Jump to content
Mudcrutch Farm Will Be Shutting Down - Read More...

Big Blue Sky

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    1,423

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    71

Posts posted by Big Blue Sky

  1. Posted · Report reply

    I also assumed for many years that  they recorded Let Me Up a bit at a time, while out on tour with Bob Dylan. So, different songs recorded at different studios or venues (but not live) and when they had time, compiled into one album. So that's why it wasn't - as I'd now say - as polished & tidy as some earlier albums. 

    No idea where I got that idea from. It's probably quite wrong. Though I guess it is sort of true, in that songs did emerge from different sources.

    Maybe I swallowed a truth serum, as I'm over-sharing here! 

    Shelter reacted to this

  2. Posted · Report reply

    Haha, each to their own.  Have been putting myself back there to remember more clearly.  

    First, I was raised on Bob and his time with The Band, well, not played  in my family home, but by friends' parents, so it's not whether you like him or not. He just is. 

    I think 1987 release: I heard Jamming Me & saw it on MTV but when I went to record shop mid-week I thought ripped album cover was really ugly. I didn't buy it, thinking I'd get it later. I think I listened to whole album on holiday (friend's place) and thought it was dirty, loose, & they'd been influenced by touring with Bob Dylan  (in a good way).  

    On the video for Jammin Me, Tom created that us against the world vibe & the sneer.  Just leave me alone! Which was a vibe I could relate to a that time.  Also, an earring had appeared. But they kept cutting away from Mike, so couldn't see his guitar work.  I also remember traveling back & forth a lot that year & I remember those songs with roadside visuals, so I guess we put it on in the car. 

    And a friend had Southern Accents (from before) so I played it at their place.

    Anything by TPATH was as good as or better than the other big bands around at the time. Plus, TPATH always retained their cred  & never nose-dived into truly awful territory like other bands or musicians. So they were reliably interesting while the others fell away.  

    But the Wilbury explosion was a whole new direction.  I believe the phrase: "you're fucking kidding me" was used a lot, like after every single sentence: George Harrison is in a new band. The video for Handle Me With Care. Bob Dylan too. George and Bob.  Is that Roy Orbison? The blond one is that Tom Petty? The guitar sound. Technicality of it being recorded on one microphone that someone went on and on about.  

    But that's another thread. 😀

    Shelter reacted to this

  3. Posted · Report reply

    4 hours ago, MaryJanes2ndLastDance said:

    Interesting reviews. It's lively to a degree but I think most of these reviews apply more to Long After Dark. What a transition, I wonder for people who bought these records chronologically, what they made of FMF after LMU?

    cheers

    Ahem, obviously you mean transition through:

    Southern Accents

    The Bob Tour 

    Let Me Up

    Wilburys (with Bob & George & Jeff & Roy)

    then Full Moon Fever

    Well, speaking for myself -I'm common - I remember liking it & just accepting that they were exploring new territory. But it took me ages to come back down from the thrill that they were a) playing alongside Bob Dylan & then there was b) the musical thrill of the Wilbury explosion which came out of nowhere.  It was music I liked that also had music credibility (ie even snooty band musicians gave them the thumbs up, even though they were creating also increasingly popular songs). 

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Still, he's written a book & I haven't. 

    Nonetheless I'm calling him on sentences like:

    "Too angry to think, he expressed himself in the way he knew best*. He went back to where he came from**, hitting a wall with his bare fist, pulverizing the bone." Blah blah

    "Though a doctor managed to recreate the bone structure that Petty had destroyed, he couldn't help Petty finish the record***."

     

    *Last time in he book there was mention of physical violence it was Earl hurting Tom. Not Tom being the one punching anyone or anything.

    **huh? where's that? Florida? The Petty childhood home? Where - as WZ writes for chapters, the dad was sometimes violent & yet the mom, grandmother, cousins. brother were all really mutually supportive & caring.

    *** Well, obviously. Unless Dr Dre is in the house. 

    ^_^

  6. Posted · Report reply

    My issue is with WZ's commentary. Here's a random example about making Wildflowers on page 352. 

    "But for the family at home, it could have been seen as a betrayal*. What Petty could do in the songs, he couldn't do in his life. No-one called it betrayal, of course.** The family had learned to live with it, found a way to see it as something else. They just called it songwriting. But all his openness*** was reserved for the art, and it left little if anything for the family. It would have made no difference anyway.****"

     

    * Well, did the family see it as betrayal - or not? Did WZ ask them? Is this TP's opinion or WZ's?

