Tom Petty

Sweet Little Queen XIII
после того как запостил мессадж, открыл наконец-то книгу Золло и в последней главе прочитал, что Линн существует! Там как раз подробно расписывается их совместная работа над песнями из альбома Highway Companion.

Вот вот. :)
А я пока до последней главы еще не дошла. Мне книга только недлю назад наконец-то пришла. Кстати, как вам книга?

Я вот всё никак книгу себе не закажу, но очень собираюсь это сделать...
Можете подсказать, где это лучше сделать?

MAKING MOVIES

Bogdanovich admits that he had not closely followed the band's career when he was approached late last year by producer George Drakoulias -- who has worked on several of the group's albums and Petty's solo material -- about a potential documentary. He became intrigued by the group's story, and, after having a meeting with Petty about it, he was hooked.

"Tom is really a child of the rock 'n' roll age in the sense that when he was 11, he was introduced fleetingly to Elvis Presley and it changed his life," Bogdanovich says. "You can't listen to Tom's music without knowing that he's heard a lot of other music like the Beatles, Elvis, the Byrds and Bob Dylan. But he's made a niche for himself, and he understands that it's important to know what preceded you. I agree with that sensibility, and we really got along intelligently."

Bogdanovich expects the film to be released close to the anniversary of the band's debut in November. It will also air on TV or cable around that time; details are still being determined.

"We will be as candid as we can in the film," Bogdanovich says. "We want to explain what impact the group had on the world and the world on it. We will try to put their career into perspective, and we will really get into what Tom meant by his songs."

Why did the famously private Petty allow for such unfettered access?

"I think it's a worthwhile project, and I think it's good that he's going to finally tell this story completely. Sometimes, giving up your privacy is a little like going to the dentist, and we have let him have access that no one's ever had."

2 Sweet Little Queen XIII
К сожалению, еще не приступил к чтению, так как получил ее 15 марта.

2Alex Red:

>2 Sweet Little Queen XIII
>К сожалению, еще не приступил к чтению, так как
>получил ее 15 марта.

О, и я тоже примерно тогда же :)
Ну что, будем читать и делиться впечатлениями.

А пока вот тут попалось:

Довольно забавный ролик с рекламой тура 1987 года
Mtv Contest 1987 Rock n Roll Caravan


post a comment

Один скриншот из рекламы см. выше

Melinda Newman

Last October during his Century Award interview, Tom Petty told Billboard that he could not believe the band was staring down its 30th year. "I specifically remember thinking if we get five years out of this, it would be really successful," he recalled. "I never thought we'd do it this long."

And yet, here comes the 30th birthday and Petty feels nothing but gratitude that he and his band mates are still at it with a fan base that is just as fervent as always.

Billboard caught up again with Petty in late February as he cruised down the Pacific Coast Highway to the recording studio to put the finishing touches on "Highway Companion," his forthcoming solo album, produced by Jeff Lynne. The new album is expected to arrive in June. Petty, offstage at the Billboard Music Awards in December, said the album will be released on Rick Rubin's American Recordings, which is distributed by Warner Bros. However, at press time, confirmation of the deal was still pending. Although the solo album beckoned, he genially discussed 30 years worth of Heartbreakers' music and what is still to come.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers album. What do you remember about being in the studio with producer Denny Cordell and your boys?

We were really excited in those days. We worked on it on and off for six or seven months. We weren't afraid to try anything, I'll say that. We were all open to trying anything and I hear those records now and I can't hardly believe that we did them, but we somehow did.

I just remember that studio was really brown. We called it the Brown Room. It was the Shelter Studio in Hollywood. We'd just pull in every day and the songs came really effortlessly. The tracks were all played live. It was a joy, really. We were really proud of it when we got it done.

It sounds like you weren't afraid to try anything. That's a spirit you never lost even as success came and you had a lot to lose by taking risks.

Well, we kind of go where the wind blows us, you know [laughs]. We've never really played it safe or tried to make the same record again, it's a lot more fun that way. The idea was to take the same people and keep them together no matter what and see what we could produce and, so far, it's still holding our interest.

There was this incredibly appealing rawness to the first album.

