as an actor in feature films such as the Paul Thomas Anderson film. Licorice pizzaof the Coen brothers The Ballad of Buster ScruggsMartin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths.
Last year, Waits made a rare public appearance to present Nicolas Cage with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the SFFilm Awards to honor Rumble Fish co-star. He also wrote a similarly unusual public statement just a week before, honoring the late Pogues frontman Shane Macgowan. Waits' next project is a starring role in the upcoming Jim Jarmusch film Father Mother Sister Brother.
Revisit Tom Waits' A Deep Dive Into Best Rare and Unreleased Material.
