and i guess petty's unvarnished, uncushioned voice is one of the things i like best about him. i think he's a really great rock'n'roll singer.
― flying squid attack (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 22 October 2009 03:04 (fourteen years ago) link
here's a good (if tinny) song: "My Life/Your World."
― lihaperäpukamat (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 22 October 2009 03:05 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah, i like that one too.
saleswise, i was happy when full moon fever was a huge hit, because i was big petty stan (and still am). but i always thought it was pretty wispy, a few tracks aside. just feels very tossed off. and i was glad when he switched from lynne to rick rubin.
― flying squid attack (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 22 October 2009 03:07 (fourteen years ago) link
Ain't Love Strange is excellent too. Some questionable production, but the song is so well written it doesn't even matter.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 22 October 2009 03:40 (fourteen years ago) link
this, Wildflowers, and wait for it... the She's the One sndtrk are the best things he's done since the early 80s
OMG yes. In fact, I vastly prefer even the latter two to this one. That was such a great soundtrack for such a shitty, shitty movie.
― & other try hard shitfests (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 22 October 2009 03:41 (fourteen years ago) link
looking forward to that upcoming live box. he useda play a song (it's on the killer Paul's Mall 1978 boot, to name one place) called "Dog on the Run", a Stones-like, nine minute rocker that never made it to album (not "dogs on the run" that is on Southern Accents). i hope that's included; and a live "Casa Dega"'d be lovely, too.never heard his last two, but let me up, the debut and DtT are me faves.
― outdoor_miner, Thursday, 22 October 2009 03:53 (fourteen years ago) link
torn b/w the two opening numbers/obvious singles. this album has some great deep cuts, but those two tracks are the man at the top of his game imo.
― you just freaked out more than our director of lols (Pillbox), Thursday, 22 October 2009 03:58 (fourteen years ago) link
a Let Me Up poll might attract just three of u
four and gypsy mothra is OTM: runaway trains all the way
ps fuck a challop free fallin' owns this
― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Thursday, 22 October 2009 04:22 (fourteen years ago) link
That was such a great soundtrack for such a shitty, shitty movie.
^made of otm
― feed them to the (Linden Ave) lions (will), Thursday, 22 October 2009 13:12 (fourteen years ago) link
"a face in the crowd" is really underrated
― some dude, Thursday, 22 October 2009 13:16 (fourteen years ago) link
i should also admit i never was particularly turned off by the Jeff Lynne's prod. i can appreciate it's shortcomings, but a lot of people did a lot worse with "rock" music in the 80s imo.
"Mind With a Heart of it's Own" verse made me lol when I was 12
Well I been to Brooker and I been to MicanopyI been to St. Louis too, I been all around the worldI've been over to your houseAnd you've been over sometimes to my houseI've slept in your tree houseMy middle name is Earl
― feed them to the (Linden Ave) lions (will), Thursday, 22 October 2009 13:19 (fourteen years ago) link
never really been a fan of that post-ELO supershiny Jeff Lynne production style either
― Jesus, the Czar of Czars (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, October 21, 2009 6:24 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
^^^^ this. Same problem plagues Harrison's "Cloud 9" for me.
Anyway, "Face In The Crowd" is my dark-horse (lol no pun) favorite on this record. Low-key, understated, gets a lot of mileage from a very simple riff. It gets great response in concert, too.
― a wicked 60s beat poop combo (Pancakes Hackman), Thursday, 22 October 2009 13:40 (fourteen years ago) link
xxxp i would vote in a long after dark poll.. i predict "you got lucky" landslide, tho
Followed closely by "Change Of Heart," which may actually be a better song.
― a wicked 60s beat poop combo (Pancakes Hackman), Thursday, 22 October 2009 13:41 (fourteen years ago) link
Straight Into Darkness is best of all.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 22 October 2009 14:03 (fourteen years ago) link
That's a pretty song, but it doesn't go anywhere: there was a little girl he used to know, and she went straight into darkness, period. He's not good enough of a singer to fill an underwritten song with resonance.
