Just happened to see this from the LA Times, so I thought I'd add it to the thread:
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
"The Last DJ"
Warner Bros.
Petty has always seemed to have more in common with Joe Rock Fan than the larger-than-life stars with whom he shares membership in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's no surprise, then, that the anger, frustration and sadness over the state-of-the-rock-union in this loosely thematic album (due Tuesday) reflect the view of the disheartened classic-rock fan more than that of the jaundiced rock star.
The album works on a number of levels, but the ambition behind the songs and the off-the-cuff production doesn't slap you in the face. On the surface, several numbers are straight-out poison-pen letters to the commercial forces that compromise the art--and the fun--of rock 'n' roll.
It's hardly a revolutionary idea; the Kinks devoted much of their 1970 album, "Lola Versus Powerman and the Money-Go-Round, Pt. 1," to the dispiriting machinations of the music business, and such complaints have surfaced regularly ever since.
But Petty brings a disarming, regular-guy passion to his treatise, invoking many of his '60s and '70s rock heroes along the way: John Lennon circa "Imagine" (the wistful "Like a Diamond" ), "Sticky Fingers"-era Stones (the moody "Blue Sunday"), the Kinks (the jaunty "The Man Who Loves Women"), Pink Floyd (the expansive "When a Kid Goes Bad") and Bob Dylan (the benedictory "Have Love Will Travel").
It makes for a heartfelt pastiche that feels like Petty's answer to such recent rock-rooted movies as "High Fidelity" and "Almost Famous." It even has a happy ending, closing with the resounding "Can't Stop the Sun." Petty and the Heartbreakers launch a U.S. tour with shows being televised live to theaters on Oct. 15 and 16 from the Grand Olympic Auditorium.
--Randy Lewis
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