not bad
In the late 80's, Tom Petty went into a bit of a creative slump, and a live album let him put out a record without having to write new songs. Fair enough, this isn't a bad recording, and it's nice to have another Byrds cover, something T.P. and the Heartbreakers have always done really well in concert. My main problem with this CD is that the horns really detract from the band's original sound, which was great in the way it recaptured the simple (brass-free!) flavor of late 60's rock bands. The horns ruin that for me, but you may feel differently (I mean, I didn't like the bit of trumpet the Byrds put after the chorus in the original "If You Wanna Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star"). As someone else noted, to fit the original double album onto a CD, two good tracks were removed, including "I Need to Know", one of my favorites on the vinyl version.
why not everything on one disc?
I just finished listening to the tape version of this release, which timed out at 78:04. So why were those songs left off the CD?That being said this is a pretty good document of the band at the time and nearly twenty years later holds up as an introduction to their music.
Essential for TP
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been together for well over 25 years, they have an extensive, excellent catalog of their own songs and are an awesome live concert band. So the problems with this album (for me, as a major fan) are that 1) there's only this one CD of live music after more than 25 years; 2) a lot of the songs are "covers", rather than the band's own self-authored songs; 3) the songs are taken from various tours from 1978 to 1985, and not even presented in chronological order; 4) there's none of Petty's commentary between the songs as there would be in a concert 5) a lot of these songs include horns in new arrangements, quite a change from their original form. So while I enjoy this CD, it's not really representative of the band's overall work.
Ok, so what's good about the CD? While it falls down as being "representative" of the band, it is a nice supplement for those who have heard some more "typical" TP&HB concerts in person, via the official live concert videos, via radio concert broadcasts, or via bootleg recordings. I've been to many of their shows, have the official concert videos, have tons of bootlegs, etc. so for me the horns on "Refugee" and "American Girl" are interesting, but I'm glad I've also heard them performed live elsewhere, without the horns. And the songs where horns were in fact intended, "Rebels" and "It Ain't Nothing to Me", do truly rock here. Another treat for fans is "Rockin' Around With You", on the CD here from a late 1970's live recording with Ron Blair on bass - I've never heard this song performed live anywhere else, not on any bootleg. And it's great to have Stevie Nicks on a couple of the songs ("Needles and Pins", and "Insider") even though, again, she's not normally with the band, so those songs are untypical.
Altogether, this CD is a mishmash of well recorded and well performed songs, but it doesn't really work as an overall album - because it's not at all like a typical TP&HB concert. If you were wanting to hear a typical concert from this band, with mostly the band's own songs, Petty talking between songs, etc., you'll be disappointed if this CD is the only live material you hear from them. Personally my favorite "official" live release from the band was the "Take the Highway" video concert (now out of print, unfortunately). And there are several bootlegs I prefer to this CD, but I won't name them since they aren't for sale. However, if you are a fan and you can enjoy these tracks one song at a time, taking them for what they are rather than a full "typical" TP&HB concert, then you ought to buy this CD. And hopefully they'll release more official CDs from this band eventually (they do include a handful of live songs in the 6 CD boxed set, but only one is a Petty authored song, a slow though excellent version "King's Highway") - they would do well to release some of their old tv and radio show concerts to DVD and CD, but even if they do, this CD will still have something to offer for serious fans.
this a is great live cd,the performances are good.the only thing wrong is that the cd version cuts off two songs that were on the tape and record.I have both the tape and cd and i'm disappointed that they cut off the two tracks so the album could be a single disc set instead of a two disc set.get the tape if you can!
HB fans, but not representative
IMHO, Petty and the Heartbreakers can do three things very well: 1. they can write some intelligent songs, 2. they can get VERY intense musically when they let themselves go a bit, and 3. they can also be very effective with quick three-to-four minute songs, as long as they're well-written. On this album, the first three tracks, "American Girl," and "Southern Accents" accomplish task #3 really effectively. "Refugee" and "Rebels," meanwhile, merge the first two qualities--really effective jamming on powerfully written songs. So the album's really building up to be a heck of a piece of work, and then--we get "Don't Bring Me Down" and "Shout," which are basically just good-timey get-down stuff. It's a major letdown for me.
So as always, it all comes down to taste. If you're into the three qualities I mentioned above, you'll really like this album but feel let down at the end. If you're only into good-timey get-down stuff, there's only a few things here for you ("Breakdown" is another example). If you're into both, this is five-star stuff!
