Classic Rock Bottom

ALBUM OF THE WEEK #168 TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS - THE LAST DJ - 2002 (DISCOVERING TOM PETTY - PART 16)

Artist: Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

Genre: Rock

Country Of Origin: United States

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Member: Yes

Album: The Last DJ

Released: October 8, 2002

Producer: Tom Petty/Mike Campbell/George Drakoulais

Singles: The Last DJ/Have Love Will Travel/You And Me

Best Single: Have Love Will Travel

Hidden Gems: The Last DJ/Joe/Lost Children/Have Love Will Travel

Lyric Of The Week: "As we celebrate mediocrity/All the boys upstairs want to see/How much you'll pay for/What you used to get for free"

I bet you thought I forgot about our little trip through the Petty discography.  Nope, I was just giving you guys a break for a while.  I have four more stops before we are through, so we'll get one of those out of the way this week.  Your Album Of The Week is The Last DJ, from 2002.  Quite honestly, I don't remember hearing any of these songs on the radio.  The title track was a minor hit, reaching #22 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.  But like I said, I don't remember it at all.  Here are some tidbits concerning the album:

  • The Last DJ is the eleventh studio album by the band.
  • It reached #9 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.
  • As of 2010, the album has sold 353,000 copies.
  • Four of the songs (The Last DJ/Money Becomes King/Joe/Can't Stop The Sun) are attacks on the music industry (see one of the scathing lyrics from The Last DJ above as your Lyric Of The Week).
  • The song The Last DJ is heard in the Simpson's episode How I Spent My Strummer Vacation as Homer takes song writing lessons from Tom Petty.
  • Original Heartbreaker Ron Blair returns on bass for Howie Epstein, however, most of the bass parts on the album are performed by Petty and Campbell.
  • Lindsey Buckingham performs backing vocals on the song The Man Who Loves Women.

So there you have it.  For me, this isn't one of the band's stronger records, but it's not bad either.  Although the song Have Love Will Travel was released as a single, I had never heard it until I bought this a year or so ago.  But let me say, that's one of the true hidden gems of the entire Heartbreaker's catalog.  It is a fantastic song that should most definitely be heard.

Track Listing

 

1. The Last DJ

2. Money Becomes King

3. Dreamville

4. Joe

5. When A Kid Goes Bad

6. Like A Diamond

7. Lost Children

8. Blue Sunday

9. You And Me

10. The Man Who Loves Women

11. Have Love Will Travel

12. Can't Stop The Sun 

 

Ultimate Tom Petty Playlist (This Album): The Last DJ/Joe/Lost Children/Have Love Will Travel 

 

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/Jammin' Me/Runaway Trains/The Damage You've Done/Handle With Care/End Of The Line/Free Fallin'/I Won't Back Down/Love Is A Long Road/A Face In The Crowd/Runnin' Down A Dream/I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better/Yer So Bad/Depending On You/A Mind With A Heart Of It's Own/Learning To Fly/Into The Great Wide Open/All Or Nothin'/Out In The Cold/You Don't Know How It Feels/Time To Move On/Don't Fade On Me/Hard On Me/Casa Dega/Waiting For Tonight/Mary Jane's Last Dance/Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (Demo)/Walls (Circus)/Grew Up To Fast/Room At The Top/Counting On You/Free Girl Now/Swingin'/Echo/Won't Last Long/One More Day, One More Night/The Last DJ/Joe/Lost Children/Have Love Will Travel

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Best songs are terrific- The Last DJ & Money Becomes King.

Also like Have Love Will Travel.

I am really pleasantly surprised at this album. I remember when it came out the reviews were very nasty.

Maybe it's due to no more TP burnout, but I really like this album, so much so I just might buy it. Really not a bad track at all, nothing bored me. There are some Beatles-ish stuff scattered around the album, never really noticed that before on a TP album. Or, if there was, I missed it. 

Hopefully you spread out the rest of the TP during the remainder of the year so burnout doesn't pop it's ugly head up again.

I still am really, really surprised at this album. Critics don't know squat, obviously but they had be believing this was one of the worst albums ever made. 

Really, really, really nice post. You'll probably let me down next week with something really bad, but we'll see.  

I'm expecting a love/hate response with next week's post.

Great. I'll probably hate it then.

You two guys...hahahahahahahaha!!!

He won't stop.  You know it.

He does seem to be the antagonist.

But I've come to accept it, and find Jon pretty funny, lol!

Never know WHAT he's going to say or go off on...hahahahaha!!!

Knowing him, he'll probably post something by Kiss which I'll hate. Unless it's "The Elder", of course.

Ah, The Elder, your one concession that Kiss has any talent whatsoever, lol!

It's probably not even Kiss since there's no band picture in or on the album. They probably "yeahed" someone into a coma and stole the album. 

They didn't tour that album either.

Why am I helping him?

See? The mystery deepens!

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