    ** the use " of course" kills me - right when WZ is exploring issues of ambivalence & uncertainty. Also, how does WZ know what the family said? 

    *** ALL his openness? So he's shut off from everyone, not open with anyone? 

    **** in other words, WZ is setting up idea that TP's failure to communicate affected his family relationship. Yet in his last sentence WZ flips around & undermines his own argument. 

     

    Whereas, I believe, Adria Petty simply said something like: "when we listened to Wildflowers, I realised Dad was leaving Mom."

  9. Posted · Report reply

    Heard a podcast by son of Roy Orbison. He said he & his brother tagged along wherever his dad went. 

    The way he tells it is, they were all carrying guitars in their cases, strolling into the big downtown warehouse / factory. Inside, cameras & that dangling microphone are all set up, ready to roll. Just before he walked in through those big doors with the five men, he realised: "Oh I'm not actually in the Wilburys, even if Dad is" & stopped to let them pass.  

  10. Posted · Report reply

    Hello. Hope you can help.

    When I try to attach an image to a post, i go to paperclip icon & "click to choose files" But the next line limits me to "Max total size 0.04MB" That's basically just a thumbnail sized image.

    This is something I've only noticed recently.

    Is it standard? Maybe my images are larger in recent times? Or have I done something that has triggered this limit? 

    Thank you!

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Exactly! Zane says the way the organised it was: Zane was able to freely interview TP & write whatever he wanted. But unauthorised. 

    He gave TP copy of finished manuscript. TP said yes it's all good except what Danny Roberts said... Actually, we couldn't afford to  to go to Whisky when first came to try with demo tapes. Zane basically said I'm keeping it because it's a good story even if it'd not true. 

     

  12. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks for link to podcast.

    Zollo's book. :wub:

    in Zane's book, Zane tends to tell us something based on research or interview, but then embroiders it with an editorial comment. One example is saying something like "from then on, the town raised Tom" It's so intrusive & annoying. Dear author, I'm reading your book for info about the band, not for your opinions. Zane focuses a large proportion of the book on the early years in Gainesville & their origin story. Great! terrific!   Against that, while he argues that the band remain interesting all through their career, he squishes the final 10 years or so into the last chapter. Grrr! At times, for example during the whirlwind years of touring with Dylan, FMF, Wilburys, Let Me Up etc Zanes loses the plot & any sense of a timeline is shot to pieces. I swear I had to write dates (months & years) next to each paragraph because he jumps around so much. 

    I was also uncomfortable with how much info they reveal about the private side of the Petty family. I would've maybe preferred to hear the other voices speak so we can have more empathy with them.  Ok, I understand that divorce settlement probably involves a privacy clause. On other hand Zanes includes a lot of very personal stuff about, say, Jane Benyo and Earl Petty. Were they all okay with that? Could he have found out some more about their point of view? Like, where did Earl's violence come from? Really - because it reads like Zane feels it was a simple as Earl grew up "mixed race" in a racist community & resented his blond son's ability to shine & once Earl was drunk he started hitting Tommy? Similarly, if Zane going to tell us that Jane Benyo had some episodes, like where she screamed outside in the dark until the police came, I think it's fair that we understand the context of what was happening for her. Or don't tell us at all. Otherwise, and I say this from a place of love, it almost looks like TP used the interviews with Zane to say both "we value our privacy - it's not your business" and also "here's what actually happened inside our family, but you can only write my perspective". So many complex issues - Zanecould maybe have focused on writing more about less, rather than trying to cover everything. 

    Whereas Zollo's book is music & stories. I like that. Editing is a fine art, and some authors & editors do it well. Zollo does it well, and listening to the podcast shows us more of what material he was working from. 

  13. Posted · Report reply

    Agree 100% - Mike sings so well!!! 

    FYI if you're ever looking, keywords are Mike Campbell official instagram. Apparently there are other people in the world also called Mike Campbell running instagram accounts about their personal & professional lives. But the Campbell family snared the "official" one. Yes!

    If you're ever looking on Mudcrutch forums, there are some in a couple of different threads. (In taxonomy, dilemmas like this have a whole life of its own - splitters & clumpers. I'm more of a clumper, so everything's together, but see that it makes sense to split things into specific topics too.) 

