We've discussed this guy and his band through many tpoics here, but what do we really think of him as a whole?
Personally, I love Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They are one of my all time favorite bands, and they certainly helped revive Rock and Roll in the '70s, just when we thought everything was going Punk and Disco and whatnot. They certainly have a talented group of musicians (notably Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench), and have pulled together for what will be 32 years.
I first got into them when I saw them on the Concert for George Harrison DVD. I thought they did a good job covering the songs, and I wanted to know more about them. I got the Greatest Hits (1993 version) CD for my birthday in 2004, and immediately liked it. I began building up my collection, and now, I'm happy to say I own every single Tom Petty album.
My top 5 favorite Tom Petty songs are:
5. Free Fallin'
4. You Don't Know How It Feels
3. Mary Jane's Last Dance
2. American Girl
1. Refugee
Let's not forget, Tom and Mike endorse Rics to no end!
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Re: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Jake , i have to confess ive not really listened that much to TP is there any album that you can recommend me for downloading.I also promise to listen and give you my verdict.
Scott
Scott
Re: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
"Anthology: Through the Years" is probably the best way for you to get into Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It doesn't have a bad song on it, and it's the handiest TP collection. It's not a monster of selections like "Playback", and isn't too small like "Greatest Hits"scotty wrote:Jake , i have to confess ive not really listened that much to TP is there any album that you can recommend me for downloading.I also promise to listen and give you my verdict.
Scott
Have fun listening!
Re: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Cheers jake im down loading it right now.Ill let you know how i get on..
now i just need to get the Mrs out and the kids to bed early!
now i just need to get the Mrs out and the kids to bed early!
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studiotwosession
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Re: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
You mean what do we think of him, or of the band?JakeK wrote:...but what do we really think of him as a whole?
Re: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
I've never been much of a TP fan but my interest picked up when I got into Rickenbacker instruments. Though I am still not much of a fan there are a couple of TP songs that I do like...... "Runnin' Down A Dream" and "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better".
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shamustwin
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Re: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Bought his first when it came out, been a fan ever since. One of the Best concerts I've seen was his 30th anniversary at the Hollywood Bowl.
BTW, I have tickets for Cheap Trick and friends performing Sgt. Peppers and other Fab's songs in June at the H.G. Full ochestra, Indian orchestra, etc. Went last year, really good!
BTW, I have tickets for Cheap Trick and friends performing Sgt. Peppers and other Fab's songs in June at the H.G. Full ochestra, Indian orchestra, etc. Went last year, really good!
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antipodean
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Re: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty is an interesting phenomenon in that outside North America, he's nowhere near as iconic as he is back home.
That's true of a lot of American/Canadian acts, particularly if they started out in the mid/late '70s, whilst the rest of the world was captivated by punk and new wave.
Fashion ended up dictating that a great act like TP didn't get the airplay in Oz that he probably deserved... In fact, I'd guess that John Mellencamp received more airplay here then TP (Ouch!).
That's true of a lot of American/Canadian acts, particularly if they started out in the mid/late '70s, whilst the rest of the world was captivated by punk and new wave.
Fashion ended up dictating that a great act like TP didn't get the airplay in Oz that he probably deserved... In fact, I'd guess that John Mellencamp received more airplay here then TP (Ouch!).
"I don't want to sound incredulous but I can't believe it" Rex Mossop
Re: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
I'm absolutely sure you are correct with your Mellencamp/Petty statement, Evan. Listen to one of the 'Golden Oldies' FM stations here and you'll hear JCM every day (they do "Jack And Dianne" to death!!) but rarely if ever do you hear TP.
Re: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Here's my take on Tom petty and the Heartbreakers.
Based on interviews that I have seen and read, Tom is an absolutely incredible person. He's very low key, unassuming, humble and a gifted songwriter/musician.
His music, to me at least, is somewhat similar to Bob Dylan's .....but it's almost like it's on steroids. Because I like Bob's writing so much, I had once hoped that when Dylan went electric that he would take his music in a certain direction that I was sort of hearing in my head. If that makes any sense? Strangely enough it was the same direction that Petty ultimately went with his music. Their singing styles are very similar except that Tom takes the prize because he can (a) hold a note and (b) his diction while singing is intelligible for the most part.
