Tom Waits Bad?

hi...my first post on audiogon...nice society we got here...about Mr. Tom Waits...he has rich discography...he is endem...rare true artist...folks who trow bad words bout Mr. Waits havent listen to his music werry well...or they got no class...his music is experimental...bunch of everything but mixed with style...so you have to got rafined taste of music not listen to only one type of music...his voice is instrument...one of greater lyricist of all time IMO...his lives are like new album...he understands music...he makes albums...not 2 3 good songs on album...im not trying to be his lawyer in this post...what i wanted to say there are two kind of people in the world...one who loves Tom...and others who dont know they love him...i suggest him on vinyl...much better musical presentation...

I'm a huge, no enormous, no ginormous Tom Waits afficianato. When I was much younger I saw him at the Backdoor at San Diego State (snatched one of the handbills off a pole and have it framed hanging in my bathroom). I own nearly all of his stuff on vinyl. I admit, a few of his offerings are a difficult listen, but his songwriting...at times is simply amazing. His newest is very good.

Even his stuff that I didn't originally appreciate, grew on me. I think his talents expand beyond the typical musician, as a true poet and performance artist. Count me as a fan.

-Tom Waits was the second best guest (ever) on the Dinah Shore Show, with first place going to Ricardo Montalban.

-He (tom Waits) is also an exceptional connoisseur of broasted chicken.

The list goes on and on...

Back in the 1970s, I had the great good fortune of seeing Tom Waits -- this was, I think, on the "Small Change" tour -- in a 2,000-seat venue, a university's Fine Arts Center. Just before the start of the show, a kid from the group that promoted concerts at the college came out to the front of the stage to make a couple of announcements. He listed some upcoming shows, reminded us all that there was absolutely no smoking in the Fine Arts Center, and then asked us to give a warm welcome to Tom Waits.
Waits shuffles out, steps up to the microphone, fires up a cigarette, and asks (in his inimitable voice), "What's that the kid said about smoking?"
He and his band are brilliant, playing for maybe 90 minutes. The crowd is enthralled. When they step off, the same kid comes back to inform us that Mr. Waits and his band will be back for a second set after a short break. After a few minutes, Waits comes back out, by himself, to inform us that there's been a misunderstanding, that the set we'd heard was all they'd planned for that particular evening. But since we'd been promised more and were all sittin' there waiting for more, he and the band would come back out and play us a few more songs. "Just give us a couple of minutes and we'll be back."
Obviously, the crowd was thrilled, but not as much as at the end of the second set, which lasted a good hour. Thirty-five years later, I still remember this as one of the best shows I've attended.