tom waits

drdeadlift

out of curiosity who is a fan of this chap?

Rothko

He's not one of my favourite artists but I do like him. Rain Dogs and Closing Time are both great albums.

NIMAN

He's one of those artists you love or hate.

henryporter

Anyone who's not musically illiterate!

Did love him. Had every recording. Over 10gigs worth.

The gig at the Phoenix Park killed it for me.

No way was I paying that much to see him play, it would be nearly justifiable if it was in the National Concert Hall or something. But it was so cynical to call it "The Rat Cellar" - A tent for 7,500 people (not sure on exact numbers). I had two friends fly to Italy, See Tom, stay the night and fly back. They saved €30 on the price of two tickets to Phoenix Park. Not a lot, but it was ridiculous that they saved anything.

Sad days.

Saying that, I have his autograph and it's one of my prized possesions

CiaranK

A god among men

LH Pathe

yes.. bn through his stuff.

wasn't he and ted danson's child hellboy?

drdeadlift

thanks for the replies! im not a fan of him.He is defo one off them artists that has a cult following.
Long story short.An ex gf lived with a girl that had pictures all over the house of tom,i listened to some of his music..not my thing but i do see what people like in his music..meaningful lyrics sung with a very interesting voice!

I have a piece of memorabilia that might be worth something,question is do you hunt for a buyer in the eu or the us.

drdeadlift

LH Pathe wrote: »

yes.. bn through his stuff.

wasn't he and ted danson's child hellboy?

i have no idea,but i did play one of his songs in the pub tonight kinda nice but i have a lot to learn about him.
He really does seem to be a well loved artist which is cool!

Fr Pat Noise

Swordfishtrombones and Small Change are other albums worth checking out. What's the piece of memorabilia?

I Was VB

I am a fan of his, more of his 1970's stuff than more recent songs.

He is very much so a marmite singer.

refusetolose

only know the 1 song but I think its a cracker

I don't want to grow up

Cameron Poe

Deleted User wrote: »

Did love him. Had every recording. Over 10gigs worth.

The gig at the Phoenix Park killed it for me.

No way was I paying that much to see him play, it would be nearly justifiable if it was in the National Concert Hall or something. But it was so cynical to call it "The Rat Cellar" - A tent for 7,500 people (not sure on exact numbers). I had two friends fly to Italy, See Tom, stay the night and fly back. They saved €30 on the price of two tickets to Phoenix Park. Not a lot, but it was ridiculous that they saved anything.

Sad days.

Saying that, I have his autograph and it's one of my prized possesions

It was the most expensive gig i've ever paid in to but it was worth it, just. The problem doesn't really involve him though. The promoters are where your complaints should be directed.

drdeadlift

refusetolose wrote: »

only know the 1 song but I think its a cracker

I don't want to grow up

seems like he just goes with it,say hes a mad fecker

Fr Pat Noise

This is a great one of his, off Mule Variations... love the creepy ending to it

packas

drdeadlift wrote: »

out of curiosity who is a fan of this chap?

He's my favourite artist. It's amazing how many has covered his songs. Also had some strange roles in films over the years. Most recent was The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus I think.

TimeToShine

My favourite artist along with Neil Young.

Closing Time is a fabulous album, so much raw emotion. Amazing.

duckworth

Deleted User wrote: »

Did love him. Had every recording. Over 10gigs worth.

The gig at the Phoenix Park killed it for me.

No way was I paying that much to see him play, it would be nearly justifiable if it was in the National Concert Hall or something. But it was so cynical to call it "The Rat Cellar" - A tent for 7,500 people (not sure on exact numbers). I had two friends fly to Italy, See Tom, stay the night and fly back. They saved €30 on the price of two tickets to Phoenix Park. Not a lot, but it was ridiculous that they saved anything.

Sad days.

Saying that, I have his autograph and it's one of my prized possesions

The Tickets for the Milan shows on that tour were 10-15 euro cheaper than Dublin. How could your friends have got flights, hotel and travel expenses for that much?

bullpost

Saw him play the Olympia in Dublin during the 1980's.
It was during his Swordfishtrombone period and its one of the best gigs I've ever seen.

duckworth wrote: »

The Tickets for the Milan shows on that tour were 10-15 euro cheaper than Dublin. How could your friends have got flights, hotel and travel expenses for that much?

Temaz

One of the greatest songwriters ever.

lordgoat

Cameron Poe wrote: »

It was the most expensive gig i've ever paid in to but it was worth it, just. The problem doesn't really involve him though. The promoters are where your complaints should be directed.

Common misconception is that it's the promoter that sets the fee, it's not it's the artist and usually the promoter takes a % off the fee, which is by no means near what you might think. Generally Promoters don't make a profit on a gig until the last 15-20% of tickets are sold.

Kold

packas wrote: »

He's my favourite artist. It's amazing how many has covered his songs. Also had some strange roles in films over the years. Most recent was The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus I think.