It's raw, it's definitely raw. We didn't want to over-produce it. We didn't really know a lot about production. For one thing, there was a sort of bloated corporate rock at the time and people were putting out six-or seven-minute songs that just went on and on and I wanted to keep the songs nice short and concise, so you'll notice the songs aren't very long and that worked. We just wanted to get the best out of each song. But you never really know what you're doing on your first album, you know [laughs]. I don't think anyway. But when we got something we were proud of, we stuck with it.

We're going to flash forward 30 years. You're going out on your 30th anniversary tour this summer. How's it going to be different?

I'm talking off the top of my head now because I haven't gotten that far with it. I think the idea will be to play all the hits and cover all the different eras, try to hit something from every record -- I think there's been some talk about going deeper into the albums on this tour and you can always find things that you haven't done.

You're playing Bonnaroo this summer; you don't normally play festivals.

I've got nothing against playing them, there just aren't that many. We were going to do Bonnaroo last year or the year before and it got cancelled. I look forward to doing it this year. I like playing that sort of thing. I think also, with that kind of audience, we can stretch out and jam a bit and have a good time.

Director Peter Bogdonavich is trailing you and the band for a film that will come out later this year. You're a very private person. What made you decide to let someone document your life?

I think it's a worthwhile project, you know, and I think it's good that he's going to finally tell this story completely. He's put a lot of effort into it so far. Sometimes, giving up your privacy is a little like going to the dentist and we have let him have access that no one's ever had. So far, it's looking good. We're all pretty excited about it. I think he's going to make a good movie.

Were there other music movies or documentaries that you saw that made you think, "why not?"

I liked the Bob Dylan that I saw. The one we're doing isn't a concert film, per se, it has a lot of music in it, obviously. And God, they've been months just archiving old film so far, but I think they're going to find a lot of film that's never been seen that's going to be good. We are going to shoot a new concert to deal with this project, but I don't think the whole concert will be in the movie, just bits of it.

You're headed to the studio to wrap up "Highway Companion." When we talked in October, you said the album is about the passage of time. What else can you say about it?

I'm reaching there to try and find a theme. It's just really a nice collection of songs. I think it does have an underlying theme of time and what it does to you.

What does it do to you?

It makes you old, if you're lucky [laughs].

Between the biography you did last year with Paul Zollo ["Conversations With Tom Petty," receiving Billboard's Century Award, the documentary and the 30th anniversary, you're spending a lot of time looking over your past. Are there any revelations coming up as you're strolling down memory lane?

Well, the question I'm asked all the time is does it feel like 30 years and I'd say, yes, it sure does [laughs]. It absolutely does. But I think, mainly, I'm just glad to still be doing it, still be taken seriously. I haven't been relegated to the oldies file yet and I'm enjoying what I'm doing. The movie, I just think will put a nice bow on the whole thing and then we can quit dealing with the past… We'll forget about it and get on to "Part 2."

What's in part 2?

It's probably more of the same, I suppose. You know, we're already building up songs for a Heartbreakers record, but that's down the road. We've talked a long time about doing a definitive live record and that could be on the horizon, I don't know.

I'd like to do more recording. I don't see us touring forever. Every time we do it now, I wonder if it's going to be the last one. But, you know, I think we'll continue to do that; everybody's gung ho to do it so…

Why do you think it could be the last one?

I don't know how many more 50-city tours I want to take on. I've spent my life doing that and I'd like to have some part of my life where I could concentrate more on recording without having to go out on tours.

Tony Bennett turns 80 this year, BB King just turned 80. They're still at it. Do you ever think about stopping recording?

No, I'd really like to have more time than I have for that. I have to turn that over in my head. I see people who do it until they drop and they say you can't help it. I think if I ever feel that I'm not doing it well, I would just stop, but as long as we're doing it and we're doing it at the standard we want to be playing and the people are happy, we'll keep doing that.

When we talked last October you said you now make records for yourself. How has that changed from how you used to make them before?

