The Heart of Saturday Night

[2400wattman]

My favorite record of all time.....
Simply because I'm enjoying some White Russians while I'm making adjustments to some basses.
Tom is soooo Freekiing Cool!

[lbpesq]

I saw Waits open for Martin Mull & his fabulous furniture at the Troubadour in L.A. in about '74 or '75.  About half an hour into the set, Waits reaches into his inside pocket on his sports jacket and pulls out an open beer.  He tales a long slug, looks at the audience, and says, as only Tom Waits can, came with the coat.  Try his first album, Closing Time.
 
Bill, tgo

[hydrargyrum]

I'm also a huge Waits fan.  Have you heard he's going to be releasing a 78 of his song from the Preservation Hall tribute, and a limited edition Turntable?  I had the pleasure of seeing him in St. Louis for the Glitter and Doom tour.  Now I can die a satisfied fan.  
 
http://theendofbeing.com/2010/10/12/tom-waits-releases-new-78rpm-record-record-player/

[2400wattman]

Bill,  
   I have Closing Time and it gets a lot of play time as well. Martin Mull? He had a musical act? Heck I thought he was just an actor.  
Kevin,  
   I saw Tom for the first time on the Glitter and Doom tour as well and unfortunately he didn't play a damn thing I knew. I still had a blast.

[hydrargyrum]

Adam,
 
The St Louis show was a little heavier on songs from the Orphans release than I might have liked, but I guess that's no surprise given it was a supporting tour.  I've got nearly every album he's ever released (for some reason I never picked up Foreign Affairs, but have heard most of the songs through other avenues anyway).  I tend to prefer Swordfish Trombones and the albums made after it to his earlier style.  Nighthawks at the Diner being a huge exception for me.
 
(Message edited by hydrargyrum on October 13, 2010)

[cozmik_cowboy]

Adam, Mull was a musical act first (note the line in Lonesome L.A. Cowboy - I know Kris and Rita and Marty Mull are meeting at the Troubador).   Here's a taste.
 
Peter

[darkstar01]

count me in for being a huge tom waits fan. also caught him on the glitter and doom tour in atlanta. i definitely have a soft spot for his older records (especially nighthawks, which is one of my all time favorites), but i think my favorites are alice, blood money, real gone, and orphans. i'm been planning a tattoo for a long time that's inspired by Green Grass (from real gone).

[adriaan]

No love for Small Change?

[David Houck]

We had the album Martin Mull and his Fabulous Furniture Live in Your Living Room quite some time before we started seeing Fernwood Tonight showing up on our teevee.

[5sicks]

Happy Kine & the Mirthmakers

[David Houck]

Reading further this evening, I found that Happy Kyne was played by Frank DeVol, whose career in music was quite substantial, primarily as a composer and conductor, working with, among many others, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Stan Getz, and Nat King Cole, and scoring a number of major motion pictures, and writing the themes for a number of television shows.
 
At the time, I thought he was just another actor.

[David Houck]

Here's Happy Kyne and the Mirthmakers.  You'll probably recognize the tune, it was quite popular at the time.

[David Houck]

And just to tie everything together, Tom Waits on Fernwood Tonight.  He sings a tune and then talks with the host (Martin Mull).

[wideload]

I sometimes think that in these days of AutoTune and dubbed-vocal dance routines, we may be losing the real troubadors and poets who have stirred our minds and souls so much more than music offers today. Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, even Joe Cocker would not even get a sniff in today's marketing department. Maybe I'm just being bitter and nostalgic...
Larry

[adriaan]

Joe Cocker does seem to be doing reasonably well in a commercial sense, with the raucous voice as trademark. And I don't think Bob Dylan or Tom Waits leads a bohemian life (truly down and out - though there are some walking disasters out there who still attract interest in mainstream media).
 
Just saying ... it may be counter-culture, but there are market processes to be dealt with anyhow (publicity, management).