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Post by kds on Oct 5, 2020 12:49:40 GMT
I'm listening to Highway Companion (2006) for the first time since I got the album in 2006. This album was the last new Petty I bought, as I wasn't really impressed with it then. And, to be honest, I'm not impressed with it now.
The one positive is that Tom tightened up the runtime to just under 45 minutes, but it actually feels longer to me. Nothing really bad on the album, but nothing really good either.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 5, 2020 14:29:48 GMT
I am about 2/3 through Highway Companion and honestly my primary reaction is boredom, or maybe apathy. There's nothing wrong with it exactly, but I just do not care in the slightest bit what comes next. It's odd, because the songs are (as usual for him) consistently solid.
But really "Big Weekend" is probably the only one that stood out, except maybe "Jack" (which stood out in a bad way for its out-of-place instrumental break after the verse). But "Big Weekend" had some life to it! "Saving Grace" is nice, "Square One" is nice ... I just don't care.
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Post by kds on Oct 5, 2020 14:42:01 GMT
Boredom is accurate.
Until Highway Companion, I'd always spun my new Petty albums multiple times each. But, I remember playing HC back in 2006, and I never got the urge to play it again.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 5, 2020 14:45:39 GMT
I really enjoyed experiencing so much Petty for the first time as a part of this, but now with just two albums to go, I feel like I've got to shovel snow or mow the lawn as opposed to having the chance to hear something new and exciting. Really I'm looking forward to being done. I've got some thoughts about that, but I'll save them for when I'm actually done.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 5, 2020 14:55:27 GMT
OK, so at least Mojo apparently has a new schtick: an electric blues album. "Jefferson Jericho Blues" doesn't stand out as a song, but the sound, at least, is a slight change-up. While the Heartbreakers weren't really FAR from blues, neither were they a blues band. (There were probably half a dozen minor / Dorian mode blueses in that catalogue, though.)
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Post by B.E. on Oct 5, 2020 15:15:27 GMT
OK, so at least Mojo apparently has a new schtick As did the 2008 album Mudcrutch. Despite looking forward to the end, it might be worthwhile when you finish up the Heartbreakers just to skim that album in order to get a taste for it. My favorites (not that that's any guarantee you'll like 'em ) are "Scare Easy', "The Wrong Thing To Do", and the Byrds cover "Lover Of The Bayou".
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Post by kds on Oct 5, 2020 15:33:40 GMT
I'm halfway through Mojo right now, although I feel like I've been listening to it for three hours. I'm actually pining for some paint by numbers Petty songs from the 90s and 00s.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 5, 2020 15:35:38 GMT
I'm halfway through Mojo right now, although I feel like I've been listening to it for three hours. I'm actually pining for some paint by numbers Petty songs from the 90s and 00s. I should be halfway through, but it's 15 songs (and an hour+) long... But I feel similarly to you on this one. Good playing, but not anything I really can imagine seeking out. Because if I want to hear really good blues or jazz playing, there are far, far better bands or players in those genres.
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Post by B.E. on Oct 5, 2020 15:43:05 GMT
I'm halfway through Mojo right now, although I feel like I've been listening to it for three hours. I'm actually pining for some paint by numbers Petty songs from the 90s and 00s. Mojo is a slog, but it sounds great. Closing the album with two of the best songs ("Something Good Coming" and "Good Enough") was a risky move. "I Should Have Known It" and "U.S. 41" are keepers too, I think. I don't listen to this or Hypnotic Eye or Mudcrutch 2 very often (in fact, quite rarely). Same could be said for The Last DJ.
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Post by kds on Oct 5, 2020 16:06:06 GMT
I'm halfway through Mojo right now, although I feel like I've been listening to it for three hours. I'm actually pining for some paint by numbers Petty songs from the 90s and 00s. Mojo is a slog, but it sounds great. Closing the album with two of the best songs ("Something Good Coming" and "Good Enough") was a risky move. "I Should Have Known It" and "U.S. 41" are keepers too, I think. I don't listen to this or Hypnotic Eye or Mudcrutch 2 very often (in fact, quite rarely). Same could be said for The Last DJ. I'm not even too keen on those closing songs. With one album left to go, Mojo is probably my least favorite to date. It's long, and probably for the first time in Petty's career, it's overindulgent.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 5, 2020 17:02:28 GMT
For me it tied with Southern Accents, which I also strongly disliked. (3.5 rating.) The odd thing is, Mojo sounded great (whereas it was all about sound and production for SA). And I have to admit the playing is really strong. I just have no reason to listen to an hour of the Heartbreakers doing that stuff. Not to say I can't listen to Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench solo every now and again, but songs built on vamping and soloing from those guys just don't work for me.
