• Rock

    I’m Tired Joey Boy

    A beautiful Van Morrison tune (from Avalon Sunset), covered by Tom Petty. I’ve had this MP3 for years, and was surprised to find the video tonight on a spur of the moment search.

    Tom dedicates the song to Bill Graham, who had passed just a month earlier. “I’m Tired Joey Boy”, from November 23rd, 1991:

  • Rock

    “I Should Have Known It” – Petty, Campbell and the boys unleash

    Rock. And. Roll.

    Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers do not appear to be f–king around people. Their new album, Mojo (out June 15th) is said to be a more bluesy, harder affair – with the band jamming together in the studio – instead of laying down separate tracks. “I Should Have Known It” shows us we have a lot to look forward to with this record. Mike Campbell is a soul possessed…

     

  • Rock

    More Buried Treasure with the Seeds

    Another fine tune courtesy of Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure. The Seeds were a Los Angeles-based garage-psych-rock band in the 60’s and early 70’s. They were fronted by one Sky Saxon, who parted with the band in the early 70’s to join up with Yahowha religious family (aka the Source Family), led by Father Yod. They hung in the Hollywood Hills, recorded some music, shared their women, and had a pretty blissful existence from what I gather. Until Father Yod died in a 1975 hang gliding accident in Hawaii.

    Some may recognize this 1965 tune from The Ramones (’93’s Acid Eaters), or Johnny Thunders (’88’s Copy Cats), or Garbage or Yo La Tengo.
    Or a 2008 Axe Body Spray commercial.
    Or maybe you know it from the source – The Seeds.

    I love Saxon’s vocals – stretching out the lyrics into strange squeals and sounds…

    From The Seeds

    Now you can watch Bettie Page dancing to the song. Some people are nuts about Bettie Page. And during her time it must have been revolutionary. But her facial expressions during the close-up shots sort of creep me  out. But the whole removing the clothes bit? Oh, I can get behind that.

  • Oldies

    Let There Be Drums

    Thanks to Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure, his radio show on Sirius-XM’s Deep Tracks, I heard a gem this morning. An instrumental that reached #7 on the Billboard charts in 1961, featuring the drum work of Sandy Nelson. I’m not sure how today’s modern drummers would judge the technical prowess of Nelson’s drumming on the song. All I can say is, for me, in the year 2009, a catchy rhythm is a catchy rhythm, regardless of the year. Turn it up LOUD and enjoy.

    From The Very Best Of Sandy Nelson

    Any other instrumental tunes that showcase the drums? Older or newer?

  • Indie,  Rock

    Kingsbury, “Atlantic City” and “Southern Accent”

    https://ickmusic.com/pics/Kingsbury.jpg

    Kingsbury has been at the top of my listening pile for what seems like weeks but is more likely months. Their latest release Lie to Me is a beautifully nuanced post-rock work (you can download the entire EP at the bands official site). The band recently released a pair of covers Bruce Springsteen‘s “Atlantic City” and Tom Petty‘s “Southern Accent” featuring Matt Butcher on vocals. Each track is a quiet reflection on the original, capturing the essence of the lyric and definitely worth the listen.

    Kingsbury – “Atlantic City” (mp3)

    Kingsbury – “Southern Accent (feat. Matt Butcher)” (mp3)

    Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace

  • Rock

    Hard Promises

    Not since my little spiel about side two of Tattoo You have I delved into my all-time favorite albums. Tom Petty has a wealth of amazing albums on his resume, and though Full Moon Fever almost takes top billing, I have to rank 1981’s Hard Promises as my favorite. It’s all about time and place and memories.

    When this album came out in May of 1981, I was a 10 year old kid, and had just discovered the beauty of the record store. Hard Promises and ZZ Top’s El Loco were the first two albums I remember buying on my own (with good ol’ Mom’s money, of course). Over the course of the summer of 1981, this album was played from start to finish in my room I don’t know how many times, and every song seeped into my impressionable musical vault.

    “The Waiting” was the album’s biggest hit, reaching #1 on the new Billboard Rock Charts, and #19 on the Hot 100 Singles chart. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The album has the first Stevie Nicks/ Petty duet, “Insider”, the killer slow funky shuffle of “Nightwatchman”, the vivid storytelling of “Something Big”, and the list goes on.

    Here’s how the album panned out…

    Side one

    1. “The Waiting” (Tom Petty) – 3:58
    2. “A Woman in Love (It’s Not Me)” (Petty, Mike Campbell) – 4:22
    3. “Nightwatchman” (Petty, Campbell) – 3:59
    4. “Something Big” (Petty) – 4:44
    5. “Kings Road” (Petty) – 3:27

    Side two

    1. “Letting You Go” (Petty) – 3:24
    2. “A Thing About You” (Petty) – 3:33
    3. “Insider” (Petty) – 4:23
    4. “The Criminal Kind” (Petty) – 4:00
    5. “You Can Still Change Your Mind” (Petty, Campbell) – 4:15

    I remember reading an issue of Rolling Stone over the summer that featured Tom on the cover. It was on an airplane, we were off to vacation somewhere. In the article, Petty was describing his battle with MCA Records to keep the price at $8.98, rather than the $9.98 that MCA preferred (Steely Dan’s Gaucho and the Xanadu soundtrack had been the first two to be bumped up to the higher price). Petty went as far as to threaten MCA with naming the album Eight Ninety Eight, and after some wrangling, MCA relented and Petty got this wish. On the plane, I read the interview, and remember reading some F bombs, and feeling like I was getting away with something as my parents sat next to me. Rock n’ Roll!!

