anyone else a fan besides me?....his older stuff is amazing

I've been a fan since "Frank's Wild Years". How old are you talkin', when you say older stuff? I've only gotten a couple of his 70's albums...

I think the 'Real Gone' tour only stopped in Seattle...I could be wrong, but they were advertising it as the only US appearance (!). It was a pretty good show, but I managed only 2nd to last row in the theatre...the only other time I've seen him live was for Mule Variations. I don't think he played anything that pre-dated Swordfishtrombone. Wait. He did play 'postcard from a hooker...'


Too bad he doesn't get out and tour more. Loved his cameo in Domino, and I'm still loving "Alice".

Yeah. If by the old stuff you mean the acoustic songs then hell yeah. The one that slays me is the "freeway cars and trucks" one. A friend burnt me a copy so I don't know the title. My favourite TW songs though are Innocent When You Dream, Time, Hold On, Downtown Train and the whole Heart Of Saturday Night album. He's a bit like Kate Bush in that he'll make some songs that seem like they're written by God himself and others that just make you go "WTF?". But when he's good there's no one to match him.

I'd love to see him live. Big Time is a great video, I don't think it's on DVD.

I was first a fan of his 80's stuff, but lately I've gotten more into the piano bar stuff like Small Change & Foreign Affairs.

whoknows said:

Im just discovering how many songs he's done...I love his earlier stuff like Ol 55, I Hope I don't fall in love with you, things like that. His voice is so unique..on the early years stuff its stronger..now it's deep baritone and full of gravel. Shawn Colvin did a great version of Heart of Saturday night..

PurpleRein said:

Ol 55, that's the title! I love all those songs. He's one of the very best lyricists as well. He has so many lines that stay with you and hit you in so many different ways. One favourite in Hold On is when he says "Go ahead, call the cops / You don't meet nice girls in coffee shops". Cracks me up every time! Don't know what it means but I love it!
His voice has changed and he records in a very eccentric way. A lot of his albums would be complete write offs for me except for 1 or 2 songs that just pop out of nowhere and grab you by the balls. For all the wryness in his work, he can be quite a sentimentalist when he wants to be, and that just adds to the intrigue. I've still got a lot of homework to do on him myself though. There's a fascinating book of interviews with him which I've flicked through but haven't got yet. He's quite a straight talker. In the bit I read he said something like "If John Lennon came back and realised Michael Jackson was licensing his songs for TV commercials he'd kick his ass" or something like that. An interesting character.

I always loved "Goin' Out West". One of the most bad-ass songs ever.

whoknows said:

He's actually anything but a straight talker. In fact, one of the things he's best known for are the shaggy dog stories he tells in interviews (whenever he's asked a personal question, he will always deflect it with a joke or a tall tale).

I've been a Waits fan since Swordfishtrombones and have pretty much all the legitimately released stuff. I actually met the man in '99. I'd put him in my Top 3.

And, yes: Big Time has never been released on DVD.

PurpleRein said:

Big fan here!!!

I have all his classic albums!

Closing Time, The Heart Of Saturday Night, Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, Frank's Wild Years and Bone Machine are my favs!!!

He has made such amazing music through the last 30 years...
[Edited 5/11/06 23:14pm]