Tom Petty - good or crap?

[Sonia]

After reading the Judgement Night thread yesterday, I dug out my Tom Petty's greatest hits CD to keep me occupied during household chores today. Gotta say it's got me bobbing and tapping and nodding throughout. I was never much of a fan, growing up in the Pettyworld of central Florida, but started to crave it after moving to Arizona (free of the southern influence, I guess I heard it differently). I saw him a few times live when the 'mats were opening for him. He was alright but pretty formulaed (same bad jokes at the same time during each show). So, how does our international crowd feel about the man's body of work?

[stone free]

He did some good stuff in the eighties, but he's not really my thing. Travelling Wilbury's stuff was good. Individual songs..

[Sonia]

Derrick called on his way home so I gave him fair warning about what was spinning currently. He was somewhat speechless, but said that was the least of his worries. So I hit the repeat button. He hee.

[stone free]

Oooooh, you wicked woman!

My ex hubby was into the Bangles, so I know what it feels like..

[dbostrom]

I had a delivery job during the rise of Petty. Let's just say his tunes on the radio were not the ones that helped lighten the load. Let's just say I prefer the work of Dylan, Lynne or Harrison. Let's just say that my itch to hear Fountains Of Wayne's "Utopia PArkway" this afternoon is not gettig scratched because of Petty's Greatest Hits.

[stone free]

Fountains Of Wayne are pretty good too.

I have a friend who was really into Kylie Minogue. Everytime I went round her house Kylie would be blaring.. cos it was played so much I subliminally stored the songs and get a rash even now just thinking about it!

[morris14]

i personally think that tom petty is very much underrated.his reputation somehow seems to under mine his ability as a songwriter to alot of people.
Albums like Full Moon Fever and Wilflowers are classics and his music is very similar to that of the Byrds, which is not unlike the fanclub.i saw him live in boston in 2001 and he was amazing,played for nearly 3 hours.i don't think every teenage fanclub listener would like tom petty's music but i think mot would at least respect him.and even in the traveling wilburys he held his own singing with dylan and the likes

[Bad Seed]

Two takes on Tom Petty. I started tuning into music (i.e. music that wasn't my parents) around 1974-1975, which wasn't really a good year to get started listening to music on US radio. AM radio was all but dead and I was left with a couple of album format rock channels and a series of Top 40 radio stations. I started getting into all the 70's hard rock bands at the time only to escape the alternative: The Hustle, et al. So when 1977 or so came around disco seemed to be at its height and finding any music on the radio that wasn't pussy (my limited vocabulary term at the time) disco was really welcomed. And Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers helped. The Heartbreakers really didn't get the full credit that they deserved. Mike Cambell and Benmont Tench really helped Petty define his sound. By the time Tom Petty made it big with video (various Video programs at the time - not just MTV) with Don't Come Around Here No More in 1985, I had moved on music wise. The Alice In Wonderland based video was cool, but since all the various video outlets started to consolidate into MTV I could no longer be bothered with Tom Petty. Some okay to good stuff, but in the end, his band at that time in history was really the star. Many of the songs that don't make his Greatest Hits package aren't there because they suck.

[JOHN S]

I saw him a long time ago, on probably his first visit to Britain and he was the support for Nils Lofgren. The first album was just out and I must admit I loved American Girl and most of that record. They were superb live and much better than the headliner (in fact we left mid set and that's only the second concert in over 30 years that I have walked out of).
Never heard much else so can't really add to the debate !

[Georgia]

American Girl. Awesome. Don't mind later stuff. It doesn't make me cringe, or jump for joy. I could even tolerate the duet w/ Stevie Nicks, for whom I have little tolerance, otherwise. But American Girl rules!

[The Christopher Myers]

Hey all. Petty's the best! I've grown up on this guy and where I'd agree that all the earlier songs (nonhits) aren't crackers, they're still pretty damn good. These days though, the last 5 or so albums? Genius! Non stop hit factory, that man! Wildflowers and Into The Great Wide Open being particularly show stopping. Yeh, I'd agree that the shows might be a little formulaic, but that doesn't stop him and the Heartbreakers from being absolutely fabtastic! Lov'm! Arrow

[The Christopher Myers]

We wouldn't have the Strokes without American Girl!

[Bad Seed]

One of my most memorable concerts was seeing Petty open for Dylan at the LA Forum in '86. Petty was huge with the MTV audience and the best ticket I could manage was top row as far from the stage as was possible (Bob wasn't selling out the 18,000 seat Forum by himself). After Petty did his set, most of the Petty fans up front split before the Dylan set began. Dylan then comes on, notes that there were 500 or so seats on the floor right up front that were now empty and that those in the back (his fans) needed to come up front. Once he said this, me and my bro split from our seats, and made it down on the floor going passed security noting Bob's comments. Great show. And then we got Petty coming back for the 3rd act with Bob.