Here I will talk about music I'm listening to, and post various ramblings on music in general.
11/05/2023 Once again I am watching Peter Gabriel's Secret World Tour, what a cool set. Two stages, and a wealth of incredible performers. I love 'Don't Give Up' and wasn't sure if anyone could replace Kate Bush in the duet, but man Paula Cole does a bang-up job - in her first real performance pretty much. 'Don't Give Up' goes straight into 'In Your Eyes' and my god, what a set of songs. Papa Wemba and Molokai bring it on these tracks, Gabriel and Cole have great chemistry.
14/05/2023 It's about that time of the year, which comes a few times a year, when I listen to Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker's Live from Gainesville 30th Anniversary Concert. Tom Petty (and the Heartbreakers!) is probably my all time favorite musician, and I think I first heard him on Scrubs, in a scene where Elliot decides to become a bad bitch to the song 'American Girl' from the Heartbreakers debut album - and after hearing that I was hooked. Petty was the background music to a large part of my life in the coming years, playing Counter-Strike with my friends, or walking home from school, he was always playing. The Gatorville concert is my favorite live performance of all time, and it includes a fucking TON of their best songs like Free Fallin', Learning to Fly, Don't Come Around Here No More, American Girl, Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, Runnin' Down A Dream, Mary Jane's Last Dance, and It's Good To Be King.
What gets me about Tom and the Heartbreakers is how talented every member of the band is individually, and how such little ego exists within the band. Mike Campbell is an all-time great guitarist, and he just plays to the requirements of the song, filling the pieces beautifully when needed, and absolutely shredding when required. If Mike had even a shred of ego, I think people would be talking about him like a Peter Green or Jimi Hendrix. Listen to him on Mary Jane's Last Dance or the face-melter on Runnin' Down a Dream, crazy good.
Steve Ferrone does an incredible job on the drums, keeps tempo like a fucking gangster, and goes to town on the drumset in It's Good To Be King, and speaking of It's Good To Be King, Benmont Tench III (what a name) is an assassin on the keyboard, he brings a magic to the song, and to the whole set in general, especially on Don't Come Around Here No More (look at him whenever the camera pans to him, he knows he's great the happy fella).
The icing on the cake is the Stevie Nicks appearances. Stevie has long been the "honorary" last member of the Heartbreakers, and her and Tom perform a fantastic version of their song Stop Draggin' My Heart Around - which was originally written as a Heartbreakers song but given to Nicks after Petty declined to include it on an album. The two have such fantastic chemistry together, and Nicks herself credits Tom Petty as launching her solo career. He even gave her a little badge with diamonds on it saying "Honorary Heartbreaker".
I Really wish I had gotten to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers live at least once in my life, but by the time I'd come to REALLY appreciate their music Tom was dead, a great loss for music, and for me. At least I have a wealth of recordings and albums to listen to. R.I.P Tom!
