Shelter

(Not Death Valley - but Monument Valley.  Great scenery.)  But back to Bogie - my favorite I think is The African Queen.  I believe Bogie won his only Oscar for that one.  I heard somewhere that Katharine  Hepburn had written a book about that experience, so I went and found that too.  "The Making Of The African Queen" - or - "How I Went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall, and Huston, and Almost Lost My Mind".  Came out in 1987.  Really interesting to hear the entire experience described by Katherine Hepburn.
Big Edward G. Robinson fan also.  He was in more than one of Bogie's movies.  I have his last movie on the shelf over here - "Soylent Green" with Charlton Heston.  Eddie steals that movie too. He's great in it.

Yeah. Question is what - if anything - has been added on for this release, or if this is how it was left back in 1998. Because productionwise it sounds fairly finished, to me. A lot of work, like you say, has been put in arrangement and mix. To great effect, too. Many great things to listen for/to. A few very nice turn of lyrics too. Problem really is the compostition, the song structure/melody. I agree. It lacks in luster.. both in hook, attitude and finesse. It strikes me as rather schematic. Like a basic structure that needs a few twists and turns to come alive, fully. With the exception of the first part of the "bridge", that does show some punch and swagger. But again, the sound is great, as is the lyrics. (Both of which made the songs inclusion on Echo a bit of a stretch, as mentioned.) 
Interesting then, no 1: Free Girl Now being another song that they struggled with. Not only did they, for various reasons, decide to include FGN on Echo, despite it not being quite finished in a vein they were totally happy with, supposedly*, they even made it the run off single. I always had some very similar "objections" about the song structure/melody of FGN as I just vented with regards to Gainesville. That is, that there is something missing in the melody, something that makes it a bit.. gammy?... a bit flat and unbalanced melodically. Something that is made up for to an extent, with that riff and the attitude with which it is delivered. I can see though, how they felt it thematically a good fit on Echo. But again, I also definately hear that they didn't feel quite done with it. And short of making structural changes in the composition, I don't see how they could. Somewhat strange song, musically, must say. And now it turned out the sessions had another one of the kind.
Interesting then.. no 2: Let's not forget that Tom also made another - perhaps melodically more successful - attempt at reminicent about the bygone days of youth, going back even further, painted with even sweeter nostalgic hues, in the song Dreamville. One of my favorites, that one. When this Gainesville song showed up as an old side track in listings, my first thought was it was a demo or early version of what was to become Dreamville. I guess though, that having done what he felt he could about Gainesville,  Dreamville was really a start-over in terms of songwriting, a whole new song with a very different vibe, but perhaps rooted in the same urge of Tom's to paint a picture of his old Florida life. (Reflection: In the context of Echo, the idyllic Gainesville feels like a lost paradise, a time before life's struggles and strive really had begun, like it does for all of us, a praising of the energy and naivitee of youth. In the context of Last DJ then, Dreamville on the other hand feels like an even more bittersweet paradise, a whole world, era and mindframe lost for all of us, in the face of thoroughly commercialized and greedy times we live in today. In deed, both are places to visit in our dreams.)
 
-----
* To my ears, to this day, FGN is not even as "finished" soundwise, as is Gainesville.  

The more I watch old movies on TCM, the more I think Tom wrote songs about those movies with the movie title as his song title. Example: A Face In The Crowd.

Today a few songs off of the upcoming An American Treasure premiered on streaming services, supposedly. Judging from Spotify, it's the double disc issue only that will be available for streaming. Apart from the previously released songs Keep a Little Soul and You & Me (Clubhouse), it's just four already relased titles that can be heard at this point. (For some reason not Rockin Around With You, though?! -- How come all five album tracks, supposedly included on the 2CD version, are not made available, is a bit of a mystery...)
So, four old songs. Not that exciting, that is? But what is interesting though, is that all these five previously released titles are now presented as "2018 Remastered". 
I'm not sure if any further remastering have been done compared to the Complete Albums vinyl boxes? Not sure how, if, what and why has been done to the songs specifically for this upcoming release, that is. (Why anything, really, since the "team" went through them kinda recently anyway, but who knows, right. You can always remaster the remaster apparently, and then remaster the re-re-master too, and so on, eternally. That's what many old acts' engineers spend all their awake time doing these days.) But, anyway. Since since I DID notice some remarkable differences on a recent Echo remaster (in the latest available digital versions, compared to the old original, like we've discussed elsewhere) -- and since it happens that a remaster occasionally have almost remix like qualities -- I gave these newly available four "2018 remasters" a quick listen. Through speakers that win no audiophilia price at that, mind you - but here's the initial thoughts:
Crawling Back To You - Sounds good, but I can't tell any real big difference. Neither from the complete vinyl albums box set edition that I haven't heard, nor from the original CD.
Accused of Love - Sounds great. Can't tell if there is much difference from the otherwise available version (again, Echo has been remastered to great improvement in recent years), but it sure seem a lot crisper than the original, and rather compressed edition.
Something Good Coming - Sounds fantastic. Something seems a bit extra intense and bare here... perhaps... not sure what. Will have to compare with headphones.
Have Love Will Travel - Again, something seems a bit extra close-up and crisp. I think I hear some new details in the guitars and harmonies.. not sure..  Perhaps I haven't heard this song enough in recent months, but wow.. this is a beauty. Old favorite resurfaces. 
 
