Sunday 24 June 2012

One of the Greats

There comes a time when a man must declare his love for another man. I, Idle, of sound mind, do here declare my love for Thomas Earl Petty.

I was one of the lucky ones who managed to get tickets to the Royal Albert Hall this week to see and hear the best American band of its time, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Lord alone knows why he hasn't played here for 13 years. I last saw him at Wembley in 1992, on the Into the Great Wide Open tour. He was great then, and I do believe he is even greater now. He has mellowed, yet his voice is just the same as in the late 70s. He and his hugely accomplished band seem tighter than ever, clearly loving their job and each other.

Petty himself displays the charming good manners of a well-brought-up Southern boy, thanking the crowd as though humbled by the roars of approval and standing ovations (but he's had them at every gig of this tour). "Thank you. Thank you so very much. You're so kind". His introduction of his band members is warm and sincere; the "newest member of the band joined us in 1989". At the end of the concert, the band applauded the crowd, strolled along the front of the stage shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with people who had just seen the best concert of the year, maybe of their lives. They were still doing it when a fifth of the audience had left the arena. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are an awesome live band, and we were drunk and happy on their music.

The elder Idle brother gave me the eponymous Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album in the sixth form at school, which marked me out as one-of-the-guys-who-discovers-bands-early, an important badge of respect from those who were then forming their musical tastes by what was played on Top of the Pops by such Olympian opinion-formers as Dave Lee Travis and Jimmy Saville.

Well, I loved them at once, was blown away by that truly great early album Damn the Torpedoes, which I played incessantly as a cadet at Sandhurst, and have remained a fan since. But there was something about the concert this week which franked it all. When rock stars reach a certain antiquity, they are given extra marks - for surviving a murderously competitive industry, indeed for surviving at all (Keith Richards, Eric Clapton) - but this is often cancelled out by waning powers. Sir Elton John, for instance, is forgiven his often grossly selfish and foolish behaviour because, well, he was a genius writer of popular music, and had the good sense to team up with a superb lyricist, and he still staggers on. But can he hit a note in the upper half of the register? Can he hell! He doesn't even try, which makes his live performances an uncomfortable experience, never knowing in which direction he will head off when the chorus comes around - a chorus, incidentally, that we wish to sing along to, but it's impossible. He really isn't any good any more, not even making an effort on his piano playing, but rather just bashing it like the chimp in the PG Tips ads of the 1970s. McCartney can still play his guitar, and his hazlenut barnet gives him, from afar, a hint of his past youth, but the Jubilee concert reminded us that he can't sing for toffee, either.

So when you have a performer who has been at the top of his game as long as Tom Petty, who has written so many memorable songs, who is so highly regarded by his peers (The Wilburys? Orbison, Harrison, Lynne, Dylan, and........ PETTY), and who still plays and sings quite wonderfully well, despite the fags and the booze, I say three cheers for him.

Tom Petty is one of the Greats, and I'll tread on your toes with my Texan boot heels if you even consider disagreement.

PS For the uninitiated, here is the trailer for Peter Bogdanovich's masterful four-hour documentary of Petty, made five years ago, Runnin Down a Dream. Woo hoo!

20 comments:

Scrobs... (on another PC) said...

This brought a delightful trawl of Youtube, and I didn't realise how much music there was!

Good guy this - thanks Idle!

Sebastian Weetabix said...

I daresay he's an absolutely spiffing gent, but I never could get past his reedy whiny voice.

He also peeved me at the George Harrison tribute gig some years back. Nearly everyone else played George's songs, but no, he had to play his own. Grrrr.

Elby the Beserk said...

I saw your Mr. Petty a very long time ago. I suspect his first tour here - after American Girl? It was at Friars in Aylesbury, which had just upgraded from a classic market town seedy rock 'n roll club to being part of a new municipal venture (why don't we deal in municipalities any more?).

He's not really my cup of tea - more Rock (can't dance to it) than Rock 'n Roll (no option BUT to dance to it), but Dylan thought him the bizzo, so he clearly has something. So glad you had a great night of it Idle - the Albert Hall is a bizarre and fine venue (tho' the acoustics aren't great). If my memory serves me well, I have seen there, The Band, The Byrds and the full Buena Vista Social Club. All very fine nights of music.

Supporting them was a band led by a callow youth in a school tie. They were truly crap. Boomtown Rats or something, they were called...

apricotfox said...

Sounds like YOU are the one who should be the rock journo, Idle! Thank you for your comment...did not visit my own blog for a while following troll attack !

