also, TP hosted a radio show called Buried Treasure on XM that i thought well expressed his love for other artists, rare vinyl, etc…
Marty Stuart on Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers:
"I’ve never made any bones about it. I think Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were the greatest Rock & Roll Band the United States Of America has ever produced."
Wow. Better than The Hawks/The Band (though composed of only one American and four Canadians, I consider the U.S.A. responsible for their formation)? Better than NRBQ, and The Byrds? And Los Lobos? As I consider Marty and his band The Fabulous Superlatives the current best band in the world, his opinions carry a lot of weight with me.
Okay, maybe I’ve been wrong about TP & TH. ;-)
Wow. Better than The Hawks/The Band (though composed of only one American and four Canadians, I consider the U.S.A. responsible for their formation)? Better than NRBQ, and The Byrds? And Los Lobos? As I consider Marty and his band The Fabulous Superlatives the current best band in the world, his opinions carry a lot of weight with me.
Okay, maybe I’ve been wrong about TP & TH. ;-)
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I am a big Petty fan. I wasn’t an early fan due to my age, but I jumped on when I was in high school - around the Full Moon Fever time. That said, I think what makes him and the Heartbreakers special is that they are simply a pure rock and roll band and most importantly they didn’t try to do too much - just well executed rock and roll. Someone above said they are simple songs and I would agree and view that as a compliment. Also I think the Heartbreakers are underrated. We talk about synergy when we talk about our audio systems. I think that also applies to TPHB. Greatest rock and roll band every produced by the U.S. - I don’t know. Maybe, maybe not. Who cares he left his mark. This is a great video of him with Garry Shandling. The only bad thing about this video is watching him chain smoke and knowing that it likely contributed to his passing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIvNe569Q9g Petty is for sure in my top 5. |
@zerofox: "That said, I think what makes him and the Heartbreakers special is that they are simply a pure rock and roll band and most importantly they didn’t try to do too much - just well executed rock and roll". This strikes me as a fair/accurate assessment. There's nothing wrong with playing to your strengths and that's what they did. I'm 65. "Break Down" didn't come out until I was out of HS and beginning to explore Jazz. Therefore, I probably wasn't as open to TP as I would've been, had I been a few years younger when they came onto the scene. |
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