I think we always made them for ourselves, really, but you used to have more concerns about you want to have one that's going to be a hit so everybody will buy the record. I think as time has gone on, I'm more interested in -- I don't know how to put it -- what kind of catalog of stuff I can compile. That's what I'm interested in doing. Just getting all the songs that come to me and make good records of them and just so they're around so somebody can hear them.

Do you have any kind of checklist of projects you still want to complete? Like a duets album or an album of blues standards?

No, it's just song to song. I'm amazed that they keep coming. That's about it. It's funny, every year or so a batch of songs appears. I don't really understand it but I'm just glad. I'm not going to question it because it keeps happening.

Was there ever a point, such as when Stan Lynch left or Howie Epstein died, where you thought the group wouldn't continue? Were you ever in doubt?

I don't think we were ever in doubt about it. It was always there if we wanted it. There are times, like you say, when Howie died when you're really [wondering] what's this worth? How dangerous is this gig? That crosses your mind sometimes. We were never discouraged to that degree. I think we've always enjoyed what we were doing and felt really blessed that we've always had a job and always been able to make another record and there's always a crowd there when we walked out on stage, so you gotta be really grateful for that.

In an interview last summer, your wife Dana said that you were still a "nervous wreck" before you went on stage. Is that true after all these years

I am, yes. I'm really nervous before I play. I just, you know, I don't know what it is, but I get to where I can't even speak a few hours before the show, you know, and once I get out there I'm OK.

I don't take it for granted ever. I always want to do my best and give them all I can, so, you know, I really take it seriously.

That actually shows an incredible respect for your audience.

Well, if you're going out to 20,000 people and you're not a little nervous then you're not plugged in.

Any plans for reissues for the 30th or other ways to celebrate besides the tour?

You'd have to ask [my] office, I don't know. I have no idea. They've got me doing interviews in the car for Christ's sake. I'm so busy I can't... between the press and the film and finishing the record right now, I'm one busy guy and I do a radio show every week ["Tom Petty's Buried Treasure" on XM satellite radio], so it's nuts, you know, but I love it, it's great. I'm glad to be employed.

http://www.tompetty.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46

Знаменитые люди о песнях ТР

Редкий постер
TOM PETTY
Knebworth 1978
Limited Edition Reproduction of 750 Copies Only
76x51cm

Sweet Little Queen XIII
Первое впечатление от книги: написана очень простым языком, как специально для изучающих английский в ВУЗах. И второе: книга является неплохим приложением к буклету в коробке Playback. 10 баллов из 10.
Dаve
Я заказал книгу на Амазоне. Но это не показатель скорости доставки. Просто Primal Scream был в Вашингтоне и забрал все мои заказы. Бедняга - пакет с заказами весил очень много. даже в чемодан не уместился. Короче, книга досталась мне за 19 долларов.

Да, язык действительно очень простой. Что радует. О простых человеческих вещах - простыми словами. Хотя, конечно, Том иногда вставляет слэнговые словечки, но они понятны из контекста. Впринципе, я привыкла к Томушкину языку. Столько уже его интервью перчитала и переслушала, что даже примерно представляю его интонации, когда книгу читаю.

2Sweet Little Queen XIII
Я и не сомневался, что почти все, что есть в этой книге, тебе знакомо по различным интервью.

2Alex Red:

>2Sweet Little Queen XIII
>Я и не сомневался, что почти все, что есть в
>этой книге, тебе знакомо по различным интервью.

Нет, не совсем так. Я к тому, что мне речь Тома довольно легко уже понимать. НАучилась за столько времени разбирать его языковые обороты. А так, в книге много для меня нового. Во всяком случае, некоторые моменты хорошо раскрываются.

Tom Petty Is Excited About Rockumentary

Rocker Tom Petty can't wait for fans to see the documentary Peter Bogdanovich is shooting of him and his band on tour. The director is following Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers as they tour America with Pearl Jam this summer to shoot footage for an on-the-road documentary.

Despite the intrusion of sharing his life with a camera crew, Petty insists the project is worthwhile and footage shot so far suggests it will be a hit.

