[Romanelli]

I actually just saw them last night in Denver.

First of all, an amazing live show. Petty also has two of the very best in his band: keyboard player Benmont Tench and guitarist Mike Campbell, who only got stronger as the night went on. The crowd? Regina Spektor opened, and she was barely noticed. The audience was there for Petty. And it was a surprisingly young audience...not a room full of old people at all. Petty didn't play a simple Greatest Hits set...he got deep into songs you wouldn't ordinarily expect him to play live, and they were great.

Songs? My most recent band selected Tom Petty as the artist to play a tribute set for...we couldn't have made a wiser choice. We had a selection of 20 Petty songs, and we could easily add another 10 that would be easily recognized. Petty's music SOUNDS very simple, but it's not as easy to play as a band as it sounds. He's had a career that's lasted 35 years for a reason: there's a place for straight ahead rock and roll music still, and there really isn't anyone who does it better than he does on a consistent basis. I wouldn't call him "uncool" or "mundane"...he's a much better artist than that.

As for his albums, he has a consistency about him that keeps most of his discs at about the same level, so how high his albums rate will I guess depend on what level of a fan you are. Petty is an artist who has recorded a lot of really great songs, but not a lot of really great albums. His best work (Damn The Torpedoes, Southern Accents, Wildflowers) is underrated: most of the rest is underrated. Petty isn't a guy who comes out with great albums, but he also never really makes a bad one...not even Full Moon Fever, which offsets the massive overproduction of Jeff Lynne with a batch of pretty good songs.

Over the long haul, I'll take Petty's career as a whole over many others.

[covecove]

I enjoy Petty's music, his strenght is his lack of pretencious as someone already mentioned, sure he is not that imaginative or keeps exploring new sounds and reinvents himself but we have a lot of artists who already do that so it really isn't the point of his music. I admit that I like his more cheesy early 80s recordings like Hard Promises and Long After Dark which are both greatly produced and abouve all excellently written. But he is definetely not the guy to listen if you are either too close minded or Contemporary Adult's arch nemesis...
_________________
This is the life we choose, the life we lead, and there is only one guarantee: None of us will see heaven. . .

[Error Finn]

The Beatles + Bob Dylan + The Byrds + (Jeff Lynne) = Tom Petty 😁
_________________
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNGpsnTCUXM

[RoundTheBend]

Tom Petty is one of those artists that has an amazing Greatest Hits, but I wouldn't want to own his albums. Kinda like Lenny Kravitz. Mojo, Wildflowers, Into the Great Wide Open are ok albums, but your not missing much if you just get his greatest hits and maybe a few songs from his last few albums: Wildflowers is a great song, Last DJ, etc.

[Le_Samurai]

The only thing I know about Tom Petty is that his song "American Girl" sounds almost exactly like "Last Night" by The Strokes... and I like "Last Light". However, from the few songs I've heard by him, he's ok. Not really my type of thing, but I can see why people love him.

[Mr. Shankly]

[40footwolf]

I like him. He was a staple on my dad's mixtapes that we'd listen to when we were just driving around so I have some pretty fond associations with his music. I have no real interest in accruing more albums beyond the one I have (Full Moon Fever) but I'll never turn him off if he comes on the radio.
_________________
I love all music. It makes you feel like living. Silence is death.

-John Cassavettes

[RoundTheBend]

[BlueNote]

[TrekkiELO]

I like his music OK. I have one or two albums and don't mind hearing him.