Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers...

R

Rip76

1,000+ Posts
When talking about great American bands or singer/songwriters, most people bring up ; Bruce, Bob Seger, Bob Dylan, CCR and the Eagles.

For some reason a lot of people don't mention Tom Petty.

First let's take a look at his "hits."

Breakdown
American Girl
I Need to Know
Listen to Her Heart
Refugee
Here Comes My Girl
Don't Do Me Like That
Even the Losers
The Waiting
A Woman in Love
You Got Lucky
Free Fallin'
I Won't Back Down
Runnin' Down a Dream
Learning to Fly
Into the Great Wide Open
Mary Jane's Last Dance

Jeez... Hell I'd like to just have written one of those...

Some of my person favs not mentioned.

Rebels
Nightwatchman
Hometown Blues
The Wild One, Forever
You're Gonna Get It
Century City
Louisiana Rain
Change of Heart
Straight Into Darkness
Yer So Bad
The Apartment Song

Just some great songs.......

Some Videos
( I love how most TP songs start off with a Stan Lynch drum intro.)

Here Comes My Girl
The Link

Listen to Her Heart (good vid)
The Link

The Waiting
The Link

Man, Mike Campbell plays with taste.

Anyway, Thanks Tom for the great songs and memories
 
I love Petty especially the first few albums. (The soundtrack to my youth, so to speak.)

Hard to argue with Seger, CCR, Dylan or The Boss, but...

The Eagles?

Really?
 
I'm quite sure there are more than a few that would put the Eagles at the top of American bands.
 
Tom deserves that glory.

Anybody seen the DVD "Running Down a Dream"? Love him or hate him you will have respect for TP and the HB's after watching.
 
I think the soundtrack he did to that crappy movie "She's the One" has some of his best songs. I rock that album pretty consistently.
 
Next to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are the best live American rock band EVER.
 
Although I haven't seen them live yet, I've heard great things about their live performances.

I'm going to see them in SA in August, so can't wait.
 
Tom Petty ranks right up there for me.

I posted this after seeing him several years ago:



Saw Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers at Austin's Super Drum last night; Jackson Browne opened.

Good show from Petty and the guys, they played all the old stuff along with some new songs from a current CD.

"Running Down A Dream" stood out among the full-blown rockers and "King's Highway" was cool too.

Other high points for me came when they covered George Harrison's "Isn't It A Pity" and Chuck Berry's "Oh Carol."

His longtime lead guitarist and songwriting partner, Mike Campbell, can REALLY play in either solo or ensemble mode.

All the Heartbreakers can rock and roll with the best; Petty sounds so much like Bob Dylan at times and I liked it.

Now Browne is so laid back, it's not much of a show.

He could open for my band and I wouldn't feel particularly threatened.

But he sings well and has many songs I enjoy.

Hearing how his vocal part in his songs sounds so much the same, song after song, reinforces in my mind just how much an artist like, say, he or Glenn Frey gains from collaboration and being a member of a group.

The influence and talent that the other Eagles bring to Frey's work put his efforts over the top time and again, while Jackson Browne continually pleases, but rarely surprises and never amazes.

The same contrast was evident at this concert.

Tom Petty and Jackson Browne both write and perform their own material, but the Heartbreakers are called upon to bring much more of their individual strengths into play and are recognizable, continuing, attributed mainstays of the sound on all their hits.

Petty, himself, said as much when they were all inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a BAND.

Jackson Browne has succeeded and continues today as a solo artist playing with other musicians who only backup his sound, however competently.

He closed with "Running on Empty" and that's one I like a lot, the way it starts off strong and keeps right on coming is really cool.

Neither drummer Russ Kunkel nor lap steel specialist David Lindley (who drove Browne's music for years) were with him anymore.

I missed them, but the dudes that were onstage made sure to play all their signature licks.

If they'd only played "Doctor My Eyes," I would have been well-pleased with what they offered.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers is a veteran recording and road band that uses the recorded familiarity of their hits as a starting point from which to generate even better live versions in concert.

That's something special.

And Jackson Browne was a pleasant trip down Memory Lane.

Glad I was able to see both of these artists again after digging their stuff for almost 30 years.

I'm going to see "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown" tomorrow.

It's a movie about the studio musicians that played on ALL those Motown hits.

I expect this flick will be right down my alley.

smile.gif
 
Bob Seger is considered "Great"? Really? By whom?Why not just include George Thorogood while you're at it.
rolleyes.gif


As for Tom...

Whenever I'm travelling, "Time To Move On" runs through my head. ESPECIALLY my 3 1/2 month trip through Europe when I spent an average of ~2.3 days in each location.

TIME TO MOVE ON
First verse / Chorus
It's time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, it's time to get going

flag.gif
 
If someone asks me for one song that sums up American music, I would play them Petty's "American Girl".

Personally, I put Petty and Springsteen/E-Street in a dead heat for best American rock band.

Petty has pretty much provided the soundtrack to my life since I was a freshman when Breakdown and American Girl were released as singles. Petty has a song on his 2006 'Hwy Companion album called "Big Weekend".
The chorus is:

I need a big weekend, kick off the dust.
I need a big weekend, if you don't run you'll rust.
 
First time I saw TP was back in the mid 80s on their Southern Accents tour. Been a fan ever since. Actually, so is my son now, too.
 
Napoleon
Spelling is key.

Now... I've never agreed with you on much.... And it continues. How is Seger not great?

Let's see...

Ramblin' Gamblin' Man
Heavy Music
Get Out of Denver
Beautiful Loser
Jody Girl
Travelin' Man
Rock & Roll Never Forgets
Night Moves
The Fire Down Below
Sunspot Baby
Mainstreet
Hollywood Nights
Still the Same
Feel Like a Number
We've Got Tonite
You'll Accomp'ny Me
Her Strut
Against the Wind
Fire Lake
Nine Tonight
Even Now
Roll Me Away

Horrible songs....

And about the Eagles, not my choice at all...
just sayin'
 
Steel Shank... That was my first TP concert as well.
At the Summit in Houston.
8th grade (sister took me)
 
+ 1000 on Petty.

Often overlooked is his guitarist Mike Campbell. I doubt he's wasted a single note in his 30 year career.

Saw the Heartbreakers at Red Rocks once. Fantastic.
 
My wife and I are huge fans. For her birthday last year we went and saw him at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, amazing show.
 
Petty has some good new music as well. These come to mind

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LlIIXxFPi4
The Link

This isnt intended to be a knock on Petty or Springsteen, but IMO, Bob Seger is as good or maybe better than Petty or Springsteen. His lyrics and music is about as American as you can get. The problem with Seger, is that he peaked prior to MTV. Just imagine how much more popular he would have been if MTV was around in the mid-late 70s. I also believed he suffered because he's from Detroit and not the East coast like Bruce.

Here's a oldie from Seger.

Ramblin Gamblin Man
 
The Bandit:

I don't want to hijack the Tom Petty thread, but I was just curious if you have seen all three live in concert with their full bands. I'm not calling you out here, as I like Seger and have seen him in concert several times (I even met him backstage after a concert one time in the mid eighties.

Anyway, I just was curious if you have seen either Petty or Bruce live. No big deal.
 
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