He says, "I think it's a worthwhile project, and I think it's good that he's finally going to tell this story completely. He's put a lot of effort into it so far. Sometimes giving up your privacy is a little like going to the dentist, and we have let him have access that no one's ever had. So far it's looking good. We're all pretty excited about it. I think he's going to make a good movie."

http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/03/22/tom_petty_is_excited_about_rockumentary

Tom Petty Admits He's Crippled By Stagefright
And can't speak before gigs...

by Scott Colothan on 3/22/2006

Tom Petty has admitted that he gets nerves so bad before a live show that he can’t speak for hours.

In spite of three decades in the music industry and his almost legendary status the singer claims he still takes performing very seriously.

He says: "I'm really nervous before I play. I don't know what it is, but I get to where I can't even speak a few hours before the show, and once I get out there I'm ok."

Moving on to his fame, he added: "I don't take it for granted ever. I always want to do my best and give them all I can, so, I really take it seriously," quotes contact music.

http://www.gigwise.com/news.asp?contentid=14886

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/03/24/124812.php

Confessions of a Fanboy 001: Tom Petty - Wildflowers
March 24, 2006
DJRadiohead
I. Preamble
Writing about music is what made me to want to write for Blogcritics in the first place. I love doing my podcast. I love doing BCRadio. Music is a big part of both of those programs. This column is just another way for me participate in my passion for music.

Some critics write about music with their knives sharpened and minds closed, prepared to hate whatever floats into their ears. It is understandable. Bad music makes me angry. I feel assaulted when I hear bad music and bad music is not in short supply. There is a staggering amount of putrid, vapid shit being pressed on to disc and this is not a new development. It is an inescapable truth that has existed since the first works of art were created. That truth makes it easy to be jaded. It makes it convenient to be jaded. If you assume the worst you will rarely be disappointed. If you can convince yourself nothing worthwhile is being made you can hide yourself from the fountain of shit polluting the musical landscape.

I understand that. I just cannot bring myself to live like that. The truth is I want to discover another new artist. I want to hear another classic album filled with songs that have life-changing powers. I want to like things. I am addicted to the feeling of buying another new CD. I am a fanboy. No matter how many CDs I buy I can always think of one more I want. No matter how many artists I have launched into my pantheon I am always on the lookout for one more. I choose to navigate the rubbish-filled ocean in search of something great.

Finding something great is not an easy task. The Good-to-Shit ratio is discouraging. There is an appalling amount of awful music in circulation. The journey has been worthwhile because the power of the good and the great far exceeds that of the awful. The payoff of finding something magical is worth the risk of being caught in a music store when a John Mayer song is being played. Besides, mocking the bad is a hell of a lot of fun and almost makes the bad shit tolerable.

I sometimes change my mind about an artist. I fall for the slick packaging or think one good song on the radio might be indicative of an album full of even better songs. I have fallen for a fad or a trend or tried to convince myself I liked something that I did not just to have something to buy and to buy into. Sometimes I get caught up in the moment and get hooked on an artist only to find out they have the staying power of a 15-year old boy with a Playboy magazine.

It also works in the opposite direction. There are plenty of artists I love now that I once despised or I realize a particular artist never would have fit in my musical universe at one time in my life. This first "Confessions" is an example of that.

There are music reviews and there are music revisits. Music reviews are almost always time-sensitive. I get to write a number of reviews for Blogcritics for current releases (I just wrote this review of Joe Satriani's Super Colossal). I enjoy that. It is a lot of fun to talk about music in the present tense and there is a lot of great present tense music being made. I am going to continue to write those reviews

There are, however, dozens more albums I have come to love years after their initial release. There are a lot of artists I discovered who were dead before I was born. Reviewing those seems pointless now. Do we really need another review of Dark Side of the Moon or Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band? The word has gotten out and their place in music history is secure.

That does not mean there is nothing left to say about those records. People are still buying and listening to them for the first time even decades after their release. New generations discover those albums every day and are inspired. They are still worth discussing even if there is nothing new under the sun to say about them. Great music is worth revisiting.

