Avant-garde guitarist Marc Ribot guests for the first time since 1999's Mule Variations, while other notable contributors include Primus' Les Claypool and Brain Manita, and Waits' son Casey. For Real Gone, Waits ditched his trademark piano and most of his rhythm section, opting instead to cough up man-made beats like hairballs and sputter abrasive scats. Waits relishes his vocal tics and impossibly gnarled pipes, shamelessly savoring his homemade racket, building more and more momentum with each new bark.