Marty Stuart on Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers:

@zerofox: Petty was great on that Shandling episode! (I miss Gary a lot) Tom's a not bad actor. I loved when he referred to fellow-guest Clint Black as Roy Rogers. ;-)

@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. 

Spend any amount of time in LA ( I commuted via jet into and out of LAX for wayyy 2 many years )
and you will realize the lyrical genius of Free Falln’

I probably should have said failed relationship hook !!!

I lived in Glendale for three months in '74. . . that was enough for me! 

However, later on I did find something to appreciate in Reseda-- "I and Joy's Bagels".  I'd often travel from Santa Barbra to Riverside County to visit friends and always made a point of stopping at IAJ's hole-in-the-wall bakery to pick up a couple dozen on my way south.