Again, not sure what set these versions aside, from the complete album box set remasters and recent digital updates made. Either way, now the box is prepared and ready to stream, it seems. All the titles are there, if not activated yet, and it's cool to see it officially listed. Will be awesome to hear the rest of it! Brand new old TP songs. My favorite treat!
 

I found this on another forum and it speaks to the whole set being remastered for the release.
https://www.audiomediainternational.com/studios-recording/tom-pettys-an-american-treasure-mastered-at-bernies
An American Treasure, the 60-track Tom Petty retrospective boxset will be released September 28 via Reprise Records. 
Mastered by Ryan Ulyate, longtime Petty mix/recording engineer and the set’s co-producer, with Chris Bellman, award-winning Grundman mastering engineer, the massive collection includes previously unreleased tracks, alternate versions of classics, historic live recordings and deep album cuts.
“This will be the first release after Tom passed away," said Ryan Ulyate. “Basically, the family wanted to put something out that would honor him, and also introduce people to some of the deeper tracks that Tom produced. I collaborated with Tom's daughter Adria, his wife Dana, and with Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, both of whom produced the collection with me. Together, we came up with a list of songs that spans his entire career. There are tracks that people have heard before, some new versions of songs that have never been released, and some new songs that people haven't heard at all. The first song is from 1976, so we have material from the very first tape to the very last thing he did.”
Mastering engineer Chris Bellman added: “Ryan and I spent a lot of time with that exact problem. Trying to make everything cohesive while jumping from era to era was definitely a challenge, but I think we've accomplished that, and the listener should have a very good experience hearing it chronologically.”
Ulyate added: “Our main focus is Tom's voice, in the sense that in every one of these songs he's talking to you. We focused on keeping the vocals at a certain level of presence, so sometimes the track gets a little more hi-fi, sometimes the track gets a little more lo-fi, depending on when it was recorded, but Tom’s voice is always right in front of you.”
An American Treasure features rarities, historic live performances and deeper tracks. 
Available for preorder, the set comes out on two-CD, four-CD and six-LP incarnations. A super deluxe limited edition of the four-CD version includes an 84-page hardcover book, a lithograph of the Shepard Fairey cover art, a limited number of reproduced, handwritten lyric sheets from four songs, and a link to download all 60 songs in Hi-Res (24bit 96K) format..
Said Ulyate: "One thing that's different about what we're doing here in mastering is unlike the typical situation where I would come in with finished stereo masters. I brought in my Pro Tools sessions and my rig. Rather than just being able to adjust the overall EQ of the mix, we can get into the details and adjust any element individually. We might find that the track is sitting in the right place, but the vocal is a little low. 
"Rather than trying to do that with the EQ, as you would in typical mastering, I can bring up the individual track. Maybe we add some brightness to the track, but it makes the vocal harsh. Chris can add brightness to the track, and I can soften the vocals, so we have a lot more moving parts here. That additional degree of control helped us cohesively finalise a collection that goes across 40 plus years.”

Yes, it is !
I ordered American Treasure as a CD and on iTunes.
Anyway, I'll have the song tomorrow.  
Gainesville Prepares To Honor Tom Petty And Celebrate His Birthday.
A video with the song about Tom's birthplace would fit very well. 💔
https://www.wuft.org/news/2018/09/13/gainesville-prepares-to-honor-tom-petty-and-celebrate-his-birthday/
 
 

Yesterday the whole lot - both the inactive links to the unrleased stuff and the active "2018 Remaster" tracks - was taken off Spotify again. No longer there. Coincidence? Or proof that there really is different sound to these songs that they don't want people to hear until the 28th?  
What's somewhat extra weird is that this erasing the signs of the new box on Spotify happens just as the new song "Gainesville" premieres at Amazon (of all places). There seem to be various agendas at work simultaneously here. If I didn't know better I would think the HCC was wreaking havoc again, in grand style of bygone days, but they can't possibly have anything to do with this. I guess I'll just sit back and enjoy however this release unfolds. 

