Let Me Up, I've Had Enough Homemade Live Albums

In one corner, we have the ambitious Concept Album. Too many producers, too many guest musicians, too little in the way of actual concept. It was supposed to be about the American South, but the big single ("Don't Come Around Here No More") had nothing to do with the theme. 

The songs with Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics almost earned a spot on Do Ya Think I'm New Wave. In retrospect, they were a dry run for Tom's radio-friendly collaborations with Jeff Lynne.

In the other corner, there's the "back to basics" LP Let Me Up (I've Had Enough), which was reportedly written in the studio. Changing your working methods and cleansing the creative palate can yield interesting results. On the other hand, if you go to work with nothing planned, you may have little to show at the end of the day. The single "Jammin Me" was a scattershot word salad of misdirected spite. That spitefulness resurfaced with the petty grievances of The Last DJ.

If you write about the Old South with nostalgia and affection, you can always claim that your intentions were misunderstood. But it's hard to misread the signifiers of the Pack Up The Plantation tour that followed Southern Accents: the rebel flag framed by white pillars, and the title itself. I fell out of love with TP because of the tears for the Lost Cause; because of songs like "Rebels" and "Spike"; and because he neglected the talents of his lead guitarist to the point that Mike Campbell gave away one of his best songs.

The opinions expressed by me (Jonder) may not represent those of Stinky, who has once again compiled two fine Homemade Live Albums with plenty of bonus tracks for listeners to enjoy. And the caption for today's post is not meant to be taken seriously.

Promise Keeper

Stinky had only planned to do Homemade Live Albums of the first three records. But when loyal reader MrDave commented that he was looking forward to the next two, Stinky took it on faith, and took it to the heart.

Our younger readers (unlike MrDave) may not remember when MCA wanted Hard Promises to be the first new release with a list price of $9.98 (a dollar more than the standard list price at the time). 

The man who later sang "I Won't Back Down" had already won a legal battle with MCA prior to the release of Damn The Torpedoes, and he refused to hand over the master tapes for Hard Promises until the label capitulated. Trouser Press interviewed him for a cover story with the headline "The $8.98 Man Keeps His Promise". Typically self-deprecating, he credited his fans and the press for the win.

Long After Dark followed in 1982. Tom had joked in an interview around this time that the next album would be called "Benmont's Revenge", and the big single from this LP was the keyboard dominated "You Got Lucky". 

If you're a Figgs fan (and if not, why?), you might enjoy Mike Gent's acoustic rendition of the Long After Dark album, as well as his notes on why it's an important record for him as a songwriter.  Mike's version of "Change Of Heart" is my favorite.

Hope you enjoy these two Homemade Live Albums and their bonus tracks. Stinky has already compiled the next two TP&HB LP's from 1985 and 1987, and those are coming soon! 

Them Dang Torpedoes

This was a blockbuster. "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl" and "Don't Do Me Like That" were constantly on the radio. It was a fun album, with the odd little bits like "It's just the normal noises in here" between songs. 

And he looked so cool. I was thirteen in 1979. I wanted more than anything to sit on my roof, stare at the moon, and write songs on my Rickenbacker about girls who would understand how misunderstood I was.

"You Tell Me" and an alternate version of "What Are You Doing In My Life" are the only studio tracks on this Homemade Live Album. Seven bonus songs bring the total to a sweet sixteen.

Don't miss Stinky's genre-themed TP compilations (blues, country, rockabilly and psychedelia).  Stinky has also created homemade live albums for Michael Hall's Wild Seeds, Tav Falco's Panther Burns, Brian Setzer's Tomcats, Jon Rubin's Rubinoos, Georgia's Satellites, and Pearl Harbor's Explosions.

You're Gonna Get Another Homemade Live Album

 

A second LP of ten original songs was released in 1978, highlighted by the 12-string jangle of "Listen To Her Heart" and the lean rocker "I Need To Know".

This Homemade Live Album was a bit of a challenge for Stinky, as four of the songs were never played onstage. One of them ("Magnolia") was reportedly written for Roger McGuinn (according to the article Top 10 Songs TP Never Played Live). 

"Hurt", "Restless", and "Baby's A Rock'n'Roller" are the others that didn't get a live workout.  The band may have played "Restless" once (in St. Louis on Sept. 14, 1978), but we couldn't find a recording of that show. Five bonus tracks round out this collection, including an alternate version of the title tune. You're gonna get your ya-ya's out with this swell set!

