The long awaited Chris Randall solo album is supposed to be out very soon (new site goes live tomorrow). I'm really anxious about this, (you can hear clips here), but I gotta be honest, this smacks of a total Tom Waits wannabe endeavor. I know Chris is a huge Tom Waits fan as it is, which is very cool, but the clips I've heard struck me like things that could have easily been at home on Blood Money or Mule Variations. I mean, tell me this description doesn't sound like it could just as easily describe any Tom Waits album after Heart Attack and Vine
"Blues with a tinge of manic-depressive craziness is the order of the day, as Randall builds images of fictional people and events with stark clarity. The album is incredibly raw in sound, yet is full of subtlety that won't be readily apparent on the first listen."
Like I said, I bet this album has some killer songs on it, and I like what I've heard so far. But yeah, maybe going forward, CR will distance himself from the obvious Tom Waits sound.
UPDATE: I wouldn't necessarily say my first hunch on this album was entirely off, but you can stream the whole album over on Chris's Last FM Page. And boy howdy there are definitely some very cool tracks on here. Definitely worth the price of admission for this one. Can't hardly wait.