Agreed, @onhwy61. Though he and his band are not amongst my favorites, he and they certainly had a very long and artistically and commercially successful run. Good for them. I also like that Tom stood up to his record company when they were intending to raise the price on their LP’s, starting with his at-the-time new one.
Speaking of Petty’s large-scale success always brings me back to Dwight Twilley, whose songs, singing, and band I have always greatly preferred to Tom’s. They plow the generally same field, though Dwight’s music contains far more of a 1950’s influence that does Tom’s, perhaps why I find it more to my liking. The mass audience disagreed, rewarding Tom to a much greater extent than they did Dwight.
Even more to my liking is Dave Edmunds, my favorite 1970’s/80’s artist. But that’s another story for another day. Let me just say that both as a solo artist and as a member of the super-group Rockpile (with Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner, and Terry Williams)---and as a producer-for-hire---Dave was one of the very best sounding live performers I’ve ever seen and heard. His 1983 show at The Ritz in NYC was my ex’s all-time favorite live shows. She has great taste. ;-)
Speaking of Petty’s large-scale success always brings me back to Dwight Twilley, whose songs, singing, and band I have always greatly preferred to Tom’s. They plow the generally same field, though Dwight’s music contains far more of a 1950’s influence that does Tom’s, perhaps why I find it more to my liking. The mass audience disagreed, rewarding Tom to a much greater extent than they did Dwight.
Even more to my liking is Dave Edmunds, my favorite 1970’s/80’s artist. But that’s another story for another day. Let me just say that both as a solo artist and as a member of the super-group Rockpile (with Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner, and Terry Williams)---and as a producer-for-hire---Dave was one of the very best sounding live performers I’ve ever seen and heard. His 1983 show at The Ritz in NYC was my ex’s all-time favorite live shows. She has great taste. ;-)