YOU RANK ME BABY, YEAH YOU RATE ME 1-2 - ILM Artist Poll #71 - Tom Petty (results)

not my #1 but not far off. the platonic ideal of a Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers song. i remember exactly where i was the first time i heard it.

haha I knew it was going to happen by process of elimination

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0OYQm0pNI8

^^ tom in storytelling mode is always worthwhile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mDcZGRKQ_M

hearing him talk about coming up with the riff and then getting stuck for a week and then coming up with the chorus and getting stuck for a week is a real eye-opener -- you think about the 200 or so songs he's churned out at a pretty high level of quality and you wonder if most of them came together much quicker or if he's just agonizing over a different one almost every week.

i don't think it's agony exactly (except maybe for the other people in the house). you know you're on to something and you just have to stick with it long enough for it to start speaking to you.

i'd lay good money campbell has ~thousands~ of ideas recorded at various stages of polish.

waiting for Don Henleys

well, yeah

Great poll roger, many thanks.

http://www.newsobserver.com/latest-news/2byywf/picture7338920/ALTERNATES/FREE_640/15bft.So.156.jpeg

Huh. Like "The Waiting" a lot, but love "American Girl" so much more.

It's interesting, Petty and Springsteen. They're both about the same age, worshipped Dylan, etc., but Petty veered Byrds and Beatles while Bruce, as much as he, like everyone, loved those bands, veered Roy Orbison and some of the more dramatic '50s stuff. Which is ironic, of course, given Petty and Roy in the Wilburys later. And yet per that Dylan worship, there is so much more of him in Springsteen than there is in Petty, imo, vocals aside, and yet that's about the only non garage rock '60s stuff you hear in Bruce, whereas Petty is steeped in that era.

christ i can't believe "Deliver Me" didn't place esp considering "The Waiting" is #1 and the choruses are practically the same

great poll. you guys have weird taste in Tom Petty songs though.

xxposts thx tipsy... it was a treat spending these past few weeks with Petty and the resident headz!

Still wrapping my head around Campbell. His licks are dead-simple. Almost nothing that anyone who'd been playing for a few months couldn't cop, but feel, his sense of composition, and the impact he gets out of just 3 or 4 notes...

Great interview here: http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/mike_campbell/

crüt if the verses were even half as strong as the bridge "deliver me" would have been top ten for me

I WAS BORN WITH SOMETHIN' DOWN INSIDE OF ME

'Don't it feel like tonight might never be again' is my favorite Petty lyric.

Thanks for running this, I really enjoyed it. Now seems as good a time as ever to mention I ran into Mike Campbell a few years ago in an ATL hotel lobby.
After thinking 'holy shit, that's Mike Campbell' I went up and introduced myself, and got out a 'thank you' without sounding too stupid. he was super nice and just kind of let out this 'ah thanks man'. Probably happens to him a lot.

Ballot!
1 The Waiting
2 Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
3 Here Comes My Girl
4 Even the Losers
5 Runaway Trains
6 American Girl
7 Don't Come Around Here No More
8 Straight Into Darkness
9 You Got Lucky
10 Change Of Heart
11 Refugee
12 Learning To Fly
13 You Don't Know How It Feels
14 Love Is A Long Road
15 A One Story Town
16 Kings Highway
17 Jammin' Me
18 The Damage You've Done
19 Insider
20 Think About Me

Good work, Mr. Mexico. Thanks for all the nonsense!

tracks:
Don’t Do Me Like That
Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around w/ Stevie Nicks
American Girl
Straight Into Darkness
Here Comes My Girl
Insider
Swingin’
Finding Out
Runnin’ Down A Dream
Learning To Fly
You Wreck Me
Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)
Even The Losers
We Stand A Chance
The Wild One, Forever
Into The Great Wide Open
Room At The Top
You Got Lucky
Mary Jane’s Last Dance
A Woman In Love (It's Not Me)

albums:
Long After Dark
Hard Promises
Damn The Torpedoes
Into The Great Wide Open
Southern Accents

Breakdown
Don't Do Me Like That
I Won't Back Down
You Got Lucky
Refugee
Free Fallin'
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
Deliver Me
The Waiting
Listen To Her Heart
You Tell Me
Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)
Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)
What Are You Doin' In My Life?
Runnin' Down A Dream
Casa Dega
Don't Come Around Here No More
Luna
When The Time Comes
You Got It (Roy Orbison)

I had post-submission doubts about ranking "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" so highly but I decided to leave it there on the strength of the Weird Al parody "Stop Draggin' My Car Around"

ALBUMS

Damn the Torpedoes
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Long After Dark
You're Gonna Get It!
Full Moon Fever