Thud said...

I saw Petty at about the same time as Elby, Liverpool empire may 77...still knocking them out with the best today although I do have to hold my nose at his political prognostications.

Bill Quango MP said...

I may have mentioned before but in the 80's a girlfriend's father in the civil service was given two tickets to every single event on at the Albert Hall.

He went to what he wished to see, passed the rest around the minions, and any that went unclaimed he gave to his teenage daughter.

The mandarins were not very keen on Iron Maiden. Or Depeche Mode. Or Siouxse. The Cure, Police, Bad Manners, Dexys, Echo, Human League, Culture club, Bananarama, Madness etc, etc, so those tickets ended up in the daughters, gauntlet studded handbag. Along with the blackest of black mascara, spare fishnets and hair dye.

For some reason the dad also had free tickets for the Milton Keynes Bowl.

So despite having an ear of such tin that it could be placed unremarked upon the more metallic of Dorothy's companions, the youthful Bill Quango has seen scores of bands, some of whom made the transition from poptastic splash to international global mega-stardom and some who were already icons. Mr Bowie. Mr Loaf. The Knopflers.The Kemps.

We went our separate ways {she dumped the as yet unelected Quango} in around 1990 and my free band watching days, sadly, ended.

idle said...

It is axiomatic that one should never pay any heed to anything that one's artistic favourites have to say about, well, anything, really. Lennon (Hair Peace, man. Bed Peace, man) was the most egregious until the world's worst lyricist, that ludicrous warbling bogtrotting troll, Bono came along. And he only piped up because Sir Robert "give us yer fockin money" Geldof had paved the way a couple of years earlier, and had been taken seriously by the great unwashed.

Having said that, I have had a convo or two with Sir Michael Jagger in the past during which made remarkably good sense......

Thud said...

Idle, I've always found it hard to seperate the artist from the man and over time used my money to support acts more in tune with my views...I do like to make life hard for myself!

Elby the Beserk said...

Bono. God save us. Saw them supporting Talking Heads at the 'Ammersmif Palais back in a long time ago (83?). A few bars sent me straight back to the bar. So to speak...

Seems to me they sound the same now as they did back then. I.E. Goddam awful. And yes, he is a total twat.

Elby the Beserk said...

Idle,

Email me your address & I'll send you the two Tom Petty shows from the RAH...

idle said...

Wilco, elby. I'm not entirely sure what you are sending....

idle said...

Wilco, elby. I'm not entirely sure what you are sending....

Anonymous said...

There are many groups and seminars in the community and in religious traditions that cover a variety of interests. vpn tunnel requirements

Anonymous said...

Within an agency the account management team will work in unison with the editorial team to guarantee the seamless delivery of content. No one seems to have any idea but it is still billions of dollars wasted., vpn port numbers. Our approach to resume and cover letter writing is highly innovative and distinctive. kvpnc backend

Anonymous said...

Great gift ideas can really make him feel special and loved while, turning the celebration more grand and special. This is because those who work to refurbish computers do it as economically as possible. vb cir network. Depending on what sort of sports you enjoy you may need a couple of pairs of sports sunglasses which can get costly, but if you shop wisely you will be able to find the sports sunglasses you need at discounted sunglasses prices. You'll not only be able to blow her mind, but you'll have the best porn star climaxes ever too., dish network consumer electronics. Don't yell or scold them, as it just confuses them. nordic gear electric socks

Anonymous said...

A wiki is another technology that can be successfully applied to marketing campaign software., imap server linux. For more information and details you can log onto: www. This will surely help you determine the strategies that would best suit your business. telecamere ethernet. There is most certainly a less costly but very safe and proven alternative. gmail server info

Anonymous said...

Your geographical location is one thing which your customers are very much interested in and that's why even search engines are looking for it. nokia remote camera pt. Home is what comes to your mind when you are at work, when you are driving, when you are away at a party with friends and family. access us bank

Anonymous said...

Yоu rеаlly make іt ѕеem ѕo еasy wіth уour
preѕentation but I finԁ thiѕ matter to be really
ѕomething which ӏ think I woulԁ nеvеr
understand. ӏt seems too сomрlex and νery broad for me.

I'm looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!

my web site ... instant cash loans
my site - money convertor

Anonymous said...

You can definitely see your expertise within the work you write.
The world hopes for more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to say how they believe.
Always follow your heart.

Take a look at my homepage ... diet plans for women

Anonymous said...

Right away I am ready to do my breakfast, when having my breakfast coming over
again to read additional news.

my website - diet plans