― lihaperäpukamat (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 22 October 2009 14:17 (fourteen years ago) link
"out the window of the 747, man there was nothin', only black sky"
gonna disagree again on his singing. i think it carries a lot of emotional undertow. but i'll save further discussion of that song in particular for a long after dark thread, cuz it's my favorite on that record too.
― flying squid attack (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 22 October 2009 14:33 (fourteen years ago) link
http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=2750174464
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 22 October 2009 14:57 (fourteen years ago) link
Let me try that again.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 22 October 2009 15:04 (fourteen years ago) link
Oh come on!
Since it won't post, I'll just describe it. It was a funny lolcat, which for all you old timers out there, is how the youth of today expresses themselves.
Picture an adorable, furry super duper cute cat. And on the bottom of this picture, imagine some text, suggesting that the cat itself is speaking!
Now imagine that this particular cat is familiar with Tom Petty's Long After Dark album. And as a fan, he wants to weigh in. So he says "Straight Into Darkness Is A Wonderful Song!"
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 22 October 2009 15:11 (fourteen years ago) link
i think you mean, STRATE IN2 DAKRNESS ROOLZ!!
― flying squid attack (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 22 October 2009 15:12 (fourteen years ago) link
ah, and there's the new username i've been looking for.
― STRATE IN2 DAKRNESS (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 22 October 2009 15:13 (fourteen years ago) link
Lookit what I missed.
― lihaperäpukamat (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 22 October 2009 16:28 (fourteen years ago) link
this is a great album and i don't know what to pick yet. but it needs to be said that all the guitar solos are fantastic. mike campbell otm.
― cialis morissette (goole), Thursday, 22 October 2009 16:34 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah, this is the first album i really LOVED as a kid. like some people on this thread, I fell out of love with Lynne production at some point in the 90s, but have recently fallen back in love with it. Those acoustic guitars are just golden. Dunno what I'll vote for. Hadn't heard of the Petty live box set until this thread! Very cool -- and only $19.99 for four discs at amazon right now. Petty -- always looking out for the common man. Take that, Springsteen!
― tylerw, Thursday, 22 October 2009 16:38 (fourteen years ago) link
Imagine a picture of an adorably cute tan kitten. But this kitten has a sour expression on her face, as if she is being exposed to something extremely displeasurable or distasteful. Her eyes are squinted half-shut, and her nose is wrinkled up in a most adorable fashion.
Now, below this charming picture is some stark white text, creating the illusion that the cat is speaking directly to you, saying:
I find the hallmarks of Jeff Lynne's production style, ie heavily compressed acoustic guitars and reverbless vocals, to be overly antiseptic, and quite frankly, more than a little distasteful.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 22 October 2009 16:53 (fourteen years ago) link
Hmm.
― lihaperäpukamat (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 24 October 2009 01:11 (fourteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Friday, 30 October 2009 00:01 (fourteen years ago) link
"Free Ballin'" it is for me.
― Euler, Friday, 30 October 2009 14:26 (fourteen years ago) link
So what happened to the Long After Dark poll promised by tipsy?
― lihaperäpukamat (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 30 October 2009 14:27 (fourteen years ago) link
We decided it's definitely "Change of Heart" or "Straight Into Darkness"
i would talk on the internet about all this underrated petty record tho
― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Friday, 30 October 2009 14:44 (fourteen years ago) link
which one? He has so many, apparently.
― lihaperäpukamat (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 30 October 2009 14:47 (fourteen years ago) link
Another vote for "Face In the Crowd." Had this album since childhood but that song really only struck me a couple years ago.
― da croupier, Friday, 30 October 2009 14:58 (fourteen years ago) link
Isn't this album one of your personal faves, croup?
― lihaperäpukamat (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 30 October 2009 14:59 (fourteen years ago) link
definitely my favorite Petty full-length, but not in my top 200 albums or anything
― da croupier, Friday, 30 October 2009 14:59 (fourteen years ago) link
Voted "Running Down A Dream" -- could've voted for any of the single though, I think.
― tylerw, Friday, 30 October 2009 15:06 (fourteen years ago) link
"Free Fallin."
But as Alfred knows, I'm really a first 3 Petty LPs (plus Greatest Hits and "Jammin' Me") kinda guy, and too old to change my ways.