TP and the HB S/T LP - Live!

Thomas Earl Petty's debut appeared in 1976. Its cover featured our hero wearing a leather jacket, a bandolier, and a crooked smile. It featured eleven original songs, two of which gained radio airplay and became standards of the band's live set for the next 40 years: "Breakdown" and "American Girl".

One of Stinky's recent compilations includes the final encore of "American Girl" at the Heartbreakers' last ever concert (September 27, 2017 at the Hollywood Bowl). One week later, the American Boy from Gainesville, FL was gone. Vanished, like the puff of smoke in the background of his first album cover.

Today, Stinky's Homemade Live Albums presents the songs from that auspicious and eponymous 1976 debut as performed onstage, with the exception of "Hometown Blues" (which was never played live, as far as Stinky and I can tell.)

The songs that the Heartbreakers did play live were carefully chosen from a variety of concerts in the US, England, and Australia. Stinky also included bonus tracks (originals and cover songs) to round out this live compilation of prime young Petty.

HALLOWEEN ALERT: It's the time of year to click right here if you haven't heard Uncle Stinky's kid-tested compilation of Halloween songs! 

Blue and Petty

Stinky has completed a fourth volume in his series on the various sides of Gainesville, Florida's favorite musical son. So far, we've heard the country side, psychedelic and rockabilly sides. Today's final set features the blues side of The Heartbreakers. The band takes on blues classics ("Big Boss Man" and "Baby Please Don't Go") to rhythm & blues ("I Got A Woman" and "I'm Walkin"), as well as blues rock ("Oh Well") and songs popularized by Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones. This compilation also ventures into soul music ("Cry To Me" and "Ain't No Sunshine"). As Stinky has pointed out, Tom had a way of turning every song he sang into a Tom Petty song, regardless of its genre.  And the Heartbreakers were a talented group of musicians, more than capable of creating moving performances of songs from many styles and many decades.  It's no wonder that Bob Dylan called them one of the world's greatest rock & roll bands.

Hope you enjoy Stinky's newest Homemade Record. It's a tribute to a great talent gone too soon.

Country & Petty

Growing up in Florida, surrounded by country music, it’s only natural that some of it seeped into Tom Petty’s musical groundwater.  Petty’s main influences (Roger McGuinn, Bob Dylan, and The Beatles) all flaunted their country influences much more than Petty ever did.

McGuinn blended country and rock with The Byrds.  Dylan shocked the world by recording with Johnny Cash. The Beatles covered Buck Owens’ "Act Naturally" and no fewer than three songs by Carl Perkins—who straddled the line between country and rockabilly his entire career.  

Petty's influence can be heard in the contemporary country artists who undoubtedly grew up listening to him.  There’s more Tom Petty than Norman Petty in most country acts today.  He didn’t so much play country, as he influenced the direction that country music took.

Like Neil Young and Bob Dylan, who also have unusual singing voices, Petty seems to drench every song he sings with his pure Petty-ness, and to turn a song into a Tom Petty song more than a specific style of music.  That’s one of the measures of a great recording artist: to be instantly recognizable no matter what you’re singing.  

So pop a piece of grass in your mouth, let the sun warm your face (keeping one eye open for gators on your lawn) and experience The Country Side Of Tom Petty. - Stinky

Get Petty!!

 

I'm not naming names, but this skinny young singer with lanky blond hair was a native of Gainesville, Florida. In the mid 70's his band came roaring up Highway 441, like waves crashing on the beach. Their music was influenced by power pop (and its primary antecedent, the British Invasion), but played with a Southern accent. 

The songs rang brightly with the sterling sound of Roger McGuinn's 12-string electric guitar, with a lyrical persona drawn from Del Shannon: a heartbroken loser who got lucky sometimes.

As another talented singer named Tom (brother Smothers) once said, he was a man with many faucets. Stinky focuses on two of them in today's Homemade Records: the psychedelic side, and the rockabilly side.

If you were raised on The Beatles and Elvis Presley, your ears would be well-attuned to these influences; but it's the sign of a true songwriting talent to transform and transcend those influences, and create a sound that is uniquely identifiable as your own. That he did, over a four decade career.

Stinky selects both original compositions and cover songs. A couple on the rockabilly side are performed with Carl Perkins, and the psychedelic side also ventures into garage rock and soul. Dig in!