Today a few songs off of the upcoming An American Treasure premiered on streaming services, supposedly. Judging from Spotify, it's the double disc issue only that will be available for streaming. Apart from the previously released songs Keep a Little Soul and You & Me (Clubhouse), it's just four already relased titles that can be heard at this point. (For some reason not Rockin Around With You, though?! -- How come all five album tracks, supposedly included on the 2CD version, are not made available, is a bit of a mystery...)
So, four old songs. Not that exciting, that is? But what is interesting though, is that all these five previously released titles are now presented as "2018 Remastered". 
I'm not sure if any further remastering have been done compared to the Complete Albums vinyl boxes? Not sure how, if, what and why has been done to the songs specifically for this upcoming release, that is. (Why anything, really, since the "team" went through them kinda recently anyway, but who knows, right. You can always remaster the remaster apparently, and then remaster the re-re-master too, and so on, eternally. That's what many old acts' engineers spend all their awake time doing these days.) But, anyway. Since since I DID notice some remarkable differences on a recent Echo remaster (in the latest available digital versions, compared to the old original, like we've discussed elsewhere) -- and since it happens that a remaster occasionally have almost remix like qualities -- I gave these newly available four "2018 remasters" a quick listen. Through speakers that win no audiophilia price at that, mind you - but here's the initial thoughts:
Crawling Back To You - Sounds good, but I can't tell any real big difference. Neither from the complete vinyl albums box set edition that I haven't heard, nor from the original CD.
Accused of Love - Sounds great. Can't tell if there is much difference from the otherwise available version (again, Echo has been remastered to great improvement in recent years), but it sure seem a lot crisper than the original, and rather compressed edition.
Something Good Coming - Sounds fantastic. Something seems a bit extra intense and bare here... perhaps... not sure what. Will have to compare with headphones.
Have Love Will Travel - Again, something seems a bit extra close-up and crisp. I think I hear some new details in the guitars and harmonies.. not sure..  Perhaps I haven't heard this song enough in recent months, but wow.. this is a beauty. Old favorite resurfaces. 
 
Again, not sure what set these versions aside, from the complete album box set remasters and recent digital updates made. Either way, now the box is prepared and ready to stream, it seems. All the titles are there, if not activated yet, and it's cool to see it officially listed. Will be awesome to hear the rest of it! Brand new old TP songs. My favorite treat!
 

I'm boycotting the R&R HOF until The Monkees get in.   Not kidding.  🎸
Speaking of artists that aren't in the HOF - Gram Parsons was near the top of that list.  Today is actually the 45th anniversary of his death. And tomorrow, the 20th, is the 45th anniversary of Jim Croce's death.  He's also not in the HOF.  Jim Croce was actually the guy that inspired me to buy my first guitar back then.

Incidentally, if you click on any of the bars in the graph in the link, then click on the little menu icon (see photo here) a popup window will let you see all the songs by that artist (Full data tab at top).

From Steve Hoffman forum.
“Finally on Friday evening (09-14-18), the city of Gainesville, FL celebrated Tom Petty with a special concert as part of a benefit to end children's cancer. The event was sponsored by both Camp Hazelnut and the Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation. In addition to a performance by the band, Sister Hazel, Tom Petty/Heartbreakers fans were delighted when Stan Lynch took the stage and paid tribute to his late friend by performing on two unique versions of "Listen To Her Heart". The first version remained faithful to the version on "You're Gonna Get It" with Stanley holding down the drum kit. The second performance (posted below) featured Stanley (positioned left in the video) strapping on the acoustic guitar for a stripped down rendition of the Tom Petty/Heartbreakers classic:”
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/tom-petty-heartbreakers-2018-thread.728267/page-17
 

As for advice on where to dive in.. I'd say start from the beginning.. Then just never finish.
More presicely, give each album at least a week of exclusive focus. All of them deserve to be known individually. Then, at the end, your mind will be sufficiently blown, you will have a fair idea of the topography and how to move on in a fashion that suits you, where and when to revisit, repeat and rejoice in an endless pattern. Simplest thing, really. 

Actually, yeah.. Or at this point, why not save it for 2024? We are so used to the idea of waiting for it, that actually releasing would be too obvious.

He did. He really did.