― xhuxk, Friday, 30 October 2009 15:20 (fourteen years ago) link
oh i was waiting til this one was over to do that one. but i guess we're close enough, a few hours overlap is ok. coming up...
― STRATE IN2 DAKRNESS (tipsy mothra), Friday, 30 October 2009 15:41 (fourteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Saturday, 31 October 2009 00:01 (fourteen years ago) link
haha for the "Zombie Zoo" vote.
― lihaperäpukamat (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 31 October 2009 03:29 (fourteen years ago) link
Double-duty "dadrock" album: Both my dad and grandfather (an octogenarian!) owned a cassette copy which they kept in their cars.
― Race Against Rockism (Myonga Vön Bontee), Saturday, 31 October 2009 07:40 (fourteen years ago) link
Free Fallin' has become such a fixture in popular culture that it's easy to forget what a masterful song it is. It's eating me alive this morning.
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 3 November 2012 12:56 (eleven years ago) link
runnin down a dream imo
― turds (Hungry4Ass), Saturday, 3 November 2012 13:12 (eleven years ago) link
"Depending On You" finds its way into my around-the-house oeuvre quite a lot, because I have a very syntactic mind and so when someone says "I am depending on you" I end up singing this song back to them
lol
― the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 3 November 2012 13:13 (eleven years ago) link
I can't remember if I voted in this or not, but the first five and Yer So Bad are all so fantastic I'd have a rough time picking a favorite. (Today it would be Free Fallin', but who knows what it would be tomorrow.)
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 3 November 2012 13:35 (eleven years ago) link
"Free Fallin'" is by far one of Petty's weakest singles.
― Clarke B., Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:10 (eleven years ago) link
It's the second worst song on this record
― Clarke B., Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:13 (eleven years ago) link
lol RONG
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:14 (eleven years ago) link
I just don't like the shape of the melody--it's facile, nursery rhyme-ish. The song lacks tension and gravitas.
― Clarke B., Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:16 (eleven years ago) link
what a great album
― Nostalgic Windows Midi (crüt), Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:17 (eleven years ago) link
It's supposed to lack tension. It's not a tense song. It's meant to float. In fact, every criticism you just levied at it is intentionally part of its make up. xp
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:18 (eleven years ago) link
I can see that, I suppose I just don't think Petty does that style very well. My favorite songs of his are his more urgent ones. I think the timbre of his voice and his delivery make his attempts to do the style you detail cloying--it wants to float, but it ends up just being sticky.
― Clarke B., Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:23 (eleven years ago) link
It depends on the song. I think Free Fallin' works very well, but I think You Don't Know How It Feels is as flat as a pancake.
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:25 (eleven years ago) link
I didn't even realize it was you who revived this thread... Sorry for pooping in yer cereal.
― Clarke B., Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:30 (eleven years ago) link
It's all good. I'm FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:31 (eleven years ago) link
FREEEEEE FAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLIN'
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:32 (eleven years ago) link
I associate "Free Fallin" so much with my early childhood that it's hard for me to approach it from a critical songwriting perspective. It's just always been there.
― Nostalgic Windows Midi (crüt), Saturday, 3 November 2012 14:34 (eleven years ago) link
"A Face in the Crowd" is almost ominous.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 16 August 2014 00:01 (ten years ago) link
My most-listened-to Petty album, though not my favourite (that would be Southern Accents). Because it was in my CD collection during high school, it was one that friends would always want to put on when they were over.
― MaudAdams (cryptosicko), Saturday, 16 August 2014 00:14 (ten years ago) link
petty was too old, and i was too young, for me to buy this when it was released, so it's wonderful now to know the hits yet get to hear the whole thing with fresh ears
― j., Tuesday, 3 October 2017 06:05 (six years ago) link
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, August 15, 2014 8:01 PM
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 3 October 2017 12:35 (six years ago) link
it's totally ominous, disassociative
this album is like 29 minutes long! that rules
zombie zoo is a great closer
― brimstead, Tuesday, 3 October 2017 14:54 (six years ago) link
I wanna buy a 12 string guitar just so I can sing “Yer so bad” at the top of my lungs. Best pre-chorus ever
― Heez, Sunday, 5 April 2020 21:41 (four years ago) link