So do I like tom Petty? You bet. Do I like his band? You bet. They play a style of music that somehow feels very comfortable, natural and unforced and quite often they manage to tell a story that is very deep and interesting.
I was really happy to discover (way back when) that he was part of the Traveling Wilburys. That was an incredible band of superstars. Perhaps one of the best superstar groups to ever form.
In summary, yes Tom Petty is alright in my books. He is one of the greats. I love his work.
Based on interviews that I have seen and read, Tom is an absolutely incredible person. He's very low key, unassuming, humble and a gifted songwriter/musician.
His music, to me at least, is somewhat similar to Bob Dylan's .....but it's almost like it's on steroids. Because I like Bob's writing so much, I had once hoped that when Dylan went electric that he would take his music in a certain direction that I was sort of hearing in my head. If that makes any sense? Strangely enough it was the same direction that Petty ultimately went with his music. Their singing styles are very similar except that Tom takes the prize because he can (a) hold a note and (b) his diction while singing is intelligible for the most part.
So do I like tom Petty? You bet. Do I like his band? You bet. They play a style of music that somehow feels very comfortable, natural and unforced and quite often they manage to tell a story that is very deep and interesting.
I was really happy to discover (way back when) that he was part of the Traveling Wilburys. That was an incredible band of superstars. Perhaps one of the best superstar groups to ever form.
In summary, yes Tom Petty is alright in my books. He is one of the greats. I love his work.
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother" - Albert Einstein
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother" - Albert Einstein
Re: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Love their jangle tunes but this has always been my favorite 
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studiotwosession
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Re: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom's certainly come up with a lot of great songs. But for me, he and they never again came close to hitting the highs they hit '76-79, though I do think Long After Dark is a better record than he regards it to be, even if it broke little new ground for them.
I saw them on the last show of that tour, the fifth they played in LA. It was the last time I saw them (the only other time was the first show of their Hard Promises tour in Chgo. A radio station bought up 11 thousand some odd tickets and gave them all away. The drummer of my band at that time and myself snagged 8 tickets between us and went with all our friends. That is a very good memory.)
Part of it was ****** studio trends in the 80s. Part of it may have been with the fizzling of New Wave around '84, they started looking like they had clothes made by show biz tailors instead of wearing the vintage stuff they had been wearing...ala a hip band that naturally knows what is cool.
At the time, as now, I also was less than enthused by the by the collaboration with members of the Eurythmics, who reeked of MTV. Who knows, maybe by the mid 80s, some of his band members were at the same time resenting him not opening up the songwriting beyond his own tunes (or maybe they thought the Eurythmics blew.) Had he done so it may have been interesting (after all, some great Kinks tunes were not written by Ray Davies.)
Tom has a great record for standing up to the worst ills of the industry. But at the same time, he's often played it safe since the mid 80s. The fact that three of the four songs they did at the Superbowl were from the Full Moon Fever release, skewing that short show to some highly sought after 30-something demographic, is but one example.
I saw them on the last show of that tour, the fifth they played in LA. It was the last time I saw them (the only other time was the first show of their Hard Promises tour in Chgo. A radio station bought up 11 thousand some odd tickets and gave them all away. The drummer of my band at that time and myself snagged 8 tickets between us and went with all our friends. That is a very good memory.)
Part of it was ****** studio trends in the 80s. Part of it may have been with the fizzling of New Wave around '84, they started looking like they had clothes made by show biz tailors instead of wearing the vintage stuff they had been wearing...ala a hip band that naturally knows what is cool.
At the time, as now, I also was less than enthused by the by the collaboration with members of the Eurythmics, who reeked of MTV. Who knows, maybe by the mid 80s, some of his band members were at the same time resenting him not opening up the songwriting beyond his own tunes (or maybe they thought the Eurythmics blew.) Had he done so it may have been interesting (after all, some great Kinks tunes were not written by Ray Davies.)
Tom has a great record for standing up to the worst ills of the industry. But at the same time, he's often played it safe since the mid 80s. The fact that three of the four songs they did at the Superbowl were from the Full Moon Fever release, skewing that short show to some highly sought after 30-something demographic, is but one example.