I'm just a hair over halfway through Hypnotic Eye.
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Post by B.E. on Oct 5, 2020 17:30:14 GMT
She's The One - 7/10 Listening to this one again reminded me how it almost utilizes a fast/slow (or heavy/soft) side approach. I wonder if the sequencing could have been better. Regardless, I agree it needs a trim. Cut the inconsequential "Hope On Board" and "Airport", and cut the duplicate "Walls (No. 3)" and "Angel Dream (No. 4)", and you've improved the album. Then, personally, I'm cutting "Asshole" and "Supernatural Radio", too. You can keep the sequence of the remaining 9 songs (36 minutes) as they were and it flows really well. This alternate lineup is an '8' for me, easily. Really good rock album with one of my favorite Petty songs, "Angel Dream (No. 2)". I'd posted about "Change The Locks" in the 'Clever Songwriting' thread. Good lyrics, and a great cover choice. It sounds like a Petty song. And, it rocks hard at the end! Probably the heaviest moment on the album. Echo - 7/10 I agree - it's too long. But, it seems we'll all disagree on which songs to include. Same old story! The right line-up and it would be more like an '8.5' for me. I really enjoy a lot of this album. "About To Give Out", "Room At The Top", "Billy The Kid", "I Don't Wanna Fight", "Won't Last Long", "One More Night, One More Day', and on and on. I'd cut "No More" and - more due to their length and tempo - "Echo", "Lonesome Sundown", and (possibly) "Swingin'". The Last DJ - 6/10 My favorites are "Have Love Will Travel", "The Man Who Loves Women", "When A Kid Goes Bad", "Can't Stop The Sun", and "Joe". Highway Companion - 8/10 I love this album. Have from first listen. It's laid-back, but I like that. This is his last great album, IMO. Instead of listing just about every song as a favorite, I'll just say that the only (somewhat) lesser songs to me are "Jack" and "Night Driver". Mojo - 6/10 Nothing to add. Hypnotic Eye - 6/10 I liked this more than I remembered. I think the effect(s) on his voice in the verses of the opening track (and the vocal, and song, itself) really turned me off, initially. I could see this growing on me. I'm already tempted to bump it up a few spots in my rankings, but I think I'll wait 'til I'm more familiar with it. "Red River" is the standout. "Burnt Out Town" and "Sins Of My Youth" impressed me this time around. "Fault Lines" is nice, among a few others. I like that little acoustic tag on the album. I had forgotten about it, and nearly missed it!
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 5, 2020 17:39:26 GMT
I ended up thinking Hypnotic Eye was about a 5, putting it on par for me with Lost Highway and Let Me Up (I've Had Enough).
At this point, I'm glad I listened to these albums and got a better feel for Petty. I would say I appreciate him more than I did before. That said, he wouldn't be in my top tier of rock and rollers. Not a legend, not a genius, etc. That's no insult, mind you! And he did have more hits than most stars, even. Really impressive.
More than that I think his lack of trash is more impressive still.
However, in the end, it's too samey for me. I don't think he's got a great voice, and I think he used pretty much all of his songwriting talent up, explored all the corners of it, and just didn't have anywhere else to go. What's more, when he experimented with dramatic changes such as Dave Stewart's production on Southern Accents or the jazz-blues of Mojo, it just didn't fit. So I don't think it's so much that he's been pigeon-holed as that is just who he is: a rock and roller and folk rocker with a pop sensibility. But his range is kind of Beatles to Byrds to the Band to Dylan, and not a lot outside of that.
It would have been fun having him as a band member of a group with another singer and songwriter, just to see how that kind of chemistry might have opened things up in different directions. But 16 albums (not counting live, Mudcrutch, greatest hits, or Wilburys) and about a million hits? That's not a bad legacy, so I don't think he needed my advice.
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Post by B.E. on Oct 5, 2020 17:44:45 GMT
Not quite any 10s, but a lot of really good albums! And no major headaches. I'm not too confident on the ranking of those mid 8s, depending on my mood those might alter a bit.
9/10 Full Moon Fever Damn The Torpedoes
8/10 Long After Dark Hard Promises Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers You’re Gonna Get It! Highway Companion Into the Great Wide Open Wildflowers
7/10 Echo She’s The One Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) Southern Accents Mudcrutch 6/10 Mudcrutch 2 Mojo Hypnotic Eye The Last DJ
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Post by B.E. on Oct 5, 2020 17:53:01 GMT
So I don't think it's so much that he's been pigeon-holed as that is just who he is: a rock and roller and folk rocker with a pop sensibility. But his range is kind of Beatles to Byrds to the Band to Dylan, and not a lot outside of that.
Wait, are you implying there's more to music than that? That's my home range! (Explains my fandom.)
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