There are 12,443 songs on my iPod as I write this inaugural "Confession." I have found pieces of musical salvation despite the best efforts of Scott Stapp and Mariah Carey. I refused to let Emerson, Lake, & Palmer ruin The Allman Brothers Band for me. I fight the good fight and I want to write about it.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


II. Wildflowers by Tom Petty.

I think of Wildflowers in terms of "then" (when I first bought the album) and "now." I do not remember the day I bought it but it was around the time of its 1994 release. I was living in Washington state and I bought it at Bubbles (a local retailer in Kent although if the store still exists it might have been annexed into Covington). At least that is how I remember it.

Tom Petty was having a career renaissance. "I Won't Back Down" and especially "Free Fallin'" were huge hit singles for his Full Moon Fever album. His video for "Into the Great Wide Open" with Johnny Depp playing the lead character was a mainstay on MTV. "Last Dance With Mary Jane" was a surprise hit single taken from his first greatest hits package. At the time of the release of Wildflowers I was in the last throes of my hair metal obsession and in the early stages of my alternative rock fascination. Tom Petty was not really on the radar for me although I did like "Last Dance with Mary Jane" enough to buy Greatest Hits. The seeds had been planted. I bought the album mostly because of "It's Good to Be King." I liked the video and loved the music.

I did not listen deeply to the album when I first bought it. I skipped right to "It's Good to Be King" and put the song on repeat. This is probably not the best way to listen to an album but it is not uncommon for me. The advantage to doing it this way is over the next several years I would discover 'new' songs and find more reasons to love an album. It is all about value. I felt like I have bought this album four or five times because over a period of years I continued to discover new things about it and find new songs to like and appreciate.

I remember reading an interview Petty gave when his 1999 album Echo was released. I looked for a link to it somewhere but could not find it. He was asked if Echo was his divorce album. His answer indicated he was aware some of that residue was apparent on the disc but that he thought of Wildflowers as more of his divorce album (I swear he said it but I searched for it on Google and cannot find it).

I was amazed by that. I had been listening to the album for years and it never dawned on me how many of the songs were about troubled relationships. That caused me to want to go back and listen to the album again to see what I had missed. When I bought the album in 1994 I was very inexperienced in relationships. That probably explains why so much of the meaning missed me. I enjoyed the album on a purely musical level. I liked the songs even if I did not understand them. Over the next several years I had a couple of relationships crash around me. These songs began to resonate in new and deeper ways. Now when I listen to these songs and read the lyrics I cannot believe I did not put it together on my own. Even this morning I heard things I had not previously pieced together.

What to Listen For:
Here are a few of the things I like about this album. If you own it, go back and listen for them. If you do not own it, skim these musings. You might be curious enough to give the album a chance. Allow this to be your listening guide.

"It's Good to Be King": This was my first favorite song on the CD and it still might be my favorite. The best part of this song has to be the late Michael Kamen's gorgeous string arrangement. The song would be pleasant without the orchestration but positively soars because of it. Benmont Tench's piano is mixed prominently and melancholy rings in each note. One of the other things I have always loved about the music in this one is the sound of Steve Ferrone's cymbals. That might seem silly but I have always loved it. There is something very musical about them, particularly during the guitar solo in the middle of the song and during the beautiful instrumental passage at the end.

If "It's Good to Be King" why does the music sound so somber? It was not until today I started to put some of the lyrical pieces together.


Excuse me if I have some place in my mind where I go time to time

Tom is only king when he retreats from the outside world to one of his own making. Now the contrast of the song title and the music starts to make sense.

Can I help it if I still dream time to time?
Yeah, I'll be king when dogs have wings

The verses of the songs tell us all the things kings can have and what they can do. It is interesting that what Petty envies in the life of a king is not the bling. He sings of the "feeling of peace at the end of the day" and pets and companionship with "winners." It sounds like a great life. It is good to be king. Only one problem: he is not the king. Not in the real world, anyway.

If you thought that attempt at song interpretation was bootstrapping just wait... Why would a person retreat from the real world to be king of the one in their mind? Could it be because the real world is not treating them so well? Could it be because the marriage of nearly two decades is disintegrating? Let's go to the lyrics:


It's good to be king and have your own world
It helps to make friends, it's good to meet girls
A sweet little queen, who can't run away
It's good to be king, whatever it pays

A wife can leave a husband. It happens all the time. Marriages fall apart. Bonds are broken and the pain feels unbearable. Why would a queen run away? A king and a queen will be happily ever after. No pain, no bitterness, no anger. That is worth the price of admission. Who cares about the gold?

