Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - The Last DJ

Tom Petty's "Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround"

The title of my review refers to a 1970 Kinks album largely dealing with the same subject matter. Although the Kinks album carried two big hits with Lola and Apeman, their album also attracted mixed reviews and wasn't the succes The Kinks hoped for.
This is almost inevitable when you decide to write and release an conceptual piece of music, a book or film about a subject matter with the intention to attack it or uncover it to get to the truth. There are people who will agree with you and there are of course those who don't. The latter will be disappointed, hence the 1,2 or 3 star reviews.
Maybe over the years this CD will be recognized as one of Petty's best albums. Read the recent reviews about "Echo". The same could happen with this one. In 1970 The Kinks almost ended up in court for naming their managers in a song called "The Moneygoround" in which Ray Davies bluntly stated they devide his money and he ended up with nothing. Now the album is considered as being part of their classic era.
You don't have to agree with Mr. Petty. Value the fact that he still comes up with interesting CD's and great music! September 6, 2008

Broken Dreams, dashed hopes and The last DJ

Remember Eddie, the young aspiring rocker from Tom Petty's Into the Great Wide Open? The one who defied "the A&R man said 'I don't hear a single'."? Eleven years later, he grew up to become Johnny, an aging rocker in "Money Became King," who sold out while his aging fans hunger for one last whiff of that old rebellious innocence. But what they get - after hocking some stuff in order to afford tickets in the nosebleed section - is a rude awakening.

"Johnny rocked that golden circle
And all those VIPs.
And that music that had freed us
Became a tired routine.
I saw his face in close-up
Trying to give it all he had,
And sometimes his eyes betrayed him
You could see that he was sad.
And I tried to rock on with him
But I slowly became bored.
Could that man on stage with everything
Somehow need some more?"

So goes Tom Petty's "The Last DJ," where Petty vents his anger at the music biz. He's done it before (the infamous price war over Hard Promises), but for the first time, he tries his hand it saying it musically. sadly, he is mostly unsuccessful. The first three songs here are all pretty good, with the title track bemoaning the fate of free-form radio ala The Kinks' "Around The Dial." The thing is, this is a format that was all but extinct by the time Petty was recording Damn the Torpedoes. It's followed by Johnny and "Money Became King," a fan's disillusionment with stars that go from controversial to recording lite-beer commercials. But again, this turf has been covered heavily by the likes of Neil Young's This Note's for You. So while it's a good song, Petty again seems late to the party.

Then comes "The Last DJ's" best song. On "Dreamville," Petty looks back to the time when he started to aspire towards music making as a kid.

"Ridin' with my mamma to Glen Springs Pool
The water was cold my lips were blue
There was rock and roll across the dial
When I think of her it makes me smile."

It is vintage Petty, with just the right touch. "Like a Diamond" comes a close second. But the 4th song is easily the worst Petty has ever recorded. "Joe," the nasty tale of a sleazy record company CEO, crosses the line from anger to bile. Joe wants to sign an "Angel Whore" and bemoans that his aging star could make him more money "if he'd just die quicker." It's an ugly bit that wears thin after a few listens. The other 'message song' here, "When a Kid Goes Bad," is heavy handed and clunky. Then there's "The Man Who Loves Women," a novelty that might have made a good B-Side, but seems puzzling here.

The rest of "The Last DJ" hovers between fair and average. Saving it from total mediocrity is Mike Campbell, who is given a few extended solos here, maybe more than any other TP&TH record. Both "Can't Stop The Sun" and "Lost Children" are better because of Campbell's lead work. And Mediocre is a word I would never have applied to any Petty album before this, which makes it a disappointment. Granted, Petty got his mojo back when it came time to record Highway Companion, but "The Last DJ" had me worried that he'd lost his groove. July 25, 2008

Hands Down, One of Petty's Best!

Yes, it's a very angry CD. His lyrics spit at the record excecutives, yet the music is fantastic to listen to. Petty knows the right mixture in stating a point and offering the best music in his catalog. This is his big "F**K YOU, I AM TOM PETTY, I CALL THE SHOTS" to the weak music industry.
Notable tracks are the TITLE TRACK, JOE, MONEY BECOMES KING, WHEN A KID GOES BAD

Worth your $$ June 26, 2008

3 GOOD SONGS

I hope tom petty doesn't waste these 3 great songs on this weak album forever. The songs " HAVE LOVE, WILL TRAVEL -,YOU AND ME-,LIKE A DIAMOND ". Please MR.PETTY use these 3 song's for a HIT's collection. There to good for this album. Don't waste 3 great song's SAME THING for The song's " THIS OLD TOWN,BIG WEEKEND,SQAURE ONE ", off your new album. Some people may Like "SAVING GRACE"---but most of my friends agree----"IT JUST DOESN"T SOUND LIKE PETTY or HIS STYLE"...........to be on a great hits collection 2. May 16, 2008

Emperor has no clothes

Have you people even listened to Tom's complete library? This is easily the worst album he's put out. Song's like "Joe" are so embarrassingly simple and clunky - I don't care how much you might like the lyrics - Bad is Bad. It seems to be part of a trend - I feel ever since Petty joined up with the Traveling Wilbury's, he started to lose his way. It's like he wanted to impress George Harrison and Dylan, and was flattered by comparisons with Dylan and The Byrds - so he started to try and write and be like them - instead of sticking with his own worthy style. I thought that his songwriting really started to tail off on "Into the Great Wide Open", and the riffs and songs on Wildflowers were even more simple and dumbed down than the ones on "Full Moon Fever" - "You Don't Know How It Feels" is a prime example. "Wildflowers" had so many short throwaway filler songs that it reminded me of a Punk album. Echo had it's moments, as even the simple tracks like "Free Girl" had good hooks - but this "Last DJ" album is simply terrible, with only the title track being listenable. Anyone could have written this stuff. The Heartbreakers were outstanding through "Let me Up, I've had Enough", but since then it has been disappointing. A few bright spots - such as the neo-classic rock gem "Last Dance With Mary Jane, and even though Full Moon Fever has not aged that well, it is important as it brought Petty the fame and recognition he justly deserves - and a whole new fan base (which unfortunately for me is the one he caters to). I saw him live a few years back in Montana, and he rocked on classics from Damn The Torpedoes and Long after Dark just like the old days - so I know he can still rock, but he apparently wants to be a folk singer these days. I'll keep "The Last DJ" for my collection, but I see no reason to try and convince myself that it's any good. December 19, 2007

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