FINAL
40. Casa Dega
39. A One Story Town (tied)
39. Kings Highway (tied)
38. A Thing About You
37. A Face in the Crowd
36. Something Big
35. Time to Move On

34. The Wild One, Forever
33. Nightwatchman
32. Love is a Long Road
31. Walls (1 shoutout for Circus, 1 shoutout for No. 3)
30. Dogs on the Run

29. You Don’t Know How It Feels
28. Insider
27. Runaway Trains
26. Southern Accents (tied)
26. Mary Jane’s Last Dance (tied)
25. Learning To Fly (1 shoutout for Live w/Stevie Nicks)

24. Wildflowers
23. Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)
22. Yer So Bad
21. Crawling Back to You
20. I Need To Know

19. I Won't Back Down
18. You Wreck Me
17. Runnin' Down a Dream
16. Free Fallin'
15. Rebels

14. Jammin' Me
13. Change of Heart
12. Listen to Her Heart
11. Don't Come Around Here No More
10. Breakdown

9. A Woman In Love (It's Not Me)
8. You Got Lucky
7. Don't Do Me Like That
6. Refugee
5. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
5. Straight Into Darkness

4. Even the Losers
3. Here Comes My Girl
2. American Girl
1. The Waiting

Honorable mentions:
• Everybody's All-American: American Girl appeared on more ballots than any other track
• You like me, you really like me: The Waiting, Breakdown, and Even the Losers received the most points per vote
• TOO LOW: Even the Losers received the most #1 rankings per ballot where it appeared
• It's the thought that counts: Jammin' Me, Wildflowers and The Wild One, Forever received the least points per vote (relative to their ranking)

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST: http://open.spotify.com/user/dustradio/playlist/2VZLJQ5wrhbDspcOy9Y0mR

wow the dueling acoustics version you posted is pretty great.

albums too!
1 Long After Dark
2 Damn The Torpedoes
3 Hard Promises
4 Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)
5 Full Moon Fever

I generally avoid the big airplay tracks, most of which had been edging close to played out for me.

Great Moments In Stan Lynch: Choosing a different point each time to come in on the chorus to "A Woman In Love..."

1. "A Woman In Love (It's Not Me)"
2. "You Wreck Me"
3. "Something Big"
4. "Hung Up And Overdue"
5. "Shadow of A Doubt (A Complex Kid)"
6. "Scare Easy" (Mudcrutch)
7. "Jammin' Me"
8. "Nightwatchman"
9. "Asshole"
10. "Listen To Her Heart"
11. "What Are You Doin' In My Life?"
12. "Walls #3"
13. "To Find A Friend"
14. "Insider"
15. "Swingin'"
16. "Straight Into Darkness"
17. "Louisiana Rain"
18. "Cabin Down Below"
19. "Last Nite" (Travelling Wilburys)
20. "Yer So Bad"

I for one would welcome a great moments in Stan Lynch thread.

you can totally hear why Iovine fired him so many times, but he's so great!

I for one would welcome a great moments in Stan Lynch Benmont Tench thread.

amen to that too

Postscript: an effect of this whole project has been that I'm being pulled to listen to everything all over again. I'm finding that I'm loving a lot more than I remembered. Most albums have several songs I do not care for but they also have more stuff I love that I didn't know I loved, so PEACE OUT, headz.

SONGS

Runnin’ Down a Dream
I Should Have Known It
Free Fallin’
Listen to Her Heart
Rebels
I Need to Know
American Girl
Here Comes My Girl
Jefferson Jericho Blues
Burnt Out Town
A Face in the Crowd
A Woman in Love (It’s Not Me)
Southern Accents
Fault Lines
It’s Good to Be King
A Thing About You
Out in the Cold
Running Man’s Bible
Nightwatchman
The Wild One, Forever

ALBUMS

Full Moon Fever
Mojo
The Live Anthology
Damn The Torpedoes
Hard Promises

1. Refugee
2. A Woman in Love (It’s Not Me)
3. Rebels
4. Jammin’ Me
5. Crawling Back to You
6. Something Big
7. Listen to Your Heart
8. You and I Will Meet Again
9. Runnin’ Down a Dream
10. Waiting For Tonight
11. Finding Out
12. Runaway Trains
13. You Got It
14. Here Comes My Girl
15. All Mixed Up
16. Two Gungslingers
17. Fault Lines
18. Last Night
19. Honey Bee
20. Wildflowers

Thanks so much to Mr. Mexico for running this excellent Tom Petty poll. It will live forever in the Century City of my heart.