"Crawling Back to You": If "It's Good to be King" has been supplanted as my favorite song from this album, "Crawling Back to You" is the one that has taken its place. I quote song lyrics the way some people quote scripture. This song has one of my favorite lyrics ever. I could probably spend the 2,000 words already composed writing just about this passage of this song:


I'm so tired of being tired
Sure as night will follow day
Most things I worry about
Never happen anyway

That is Confucius and the "I Have a Dream" speech all rolled into one. Read that and tell me you do not want to go find somebody to slap. That is "slap somebody" good.

How many times do you ask someone how they are doing and get a response with the word "tired?" It happens all the time to me. I say it all the time. There are so many different kinds of tired and we all feel them and we all feel them often. Sometimes we feel them because we are surrounded by people who are feeling them. Do you ever get tired of feeling tired? Happens to me all the time. "I'm so tired of being tired." You fucking bet.

Now to the gospel.


Most things I worry about
Never happen anyway

How many years of our lives have we spent worrying about one damn thing or another? How many times did the thing we spent so much time so afraid of never even come to pass? How much damage have we done to ourselves with worry? How much damage have we done to ourselves trying to alleviate the fear and panic and anxiety? Then the trigger of all this negativity does not materialize and you find yourself an emotional wreck for nothing. No matter how many times we learn this lesson we instinctively find ourselves needing a refresher course.

Of course there is another side to that. Think of all the times you worried yourself into some awful state and the thing you were so afraid of did happen. You are still alive today. Did all the pre-event worrying help you at all? How much could it have helped? Worrying about it did not stop it from happening. You probably made everything worse because in addition to whatever the thing was that fucked you up you got yourself into an awful state waiting for that shoe to drop. All you managed to do was put yourself through hellish torment in anticipation of the thing and still had to deal with the fallout.

There is so much truth in 20 words spread over four little lines. The song is aided by some terrific instrumental play between Tench's piano, Mike Campbell's electric guitar, and Ferrone's slick drumming. The instruments sound great on this album. Rick Rubin did a fantastic job producing this set. I did not take note of this song until many years after having bought it. Now I quote it to friends, family, and strangers.

"Don't Fade on Me": I did not pick up on this song right away but have liked for awhile. The music is two acoustic guitars: one played by Campbell and one by Petty. The acoustic workout at the end is pretty fancy. The twin acoustic guitars and Petty's tired vocal tell you everything you need to know without reading the words.

What I like about the lyrics is the sense of empathy I get from them. He is pleading perhaps for the other person not to fade on him while at the same time having some level of understanding why they might want to do just that. There are legions of songs that put the blame for a failed or failing relationship on the other person. There are nearly as many where the songwriter blames himself or herself. Rare is the song that tries to reach a middle ground. "Don't Fade on Me" finds the singer hoping to hold onto the relationship while acknowledging the prognosis is not good. At least that is my reading of it.

"You Wreck Me": Don't be fooled in to thinking this is a dour record of self-pity with some old guy whining about how his baby done him wrong (thanks, Duke!). "Don't Wreck Me" is a good, solid rock song with sing-along apeal. The harmony vocals and the way the voices are recorded give the chorus a nice punch.

"Time to Move On": A sense of hope and optimism rings through the song despite the expressions of uncertainty and the reality that a change is coming.

15 songs. 62 minutes. 1,700 words later and I still feel like I have more to say about Wildflowers. That is why I still revisit it.
Album Vitals: Wildflowers was released in 1994. It is the second "solo" album by Tom Petty.

It is tough to call it a solo album as members of The Heartbreakers play on each of the album's tracks. The exception is drummer Stan Lynch. It either just prior to the release of Wildflowers or soon after that Lynch left The Heartbreakers for good. His replacement, Steve Ferrone, plays most of the album. Ringo Starr drums on one track.

The set was produced by Rick Rubin and strings were arranged by Michael Kamen.

Wildflowers has sold more than three million copies.