Editor's Note: I could go for some lard-free tacos.
Tom Petty's Winning Ways
By Joel Selvin
The San Francisco Chronicle - May 2, 1995
An amiable, simple style
After 20 years on the scene, Tom Petty has joined the rock and roll pantheon his own work so obviously celebrates.
Sporting a ratty little beard and his trademark untucked shirt and vest, Petty opened the Shoreline Amphitheatre season Sunday (he will return to Shoreline on June 13) by rambling through more than 100 minutes of material, ranging as far back as "Listen to Her Heart" from his second album and as far forward as "Driving Down to Georgia," a new unrecorded song he displayed prominently in the set's closing segment.
ETHEREAL ATMOSPHERE
Candles burning onstage and constant streams of mist in the background gave the set an ethereal atmosphere.
Petty long ago assimilated the influences he wore on his sleeve -- Dylan, Neil Young, the Byrds -- to forge a style entirely his own. He puts a laconic drawl into his tales of loss and desolation, a lazy leer into his erotic longing, and he can veer from baritone mutterings to passionate shrieks in the course of a single song.
Through it all emerges an essential quality of fellowship. It starts with his own amiable persona, extends to the camaraderie of his remarkable band, the Heartbreakers, and before long overtakes his audience.
Good to be King
By Jeff Niesel
The UCSD Guardian - Thursday, May 4, 1995
Tom Petty draws both young and old to Sports Arena concert
It must feel pretty good to be Tom Petty. After all, the 44-year-old singer and guitarist has an appeal that spans across generations. Packing the Sports Arena last Wednesday with equal numbers of teens and fortysomethings, Petty played up to expectations the old fashioned way -- through well-written songs and on-stage charisma.
Part of Petty's with young listeners stems from his quirky videos, yet his two-hour concert (on a stage lit as much by candle as spotlight) was void of high-tech paraphernalia. In fact, the acoustic segment of the 23-song show represented some of its highlights. Semi-acoustic versions of "Into the Great Wide Open," "Learning to Fly" and "The Waiting" emphasized feelings of uncertainty and angst. The only misstep was the insipid "Girl on LSD," which scored points for humor but increasingly became dumb and dumber as Petty described his infatuation with women addicted to beer, cocaine and other drugs.
Although Petty opted for an acoustic rendition of some songs, he cranked up the volume on others. "I'm Drivin' Down to Georgia," an unreleased song, sizzled, and tracks such as "You Wreck Me" and "Honey Bee" (from his recent album Wildflowers) adeptly mixed blues and rock.
Part of Petty's appeal comes from the talent of his backing band, the Heartbreakers, which has been with Petty for nearly 20 years. The band played with assurance, as it demonstrated during an intoxicating surf-guitar instrumental which even included a riff from Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Guitarist Mke Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench are two of rock's most respected studio musicians, and they earned their paychecks Wednesday night.
Concert Preview: Petty returns to the musical basics
By Don Adair
The Spokesman-Review -- Friday, May 5, 1995
With the release of his latest CD, "Wildflowers," Tom Petty hit his creative stride.
"Wildflowers" belongs to that category of record in which the songs get down to their bare essence, exposing them to the world without the cover of big instrumentation, guest musicians or hot production techniques.
On "Wildflowers," Petty and producer Rick Rubin chose to use only natural instruments -- i.e. no synthesizers or computers -- and recorded in aging studios that they judged to have the most natural, least-synthetic sound quality.
Into the great wide open...
By Eric Rife
The Daily Aztec -- May 9, 1995
Long time fans of Tom Petty can be excused for thinking the show of two Wednesdays ago at the Sports Arena was a little, well, subdued.
Compared to his show four years ago -- if that's fair -- last week's concert was surprisingly low key, without any of the elaborate stage settings, chandeliers or giant trees which made his previous tour such a visual as well as an aural banquet.