Today a few songs off of the upcoming An American Treasure premiered on streaming services, supposedly. Judging from Spotify, it's the double disc issue only that will be available for streaming. Apart from the previously released songs Keep a Little Soul and You & Me (Clubhouse), it's just four already relased titles that can be heard at this point. (For some reason not Rockin Around With You, though?! -- How come all five album tracks, supposedly included on the 2CD version, are not made available, is a bit of a mystery...)
So, four old songs. Not that exciting, that is? But what is interesting though, is that all these five previously released titles are now presented as "2018 Remastered". 
I'm not sure if any further remastering have been done compared to the Complete Albums vinyl boxes? Not sure how, if, what and why has been done to the songs specifically for this upcoming release, that is. (Why anything, really, since the "team" went through them kinda recently anyway, but who knows, right. You can always remaster the remaster apparently, and then remaster the re-re-master too, and so on, eternally. That's what many old acts' engineers spend all their awake time doing these days.) But, anyway. Since since I DID notice some remarkable differences on a recent Echo remaster (in the latest available digital versions, compared to the old original, like we've discussed elsewhere) -- and since it happens that a remaster occasionally have almost remix like qualities -- I gave these newly available four "2018 remasters" a quick listen. Through speakers that win no audiophilia price at that, mind you - but here's the initial thoughts:
Crawling Back To You - Sounds good, but I can't tell any real big difference. Neither from the complete vinyl albums box set edition that I haven't heard, nor from the original CD.
Accused of Love - Sounds great. Can't tell if there is much difference from the otherwise available version (again, Echo has been remastered to great improvement in recent years), but it sure seem a lot crisper than the original, and rather compressed edition.
Something Good Coming - Sounds fantastic. Something seems a bit extra intense and bare here... perhaps... not sure what. Will have to compare with headphones.
Have Love Will Travel - Again, something seems a bit extra close-up and crisp. I think I hear some new details in the guitars and harmonies.. not sure..  Perhaps I haven't heard this song enough in recent months, but wow.. this is a beauty. Old favorite resurfaces. 
 
Again, not sure what set these versions aside, from the complete album box set remasters and recent digital updates made. Either way, now the box is prepared and ready to stream, it seems. All the titles are there, if not activated yet, and it's cool to see it officially listed. Will be awesome to hear the rest of it! Brand new old TP songs. My favorite treat!
 

Yeah.. I can hear a fantastic cover by Dolly, here...

Totally out of the blue... I just remembered this:
 
 

Totally out of the blue... I just remembered this:
 
 

This one?

Since no one is mentioning it... Isn't Mindbender due for a vinyl reissue soon?? Very 12" worthy artwork, it had.

..there was no shows to sell out? Right, and that was part of my point. Given perhaps different levels of popularity to begin with, their no-show in Europe in the mid 90s (when they were BIG) and the 00s (when they still had a considerably passionate and big fan base), obviously didn't help their over all "fame" over here. In the same era, other artists figured that live shows and swag was a must to keep in the game, comercially, since singles (and records sales in general, radio impact and so on) was dwindling. And TPATH then, quite rightfully, calculated they could keep busy and well paid enough to stay on the US circuit all those years. The home market was big enough, so to speak, and as such it was growing even bigger (comparatively) for each tour... a self fulfilling profecy, that way. 
But even in this light, even without much radio play, around here TPAH stayed quite popular, kept selling records in numbers and so on. A comparative stronghold. (I also lived many years in CA, and frankly TPATH wasn't THAT much more "known" there.. haha.. oh, well.) Not that the 2012 tour was that key to keeping things this way, but I still feel sorry for you guys in Spain who missed the fun in 2012. As I am even more sorry for the Aussies, who never got a TPATH show since Bob took the guys with him there some 32 years ago - A life time, or even more, in rock'n'roll.

Ah, yeah.. a certain sense of deja vu, right...? It's groundhog day!

Heyhey... I guess you all are familiar with all our little favorite serial "TP coverer" out there, Jake Thistle! (Apprently the co-captain knows about him..) He's been doing pretty much all TP songs there is, in his own way, from his own basement and from various locations and with various results (IMO), considering his very young age he kept rather busy at being a rather active Petty head. And I guess he plays other music too. Now, I suppose that his talent and his diligence have earned him some reputation at this point.. because look at this (below!)... Awesome, right? What a great, great thing to do by John Hiatt! Fantastic! (When I was a kid I thougth he was John High-Hat, but then again... I used to dream that I'd play guitar with Tom Petty too.. and look where that took me...   ) 
 
Have a little faith people...!

He did. He really did.