Tom Waits has unveiled a previously unreleased rendition of “Get Behind the Mule” to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his acclaimed album Mule Variations, which won a Grammy Award in 1999. Fans can listen to “Get Behind the Mule (Spiritual)” now.
In his statement, Waits described his creative vision, stating, “Definitely part of the original idea was to do something somewhere between surreal and rural. We call it surrural. That’s what these songs are: surrural. There’s an element of something old about them, and yet it’s kind of disorienting…”
Although there has been little new music from Waits in recent years, he remains a notable figure in both music and film. His last album, Bad as Me, was released in 2011, the same year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since then, Waits has focused on his acting career, appearing in films such as Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, the Coen brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths.
Last year, Waits made a rare public appearance at the SFFilm Awards, where he presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to his Rumble Fish co-star Nicolas Cage. He also shared a public tribute honoring the late Pogues frontman Shane Macgowan. Upcoming, Waits is set to star in Jim Jarmusch’s new movie Father Mother Sister Brother.
