R.I.P. - Tom Perry

Tom Petty died of cardiac arrest yesterday - a few weeks shy of his 67th birthday (October 20).  Petty was way too young to go.  I've written about Tom Petty numerous times on this blog -  "Live Anthology," "Mojo," and "Running Down a Dream" to name just a few.  I was a huge fan of his music with the Heartbreakers, with the Traveling Wilburys, and his solo stuff.   It's hard to overstate how much his sound was a part of my 70's and 80's world (as can be said of millions of similar souls of my age).


Here is his obituary from the NY Times.


Will be listening to a lot of his music today, and in the coming week.  We will miss Tom Petty!

happy birthday tom petty - 60 years old today!

it's hard to believe tom petty is 60 years old today! tom petty and the heartbreakers was staple of my high school music scene in the 1970's - and he's been going strong ever since. since his "live anthology" was released a in 2009, petty tunes have made a major return to my ipod play list. the 4 cd collection of his live performances quickly became on of my all time favorite petty releases. this year petty followed up the live anthology with "mojo," an album of new music that showed his talent is in no way fading with the years.

two years ago i caught peter bogdanovich's 2007 documentary on petty's career, "runnin down a dream," which is a must watch for any petty fan. it's a fascinating look at the many sides of his music - and life. come to think of it, i'm going to add it to my netflix queue - and listen to his live anthology on my ipod today!

happy birthday tom petty!!

tom petty and the heartbreakers "mojo" review

i can usually go for weeks at a time without a new album (the last one, in fact, was the reissued rolling stones "exile on main st."). so it was something of a surprise to walk out of j&r music with two albums on tuesday: the steve miller band's "bingo!" plus tom petty and the heartbreakers' "mojo." miller's first new studio release in 18 years was practically a rarity! but even with an 8 year gap since the petty and the hearbreakers' 20o2 "the last dj," "mojo" is a surprise in the wake of the monster multiple cd, "live anthology," last fall!

petty and the heartbreakers previewed two of the songs, "jefferson jericho blues" and "i should have known," on saturday night live last month. the album has an additional 13 tracks, and a running time of just over an hour. contrasted with miller's 10 tracks, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, petty is giving fans the bigger bang for our collective bucks. in a similar vein, miller issued an album of covers, petty cranked out all new material for this release. i'm a long time fan of steve miller, but petty clearly has his fans in mind with generous content.

the music itself cover a lot of ground, blues, jams, reggae infused, and a hard driving classic rock throwback. my favorite number without question is "i should have known," which channels led zeppelin. mike campbell lets loose his inner jimmy page and really fires up a pair of solos. petty does a workman's job of bringing to life plant's lament, but the song belongs to campbell. the other song of note, "first flash of freedom," conjures up the dead with its elongated jams (actually it reminded me more of phish or, stretching, tea leaf green).

petty himself, in interviews suggested the album has an almost allman brothers feel. but the first cut, "jefferson jericho blues," with scott thurston on the harmonica, is all heartbreakers. and, as noted over and over - everywhere it seems - petty sounds so much like dylan these days that their voices are practically indistinguishable at times! look no further than petty's raspy voice "u.s. 41" - a twangy bit of rockabilly, or the more bluesy "takin my time."

there's a reggae infused paen to marijuana in the lamenting "don't pull me over." it could be a quieter coda to straightforward petty rocker, "mary jane's last dance." although, mary jane isn't the only intoxicant covered on this album. "high in the morning" is alcohol infused with lyrics like, "boy that bottle belongs to the devil/better leave it on the shelf." without the campbell electric grooves on that one, "high in the morning" is all county!

there is a lot of variety on "mojo." it also has a classic stripped down sound - thanks to skipping the overdubs in the studio. as petty explained, the album highlights the heartbreakers and their contributions to the sound. in that regard, works - and works well. check it out.

here is the track list:

1. jefferson jericho blues
2. first flash of freedom
3. running man’s bible
4. the trip to pirate’s cove
5. candy
6. no reason to cry
7. i should have known it
8. u.s. 41
9. takin’ my time
10. let yourself go
11. don’t pull me over
12. lover’s touch
13. high in the morning
14. something good coming
15. good enough

tom petty & the heartbreakers "live anthology" review

i've been listening to the tom petty 4 cd "live anthology" since last tuesday, and i still can't get enough of it! at the start of this year, when i caught the massive "running down a dream: tom petty and the heartbreakers" film, i've been (re)hooked on petty! after watching that incredible documentary, i picked up one of his "greatest hits" albums for my ipod - to make up for the lack of any petty albums in my collection, despite the years of listening to his music (mostly via radio). now, with the 4 cd live collection, i've made a small dent in filling that void.

this release was a few years in the making - and is the stripped down version of the larger package the includes a fifth disc, 2 concert dvds, and a deluxe booklet where petty basically breaks down each selection. the only knock i have on the "live anthology" is the paltry liner notes that come with the music. otherwise, i'm more than happy with the 4+ hours of material - which is not, interestingly, arranged chronologically.

petty and his guitarist, mike campbell, sifted through 30 years of concert performances - the process itself was mammoth enough - and then decided to present the material "mood first" (to use his words). that decision worked. petty included a large number of eclectic covers in the mix! the most fascinating cover, i thought, was his take on james bond's "goldfinger!" for a huge bond fan, that was priceless. coming off paul mccartney's "live and let die" from his "good evening new york city" release the week earlier - it's an early bond christmas present - ha!

also covered is the grateful dead's "friend of the devil" - which, while workmanlike - shouldn't worry jerry garcia. but their take on fleetwood mac's classic "oh well" was incredible. if any group could pull off sounding like led zeppelin - they did it handily with that intense version of "oh well!" another successful cover was van morrison's "mystic eyes!" curiously, however, for someone who opened for bob dylan during a mid-80's summer tour, and played with dylan in the travelling wilburys, no dylan covers?

but getting to petty's own tunes - my favorite (of an entire album of favorites) was probably "mary jane's last dance." then there's "american girl," "free fallin'" and, "learning to fly" - all great cuts live! another interesting selection was the extended "it's good to be king" - which clocked in at 12:14, and was the longest song in the collection. there are some ad-libs interspersed with the music, but "it's good to be king" was the extended jam - so to speak.

musically, there were no misses on this release. it's a must for any petty fan - but i suspect die hard fans will go for the deluxe version, if only for the detailed liner notes. but those of us going for the cds, sans extras, can long on to the companion website and access plenty of bonus material to supplement the music!