the new Waits sounds like Captain Beefheart - dude, how could YOU not be into Waits - he is as YOU as it gets

No kidding. I'm shocked, actually, to hear that Al doesn't dig Waits. This seems so right up his alley. Not only is Waits a brilliant lyricist and storyteller, he's a musical genius, making a kind of grinding, metallic, sludgy blues that no one else can even mimic. He's an acquired taste, but I would think, if anyone, Al would be the one who would acquire it. Give him a chance, Al - pick up pretty much any album from 1983's Swordfishtrombones on and give it at least 5 full listens. I think you'll uncover some powerful good stuff in there. I'm especially fond of Bone Machine, but that's probably more because it was my first Waits album.

Well, I'll admit to not having really listened very close to Waits. I'll have to conjure up a couple of his records after the election's over.

Al, if you don't love Franks Wild Years or Rain Dogs, I'll buy you all future rereleases of Elvis Costello's 80s albums. I believe there are still outtakes in the vaults for at least a three-disc set for every one.

And "Used Songs" is a great overview of the much more melodic and songwriter-y earlier stuff from '73-'80

Yes. If there really were two Tom Waitses, the 70s one and the once since Swordfishtrombones, they both would be among my favorite artists. The whole first album is as good as Used Songs.

CC, I agree about the two Waits absolutely - what happened exactly, I wonder.

i'd rather have the collection than he first one, though, cause I'm a sucker for the "hits"

Most musical artists start out all wild and gradually lose their rough edges; Tom Waits took the exact opposite route. His first albums are smooth, melodic, sweet, with these listener-friendly riffs and arpeggios and songs like "Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You," "Ol' 55" (covered by the Eagles), and "Jersey Girl" (covered by Springsteen)-- then, gradually, album for album, they get increasingly adventurous, musically and lyrically. (This interesting, if dated, bio says the turnaround came with the Small Change disc.) He's never lost his pop songcraft ("Downtown Train," a hit for Rod Stewart), but he still takes wild chances and only gets better as he ages.

also of not that released tuseday that's not on the list is the new mewithoutYou album, "Catch For us The Foxes"

I like the new Waits album. Distinctly Waits, yet with it's identity.

Rodney's words are succint and true about Waits. But I think (and maybe he'd agree, as do a lot of folks) that the change comes on Swordfish, while Small Change sounds like a culmination of the drunken bar-poet phase to me.

My favorite, and in fact one of my favorite albums in all of pop music, is Frank's Wild Years, which is cinematic and crazy and operatic at the same time.

It starts with this stomping beat and then a horn riff that reminds you that the "horn" in "horn section" and the "horn" in "car horn" aren't that far apart. Then Waits comes in, imploring "Hang On, St. Christopher," and we're careening into Reno in one of the big old cars Tom's always singing about, and we're kind of drunk and driving too fast and the medallion hanging from the mirror is going over this way and then back the other way... The effect of the music and the words and the sound and the singing together is really a fine achievement.

And it just gets better after that.

The week before last, the Globe and Mail had a profile by Robert Everett-Green of the two new Costello albums, and this week, an interview with Tom Waits (but the G&M has cloistered itself from the net, so you might be able to find the article published Monday, but you might not).

What came out of the interview, was the demarkation point in Waits career was his marriage to Kathleen Brennan bringing a more experimental and theatrical bent to his work. Tom Waits has an amazing live show which is a mixture of music, theatre and side-show.

With "The Deliveryman" Costello showed mastery of his talent, but also that other people are better suited to performing his music. With Tom Waits, it is the performance which is his strong point. He has created a character, "Tom Waits" who puts out albums (and works in a similar manner to Frank Zappa where he assembles the performance without the players knowing more than their part).

Though his records sell very well, and continue to sell steadily, he doesn't need "hits" because other people like Rod Stewart and Bruce Springsteen take care of that for him. And he also has his acting career (my favourites are his roles in "Mystery Men" and "The Fisher King").

I haven't heard the Waits album yet, just got it, but I'm pretty sure it will be very, very good. I saw him last week on Letterman, interviewed and performing, and he was funny, quirky, and has a brilliant band including guitarist Marc Ribot, which puts him on par with Lou Reed for assembling some of the best musicians to back his unique performances.

forgot to add, I never did like that dog.

On the Shatner album, most of the songs are covers, including the first "single" "Common People" which is by Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, and features Joe Jackson on chorus vocals. If you like arch snarky Brit-pop, then you must like Pulp.

the new Waits record is a killer.

i've got a review scratched out on a legal pad somewhere at my house, amidst the forest of boxes and the computer that has yet to be connected to the internet.

Clubhouse --

Frank's Wild Years is indeed a great album with some of my favorite numbers: "Temptation," "Yesterday is Here," and "Cold, Cold Ground."

Let me mention another great Waits record from the earlier years: Blue Valentine. I used to play the LP relentlessly and just bought it on CD not long ago. If I HAD to pick a favorite Waits, that would be it, I think. That or Rain Dogs -- which I bought because I loved Down by Law, which I think still has the best Waits performance, as well as the best pre-annoying Roberto Benigni performance. ("It's a sad and beautiful world.")

All three items mentioned by Rodney are touchstones of mine. Blue Valentines is Tom's bluesiest album.

By the way, the 2002 (1?) album by John Hammond called "Wicked Grin" is devoted to Tom songs, and was produced by Tom, who sings on one track . If you ever wondered what Tom's junkyardy songs would sound like with a more traditional guitar-based blues combo, this is it. And it's Hammonds' best record ever, with characteristically astonishing guitar work and just great song choices.

I'm actually amazed that this great great album fell through the cracks.

man, some of the reviews of Wicked Grin were brutal. they seemed to come from fans of Waits who thought that Hammond just didn't "get" the tunes.

i thought that was crap. heck, wasn't Waits involved in the project.

i wouldn't say it was Hammond's best album, but it was pretty danged good.

Wow, Mark, I never read a bad review of Wicked Grin. I thought it was mostly just ignored.

And I think there are plenty of really great things in Hammond's back catalog. I'd imagine most people would pick one of those incredible is-that-three-guys-playing-at-once? acoustic guitar/harp/vocals albums as his best, and they're probably more right than me. I just love these Waits songs so much.

I can't see anyone missing what Hammond brought to these tunes, but I guess someone doesn't like swampy, grungy, atomspheric, unhurried electric blues. It's got Augie Meyers and Larry Taylor and Charlie Musselwhite, for crying out loud!
Do you like it, Mark? Sounds like yes.

Alright, I give. I've just ordered up every Tom Waits CD in the Marion County library system. Time for Waits to get a proper hearing before the Official Court o' Al.

Al, you need to make sure you listen to them in somewhat chronological order since experiencing Tom Waits is a lot about the journey. He's going somewhere, we just don't know where it is.

I have to say, after one listen while doing my laundry, "Real Gone" is a really great record, Think a really distressed set to host the David Lynch directed episode of "Cops".

If you have to cherry-pick, go for "Rain Dogs", "Bone Machine", "Franks Wild Years" and "Heart Attack and Vine" (for the transition stuff) plus there's a great tribute album, Step Right Up something which you can find as a cutout.

good move al.

we all swear you're gonna love 'em.

Waits is like the the dusty old weird dude living down the street, making funny noises in his barn.