RIP Tom Petty

i always liked when bruce soloed too.

People forget that until Darkness Bruce was the only guitarist in his band!

It took a while to figure out that Lofgren and Van Zandt handled rhythm.

Nils isn't even on a record until Tunnel of Love, and all he contributes is the (awesome) title track solo.

maura on tom: http://time.com/4968182/tom-petty-tribute/

maura & annie crushing the writeups <3

they sure are

In the oral history book Petty tells the interviewer how often he sees people getting his guitar parts wrong, but I don't quite get that. Not a lot of secrets to Tom Petty songs, afaict, beyond good taste and tasty licks.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, October 4, 2017

iirc he's talking about chord voicings. nothing a decent ear can't discern, but your average bar band with 200 songs on the list might not bother

As for guitar sounds no one gets better rock sounds/tones than Tom Petty and Mike Campbell. Those dudes knew their guitars, amps, etc.

Like, songs or preferences aside, I've always been struck by just how much better the Heartbreakers sound than the E Street Band.

xxp can totally see Petty using weird little chord tricks on what would otherwise be an open G or whatever

Campbell is a tone god, just listen to his sound on Breakdown, that tone....

Petty even wrote a song about his gear...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD8mBMn5F5k

also <3 maura for giving props to “Christmas All Over Again”, it’s always been a favorite of mine

those tone comments are super otm

In the Zollo book, Petty said that what George Harrison most admired about Mike Campbell was the tone he got out of his guitar.

http://variety.com/2017/music/news/tom-petty-death-song-sales-spike-1202580878/

I was worried from the url that everyone was downloading "Spike."

better than everyone downloading "Free Fallin'," I guess.

free fallin rules

It does but I don't wanna hear it for a while. It's his "Yesterday."

Free Fallin is the song that takes me back to the back seat of my parents' van

otm

I have never gotten tired of Free Fallin, and I hope I never do - that opening verse is so perfect <3

i've been randomly singing Tom Petty songs for 48 hours now. Learning to Fly is my jam, love his vocals on that along w/the guitars. what a sound.

also can I say, between Anna Petrusich, Annie Z & Maura it fills my heart to see how loved Tom Petty is by women. And without the kinds of caveats or exceptions that sometimes have to be made for “rock dudes”

For me, he wrote about love in such honest & self-effacing ways that it left room for me to happily place myself in his thumbnail sketches and be completely comfortable, there was never any moments where it felt leering or diminishing or threatening

Love u TP

Me, I've been singing the Bangles harmonies on "Waiting for Tonight" all afternoon (NIGHT, MY LOVE/SLEEP TIGHT, MY LOOOOVE).

A report from the field:

At the @FillmoreSF tonight to see @bobpetesarah — I’ve noticed a new shrine in the venue for @tompetty; thought you’d all like it. pic.twitter.com/x9bBNFgWlF

— Ned Raggett (@NedRaggett) October 5, 2017

[Bummer, I guess they played here tonight, but it totally slipped my mind]

Alfred those harmonies are stunning. I've been listening to a lot of later Petty today - that track, swingin', room at the top, dreamville, walls... he quit being relevant 20 years ago but never quit writing great songs.

Ned, that's lovely.

speaking of harmonies, what ABOUT Lindsey Buckingham on "Walls (Circus)"?

Re: the guitar tone talk above, that was my favorite thing about going to see Petty, once about 10 years ago and then this past June -- the number of guitars Petty, Campbell and Thurston broke out during their sets. Between those two shows I must have seen 30 different guitars, including Campbell's awesome Rickenbacker mandolin.

http://www.emando.com/images/players/Mike_Campbell.JPG

I used to hear the strat-like versions of that referred to as Mandocasters. Always wanted one.

With a tremelo! As his guitar tech said in some YouTube interview, that is a sort of guitar that only Mike Campbell would want and know how to use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ5hu-ux4CY

IIRC, Alex Chilton used one of those Ric mandolins on "September Gurls", which--oddly enoguh--I heard last night on Pandora Deep Cuts after "Something Big" by TP.

I'm sad about Tom Petty's passing, but I'm equally sad the Heartbreakers lost their leader. I'd love to see them back somebody else for a tour, but I'm not sure anyone is worthy besides Bruce and he has the backing band thing covered.

they should work with Miley.

does seem kind of amazing that petty, tench and campbell worked together pretty much nonstop since the early 70s (Tench didn't play on Full Moon Fever but he toured behind it, I guess) — quite a run.

i’m only an hour into the Bogdanivich doco but it’s kind of amazing that Petty convinced both Campbell & Tench to quit college. And even met with Tench’s Dad to convince HIM as well!!

Tench is an...intense fellow. I can see how he became an alcoholic.

i've always wondered if there are recordings of the mid-70s Tench solo project that Petty hijacked into the Heartbreakers ... would be interesting to hear.

I'm sad about Tom Petty's passing, but I'm equally sad the Heartbreakers lost their leader. I'd love to see them back somebody else for a tour, but I'm not sure anyone is worthy besides Bruce and he has the backing band thing covered.

― DavidLeeRoth, Thursday, October 5, 2017 1:09 PM (twenty-two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Stevie Nicks is available!

OTM. The doc has an embarrassing moment when we're supposed to laugh along with Tom when he reminds Nicks that she can't join the Heartbreakers because she's a girl.

boooo

was this in the 70s at least?
i would love to hear stevie nicks sing tom petty songs

Early '80s. She's written a few songs with Campbell and Tench.

Been spending some time reconsidering his work over the last few days and now I think Here Comes My Girl might actually be my favorite Petty song.

she said at the beginning of the doc that by 1978 if Tom had asked her to join the Heartbreakers she would have left Fleetwood Mac