But being the American institution they are, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers can afford to make the rules. Their set, which drew long and hard from the new album, "Wildflowers," featured the band with little more than a few candelabras perched behind them and Persian rugs beneath their feet.
Concert Review: Petty keeps cold, wet fans entertained
By Jim Kershner
The Spokesman-Review - Tuesday, May 9, 1995
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | Sunday, May 7, at the Gorge
The Gorge in early May can be a risky proposition.
About five songs into the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert on Sunday, the wind-driven rain began to slash. Since most of us had already been sitting around for three hours in down-jacket weather, this might have been the last straw. It wasn't.
Somehow it served to make the night that much more memorable. A little boogieing to "Last Dance with Mary Jane," and the cold was something to be forgotten, or even celebrated.
The Petty officer of rock
By Edna Gundersen
Hong Kong Standard - May 21, 1995
Tom Petty might be turning into a wrinkly rocker but he is doing it with dignity, writes Edna Gundersen
"Music runs my life," says Tom Petty, 44. "I'm embarrassed that I don't have any hobbies. I don't collect anything.
"Well, I collect guitars and records."
But after nearly 20 years as an unrepentant rock 'n' roll purist, Petty has yet to collect cobwebs. His second solo album, Wildflowers, entered Billboard's album chart last week at No 8. Doggedly current yet trend-resistant, Petty, along with Neil Young and John Mellencamp, holds the rare rank of ageless rebel among pop music veterans.
Petty Cashes In On O-rena Feeling In Stellar Fashion
By Parry Gettelman
Orlando Sentinel - May 22, 1995
There is some justice in the world. All those bombastic '80s bands have disappeared, along with their levitating drum risers, scantily clad backup singers and echoing cries of "How you doin' OrrrrlaaannDOOOOOOH!"
Meanwhile, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are still selling out the Orlando Arena. And the band's show Saturday night was actually better than the last one in 1991.
Petty was an even more self-effacing frontman than before, and guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench and bassist Howie Epstein went about their business with a customary lack of flash. But by the second song, Petty's recent solo hit "You Don't Know How It Feels," it was clear the band had forged that vital link with the audience that makes a performance truly great.
Editor's Note: I wonder what became of that.
Tim & Tom Talkin' Turkey
By A.J. Benza & Michael Lewittes
New York Daily News - Thursday, June 8, 1995
What do you get when you put Tom Petty and Tim Burton in the same room? Aside from an unintelligible conversation set to haunting and predictable guitar riffs, we don't know much else. But we do know Tom and Tim are kinda hoping a really cool movie idea might come out of it.
Sources tell us the guys have been taking meetings at a serious pace in hopes of making this idea a reality by next summer. What the film will deal with is uncertain. Aside from Tom and his big old cowboy hat and teeth, we're not sure what else the film will feature. But we do know it will show Tom and his band playing from gig to gig, but will somehow wrap a plot and storyline around that. A source close to the project told us we should expect "a cross between 'A Hard Day's Night' and 'Spinal Tap' with the kind of plot line that only Tim Burton could work with." We also hear we can expect cameos from the likes of Petty and Burton fans like Johnny Depp and Kim Basinger. Cool.
Rocker Tom Petty taking a tour breather
Reading Eagle - June 14, 1995
LOS ANGELES -- Rocker Tom Petty starts a "Wildflowers" tour break today, after performing concerts in some 52 cities. But Petty, who resumes touring Aug. 10 in Salt Lake City, won't be idle during the breather.
He and his Heartbreakers plan to put in some work on a big career-retrospective box set they'll come out with in December.
Petty's got to be feeling pretty high from his latest concert dates. His two sold-out Hollywood Bowl performances over the weekend brought a diverse crop of celebrities to listen and schmooze at the postconcert parties.
Success tastes especially sweet to Petty when he's in the Hollywood area; he used to live near the Bowl in his struggling days. As one Petty associate put it, "It was a short walk, but a long road."