    Tom Petty, Rolling Stone # 341, July 1981
    Tom Petty, Rolling Stone # 348, July 1981

    Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers A Woman in Love (It’s Not Me) {mp3}

    Buy Hard Promises.

    “Insider” video…

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZZn8RMNBhg 336 278]

  • Rock

    Bob and Tom on the 4th of July (Part Two)

    As promised, here’s the second part of this nice collection of tunes from the July 4th, Dylan/Petty show way back in old ’86. An interesting note about “Rainy Day Women” – Howie Epstein plays slide guitar, and Mr. Tom moves over to bass. The last few songs of the night are missing from this collection for some reason (all Bob tunes) – I won’t torture you with what’s missing, I’ll focus on the positive – and that is, the rest of this killer set!

    On a Petty side note, did you all hear about the Mudcrutch album and mini-tour? Mudcrutch was Petty’s pre-Heartbreakers band in the early-mid 70’s. They were the house band at Dub’s Diner in Gainesville, Florida before they moved out to Hollywood (into the great wide open). They only released one single, “Depot Street”, in 1975 (on Shelter Records). On April 12th, the original members (Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Danny Roberts, Benmont Tench and Randall Marsh) will kick off a tour in the non-pretentious little enclave of Malibu, California. An album will follow on April 29th. You can check out the tour dates here (all California, for now). You can check out and pre-order the new album by clicking on the cover…

    Enjoy, and make sure to check out Part One if you haven’t already.

    Bob Dylan with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
    Buffalo, NY
    July 4th, 1986

    Part 2

    1. I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know
    2. Band Of The Hand
    3. When The Night Comes Falling
    4. Lonesome Town
    5. Ballad Of A Thin Man
    6. Bye Bye Johnny
    7. Even the Losers
    8. Spike
    9. Refugee
    10. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
    11. Seeing The Real You At Last
    12. Across The Borderline
    13. Thank God (Mt. View, CA 8/05/86)

  • Rock n' Folk

    Freedom! Bob and Tom on the 4th of July (Part 1)

    Tom Petty and Bob Dylan-RS 478/479 (July 17, 1986) - photo by Aaron Rapoport

    It would be most fitting to post this 4th of July show on Independence Day, but given that this is my first post on my new host (Hostmonster), and we’ve got a new theme and some new banners, I’m feeling free and refreshed, so here goes.

    3 cheers to Michael for the awesome banners! Michael is indeed the sh-t.

    This show comes from a great tour that took place over the summer of 1986: Bob Dylan with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I was in the midst of my high school years, and there were two things consuming my life at the time (besides my studies, of course): Prince and girls. So while I was busy gallivanting about on this particular 4th of July – probably drinking Old Style beer on a Lake Michigan beach (while the girls drank White Mountain or Seagram’s wine coolers) – Bob, Tom & the boys were on the shores of another great lake, playing their hearts out in Buffalo, New York.

    Here comes a two-parter. I’ll hit you with part deux in a few days. For now, take in some of the show….

    Bob Dylan with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
    Buffalo, NY
    July 4th, 1986

    Part 1:

    1. So Long Good Luck & Goodbye
    2. Positively Fourth Street
    3. Clean-Cut Kid
    4. Emotionally Yours
    5. Trust Yourself
    6. We Had It All
    7. Masters Of War
    8. Straight Into Darkness
    9. One Of These Days
    10. The Waiting
    11. Breakdown
    12. To Ramona
    13. One Too Many Mornings
    14. A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall

  • Ickmix

    Ickmix 2

    ickmix 2

    I used to really enjoy creating mixes for friends and – well – especially girlfriends. Inspiration would smack me like a freight train, and I’d dig into my collection and weave together tapestries of musical brilliance (at least I thought so!) and what I thought to be clever proclamations of affection. Well, the girlfriends are no more (my wife would kill me), but I have to get my mix fix in every now and then. So indulge me, my internet friends, and take in my new Ickmix.

    It’s a fairly mellow mix. I’m a mellow fellow. I hope you enjoy. If you do, let me know. It may give me a kick in the pants to make more.

    Ickmix 2 (mp3 – 63MB – 46:00)

    Playlist after the jump:

  • Rock

    Super Petty – Live in 1990

    In anticipation of what I’m sure will be a rockin’ Super Bowl Half-Time show, here’s a look back at Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, circa 1990. You can argue this was Petty at his peak in popularity. He was riding the wave from his very popular first solo album, Jeff Lynne-produced Full Moon Fever, which was released in 1989.

    Enjoy…

    Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Southern Choice
    Wilmington, NC
    May 18th, 1990

    {{Here comes my ZIP}}

    Bye Bye Johnny
    The Damage You’ve Done
    Breakdown
    Free Fallin’
    The Waiting
    Benmont’s Boogie
    Don’t Come Around Here No More
    Southern Accents
    Even the Losers
    Listen To Her Heart
    Face in the Crowd
    Something Big
    I Won’t Back Down
    I Need To Know
    Refugee
    Running Down a Dream

    *Note about the MP3’s – whoever divided these songs into tracks did a poor job. Some mp3’s start a few seconds into the song. But if you listen to the whole show, you won’t notice a thing. 😉

    ———————————

    TOM PETTY.COM