1
Even the Losers
The Waiting
Straight Into Darkness
Ain’t Love Strange
Time To Move On
Don’t Do Me Like That
A One Story Town
No Second Thoughts
Shadow Of a Doubt
Deliver Me
Free Fallin
Change of Heart
Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough)
Dogs on the Run
Rebels
Feel a Whole Lot Better
American Girl
A Thing About You
Red River
Oh Maria (Mudcrutch)
20

Albums

Damn the Torpedos
Long After Dark
Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough)
Wildflowers
Hard Promises

American Girl
Refugee
Southern Accents
Breakdown
You Got Lucky
Don't Come Around Here No More
Trailer
Free Girl Now
Wildflowers
Here Comes My Girl
Waiting For Tonight
Runaway Trains
You Don't Know How It Feels
Dogs on the Run
The Last DJ
It's Good To Be King
Room at the Top
Keeping Me Alive
Straight Into Darkness
Casa Dega

tracks
1.here comes my girl
2. the waiting
3. runnin down a dream
4. even the losers
5. american girl
6. end of the line
7. yer so bad
8. i need to know
9. don't do me like that
10. jammin me
11. walls
12. it's good to be king
13. listen to her heart
14. rebels
15. stop draggin my heart around
16. you got lucky
17. wildflowers
18. you wreck me
19. a woman in love
20. learning to fly

albums
1. damn the torpedoes
2. hard promises
3. full moon fever
4. you're gonna get it
5. wildflowers

For once, I voted for a #1 also! That one was never in doubt for me. My ballot:

1. The Waiting
2. Change of Heart
3. Here Comes My Girl
4. You Got Lucky
5. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
6. American Girl
7. A Face In The Crowd
8. Even The Losers
9. Love Is A Long Road
10. Don't Do Me Like That
11. It Ain't Nothin' To Me
12. Breakdown
13. Refugee
14. Yer So Bad
15. Listen To Her Heart
16. I Need To Know
17. The Damage You've Done
18. Flirting With Time
19. Jammin' Me
20. King's Highway

Albums:

Damn the Torpedoes
Long After Dark
Hard Promises
Full Moon Fever
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Change of Heart is just sublime isn't it?

Kinda surprised not to see any other album votes for The Live Anthology. That thing is fantastic, if you haven't heard it. Four CDs for, what, $25 at this point?

I voted for The Live Anthology.

TRACKS
Even the Losers
Straight Into Darkness
The Waiting
American Girl
Don’t Do Me Like That
Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
You Wreck Me
Dogs on the Run
I Need to Know
A Woman in Love
Breakdown
Runaway Trains
Change of Heart
Walls
Rebels
A Thing About You
The Wild One, Forever
Finding Out
Wildflowers
Free Fallin’

ALBUMS

Damn the Torpedoes
Long After Dark
Wildflowers
Hard Promises
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

collections always get short shrift in these things but YES, if anyone hasn't checked out the Live Anthology it's on Spotify and it is fantastic.

File "Change of Heart" as the Tom Petty deep track this poll has lead me to re-discover. It was actually a single? Anyway, interesting that "Long After Dark" has both beloved deep cuts.

The poll also led me to re-read Christgau's reviews of Petty, which even when they're positive are pretty ouch. That rabbit hole led me to consider Bowie a potential analog: too many great, iconic songs to be just a singles artist, more uneven records than his reputation might indicate.

working a Darlene Love concert tonight, and during soundcheck a guitar tech played the "You Wreck Me" riff on a really nice guitar/amp, brought a smile to my face

It's a fun song to play with a band

Love the ghastly near-howling vocals on the chorus of "change of heart"

Wish zing had a "find in page" function.. Any talk of that "surf" album by the Stingrays or whatever?

I mentioned it, yeah. One time I saw Petty he left the stage for a bit and let Mike lead a surf medley for a long while.

Wow, this unveil was really fun. Loads of welcome surprises, deep cuts and minor hits. You can tell that many of the participants were familiar with a large fraction of his discography, as opposed to a few of the more recent results threads (like Nirvana and Queen).

Also I can't believe I wasn't the only vote for "Asshole" (my #6).

I voted for it!

heard "Jammin' Me" on the local classic rock station for the first time today. they're having a 'No L weekend' with no song titles with the letter L in them (dad rock x dad jokes!), so maybe eliminating "American Girl"/"Don't Do Me Like That"/etc. made them dig deeper with their Petty selections. the next song was "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" so it was kind of a weird Dylan twofer as well.

You could have a real strong Tom Petty rock block of songs without L

The Waiting
Refugee
Breakdown
Straight Into Darkness
I Need To Know
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around

Into the Great Wide Open
Change of Heart
Don't Come Around Here No More
I Won't Back Down
Runnin' Down a Dream