ALBUM OF THE WEEK #111 - TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS - PACK UP THE PLANTATION: LIVE! (DISCOVERING TOM PETTY - PART 7)

[RJhog (Admin)]

Artist: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Genre: Rock

Country Of Origin: United States

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Member: Yes

Album: Pack Up The Plantation

Released: November 26, 1985

Producer: Tom Petty/Mike Campbell

Singles: Needles And Pins (#37)/Refugee

Song Of Week: So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star

Cover Me: N/A

RIAA Certification: Copper

Album Cover: 5/10

 

Pack Up The Plantation: Live! is  the first live album released by the band.  It did reach number 22 on the Billboard Album chart, but it has not received a certification from the RIAA.  As you can see above, I gave it a Copper certification.  

 

So what can I tell you about the album?  Well, first off, it doesn't sound cohesive as a live album to me.  That does not mean the material is not good, it most definitely is.  But it just doesn't sound like an actual single concert to me, which is what I like in a live album.  The album contains 5 covers.  Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but TP and The Heartbreakers certainly had enough stellar material at this point in their career to cut some of those and include their own material.  The cassette and LP include two additional songs (I Need To Know and You Got Lucky), and these would have definitely been welcomed by me on the CD version that I have.  I have no clue why they would cut those songs.  

 

As far as tracks I'd like to include on my Ultimate TP playlist, here's what I think.  The opening track, So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star is a cover of The Byrds.  It's a cool track and it's also the Song of the Week above.  According to the book I'm reading (Conversations With Tom Petty by Paul Zollo), Petty says that Mike Campbell put elements of Eight Miles High (another track by The Byrds) into the live arrangement of the song.  He says that Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds) then used basically the same arrangement when he played it.  I really dig the live version of Breakdown.  The audience participation is just fantastic.  But since the studio track is already on the playlist, I'm gonna leave that off.  I found the Petty/Nicks duet Insider better than the studio version, and since I was somewhat on the fence about the original version, I'm gonna take the live version.  Another track that I feel the same way about is Southern Accents.  Again, I find the live version better than the studio version.  I'll take that as well.  And finally, another cover, this time Don't Bring Me Down.  The song was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and was a Top 20 hit for the Animals way back in 1966.  I've never heard it until this album, and I think it's a terrific song.

 

Next Week:  I was gonna take a break next week, but I'm enjoying this so much that I'm gonna keep rollin' with it.

 

Ultimate Tom Petty Playlist (This Album): So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star/Insider/Southern Accents/Don't Bring Me Down

 

1. So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star

2. Needles And Pins

3. The Waiting

4. Breakdown

5. American Girl

6. It Ain't Nothin' To Me

7. The Insider

8. Rockin' Around (With You)

9. Refugee

10. Southern Accents

11. Rebels

12. Don't Bring Me Down

13. Shout

14. Stories We Could Tell

 

 

Ultimate TP Playlist (Running List): Breakdown/The Wild One, Forever/Strangered In The Night/Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)/American Girl/Magnolia/I Need To Know/Refugee/Here Comes My Girl/Even The Losers/Shadow Of A Doubt (A Complex Kid)/Don't Do Me Like That/You Tell Me/What Are You Doin' In My Life?/Louisiana Rain/The Waiting/A Woman In Love (It's Not Me)/Nightwatchman/Something Big/You Got Lucky/Deliver Me/Finding Out/We Stand A Chance/Straight Into Darkness/The Same Old You/A Wasted Life/Rebels/It Ain't Nothin' To Me/Don't Come Around Here No More/So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star/Insider/Southern Accents/Don't Bring Me Down

[Scott]

I'm gonna say, eh! 

I didn't care for his treatment of the first half of The Waiting, he should've kicked it in sooner.  And as much fun as it would have been to be there to sing Breakdown with the crowd, on vinyl its too much crowd singing for too many verses.

I did like It Ain't Nothin' To Me and The Insider, pretty cool back to back tunes and very cool of Nicks to show up for him...  As for the covers there are too many but if I had to cut one, Shout was it, it was just out of place.

Speaking of cutting tracks...  I agree that the cutting of those two songs for a CD release was a stupid decision, especially since Shout was clear throw away.  Their inclusion would have made it better, not "I'm gonna buy it" better, but more cohesive listening experience better (make sense?)...

Not a bad post in the context of what your doing and I suppose it does provide a nice break between this style of Petty and whats coming next and the song "The Stories We Could Tell" is a perfect primer for that as well...  So for that you get kudos for understanding when to post an album like this.  Conversely, after listening and discussing so many great live albums with Stuarts Top 5 post, this one just falls way short...

[RJhog (Admin)]

I have a question for you.  How many Petty albums do you own?  I'm just curious.  Of course, this stuff is only getting the attention of a few folks around here, which is perfectly fine, but I'm just curious if what I have lined up will be a surprise or a good listening experience for one of you guys.  I'm sure you and Jon and probably Mike Mills already own the majority of what I've posted to this point, but I'd like to know if some of the future material will be new to any of you guys.

And I agree, not the greatest live album ever, but I would certainly love to see these guys in concert.  

[Scott]

I own...

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Debut)

Your Gonna Get It

Damn The Torpedoes

Hard Promises

Long After Dark

I do not own anything after this, I never really got into his new style, but this series your posting has sparked a renaissance of sorts and I am interested in hearing what I thought, at one time, I wouldn't like.  For me, Long After Dark was a clear end to the first 3rd of this career, then came the The Traveling Wilbury's albums, these were the albums that, for me, kinda ran together because they sounded the same, and then he faded off the charts and entered the current phase of his career, its this 3rd phase that intrigues me most...

[RJhog (Admin)]

Good.  I've got some stuff coming up that maybe you will like.  I'm thoroughly enjoying it and getting into stuff I had no idea I would like.  So you aren't a fan of Full Moon Fever?

[Scott]

not yet... 

[Jon]

I guess this was ok. It's a live album , I'm not too big into live albums plus this seemed to drag on a bit. They sounded good, but I just don't get the point of this album considering how many covers there were.

I also wonder if they didn't include those bonus tracks on the CD since it wouldn't fit and 2 CD's would be kind of worthless with only two songs.

So here it is: I listened, I shrugged my shoulders when it was done and that was that. No purchase for me, will probbaly never listen to it again either. That's how it is!