Seeing him in The Book of Eli was weird.

Love Tom, probably top of my gig bucketlist at this stage. Hopefully I'll get to see him at an acceptable price some day.

Alice is probably my favourite but you gotta love Nighthawks.

rcaz

The ticket price for his Phoenix Park gig was mostly down to extra insurance costs with him bringing along and setting up his own tent, wasn't it?

Choochtown

The Phoenix Park gig was mind-blowingly great!

On the topic of his best album I don't think he's ever made a less than 4 out of 5 album. I'd find it impossible to recommend just 1. The latest one "bad as me" is as good as anything he's ever done.

duckworth

Choochtown wrote: »

The Phoenix Park gig was mind-blowingly great!

On the topic of his best album I don't think he's ever made a less than 4 out of 5 album. I'd find it impossible to recommend just 1. The latest one "bad as me" is as good as anything he's ever done.

Don't agree with this - I find alot of his albums have some fantastic songs, but some crap as well. They nearly always have a couple of gems though.

My favourite albums are Alice & Blood Money - I think they're his most perfect. "Bad as Me" is good, but some of the stuff has a throw-away feel to it.

A one-disc version of Orphans would probably end up being the best thing he'd done.

Choochtown

duckworth wrote: »

Don't agree with this - I find alot of his albums have some fantastic songs, but some crap as well. They nearly always have a couple of gems though.

My favourite albums are Alice & Blood Money - I think they're his most perfect. "Bad as Me" is good, but some of the stuff has a throw-away feel to it.

A one-disc version of Orphans would probably end up being the best thing he'd done.

To me he makes albums (with a start middle and end and a breathtaking journey in between) as opposed to merely a collection of songs. Listening to a Waits album from start to finish I think every song has its place and I'd be hard pushed to think of a throw-away song on any of his albums.
I could I suppose vaguely understand someone listening to something like "what's he building" from "mule variations" or "the ocean doesn't want me" from "bone machine" and thinking "eh?" but in the flow and context of the albums themselves for me they really work.
I suppose for this reason I can't really agree with Orphans being his best work as to me it actually does feel like just a collection of songs (although admittedly mostly bloody brilliant ones).
I've just noticed you are of the opinion that some of his stuff is "crap". I'd be genuinely interested as to what songs?
Although I'm a massive fan it is refreshing to hear some criticism even if I disagree. Waits has become one of the few artists that rarely gets a bad review.

drdeadlift

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tweedjacketandapipe/6985944709/in/photostream

duckworth

Choochtown wrote: »

I suppose for this reason I can't really agree with Orphans being his best work as to me it actually does feel like just a collection of songs (although admittedly mostly bloody brilliant ones).

I meant a one-disc version would be his best - i.e. take only the best songs, and turn it into a 10-12 song album.

Choochtown wrote: »

I've just noticed you are of the opinion that some of his stuff is "crap". I'd be genuinely interested as to what songs?
Although I'm a massive fan it is refreshing to hear some criticism even if I disagree. Waits has become one of the few artists that rarely gets a bad review.

Songs like Face to the Highway/Satisfied/Kiss me off the new album do nothing for me - they sound like Tom Waits songs, but seem empty.

Alot of Real Gone was not very good either - there were three or four great songs, and the rest was just an exercise in style.

I was being hyperbolic - when I said crap, I meant average.

henryporter

Waits is an incredible artist - Blue Valentine, Swordfishtrombones, Franks Wild Years, and the sublime Raindogs are probably the pinnacle of his career for me.

raindog.promo

Due North

packas wrote: »

He's my favourite artist. It's amazing how many has covered his songs. Also had some strange roles in films over the years. Most recent was The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus I think.

Mine too.He's a pretty big role in Seven Psychopaths.It's out in November.
Favourite Song? Mine is Kentucky Avenue

Due North

Kold wrote: »

Seeing him in The Book of Eli was weird.

Love Tom, probably top of my gig bucketlist at this stage. Hopefully I'll get to see him at an acceptable price some day.

Alice is probably my favourite but you gotta love Nighthawks.

One From The Heart with Crystal Gale is a classic

Temaz

He has a great role in "Wristcutters" well worth checking out if you're a fan of him.

Mars Bar

NIMAN wrote: »

He's one of those artists you love or hate.

I seem to be one of very few who can't handle him at all!

Dr Gradus

I'd be a pretty bit Waits fan.

Love how versatile he is as a songwriter, and how his voice and use of instrumentation has changed so much over the years.

Took me a while to move from his earlier albums like 'early years' and 'closing time' and 'the heart of saturday night' into his later phases.

Takes a bit of work to really start to get inside the later stuff but I think it's definitely a worthwhile endeavour.

I think Bad As Me is a crackin album, 'talking at the same time' is one of my faves off it without a doubt.