    1) If you wanna see MC's posts all in the one spot, or their most recent posting, just go to their instagram. (If you just want to look & not comment, you don't need an account of your own.)

    2) MC with his new band The Fleetwood Macks in forum thread "so Mike is in Fleetwood Mac?" started by timflyte

    3) MC with anyone from Dirty Knobs is in that section, probably in "2019 speculation" started by chimera.

    4) Specific appearances & musical events tend to pop up in their own threads, such as "2019 Imperial Ball" started by Hoodoo Man and "Rising Up To Paradise" started by Hoodoo Man.

    5) special mention here for the Campbell family's involvement with Tazzie Fund (dogs in LA). Check out the thread "something big happened!!" started by IndigoGypsy13. She met Mike & Marcie & Chinner at a meet & greet organized through Tazzie Fund!!!

     

  14. Posted · Report reply

    Nice idea in theory.  Worked with those Wilbury brothers.  But...

    Ramones called. They want their idea back. 

    What if musicians legally change their names while they are still in their starter band? Peaking too soon? 

    • Tommy Sundowner? Stan Road Turkey? Benmont Mudcrutch?
    • More widely.... John Quarryman? Paul Quarryman?
    • George Beatle ("If you're going to be in a rock and roll band, it might as well be the Beatles.") 

  15. Posted · Report reply

    Nurktwin,

    .... there's also that wonderful interactive graph / dataset that Casa Dega posted recently.  Buried Treasure Playlist Graph. During quiet time in our Christmas break I explored it & found you can get track listings for every artist Tom Petty played on his radio show. The chart that appeared on the screen is a summary & only shows some of the artists, but once you explore, all the other artists appear too. I'm assuming this is a complete set, but CasaDega would be the one to ask.

    And yes, I also started writing down some of the covers intending to be keeping eye out for them in archival footage etc. 😀

    Maybe drawing on  CasaDega's dataset might help to make your task a little quicker? I found it a tad confusing at first but once we figured it out it was very logical. Maybe CasaDega might be on call to consult?  Anyway, just a thought. To state the obvious, you're a free & independent person & please do go ahead & compile your list in your own way.  Just know I am VERY keen to see/hear the results!!! 

  19. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, RedfordCowboy said:

    I'm always up for a little design challenge, BBS. You reeled me it. Without spending too much time, I did this. Is this what you guys are talking about (something like this)? Basically having the cover of the first record feature the whole band, not just Tom solo? Anyways, I tried to find an early Heartbreakers image that could work...I'm not ready to make a collage of the 5 band members just yet...And wow, Ron is definitely standing close to Tom.

    TPATH Self Titled.jpg

    🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊  especial bonus 🐊 for not spending too much time pixelling out their logo tee-shirts & for keeping the smoky cloud behind them so it's not too black on black. 

    Ron & Tom haha maybe it's just the angle - Ron's behind Tom?

  20. Posted · Report reply

    48 minutes ago, MaryJanes2ndLastDance said:

    Ha ha, good point about the mother ship! Yes indeed. I generally don't like covers of band members (unless its for a live record) but this one works, largely because of the unguarded look on Tom's face, the setting, coloring etc. I think it also helped cement the incorrect public perception of Tom as being mister-laid-back-easy-going-guy. 

    cheers

    As opposed to an intense bad-ass?

    To be fair, that idea of Laid-back-easy-going-guy regularly pops up all through their career. For example: music videos for "Free Fallin' " and "You Don't Know How It Feels" are both what my frenemies call his stoner anthems. Just cos he's smiling doesn't mean he's high! Maybe he is, maybe he's not. But, hey, stoners enjoy music too & buy records too (unless they're in serious wake-and-bake phase in which case they might want to, but somehow not get around to it). 

    Is partly why I like the informal vibe of "Hard Promises" album cover. It seemed a deliberate choice to do something different following the very polished & posed (& excellent) image fronting "Damn The Torpedoes". So this is why I just can't get my head around the b&w image Shelter showed us. Talk about processed - you can see the photographers' (metaphorical) finger prints all over that image. Wonder how it'd look beforehand? 

  22. Posted · Report reply

    And Redford Cowboy mentioned including Lonesome Dave too (in another thread).

    Too much of a good thing? Is it possible? One time we toured a de-luxe chocolate factory & settled into its cafe afterwards. I ordered a hot chocolate drink spiced with hot chilli peppers. They said it was a traditional South American drink. Woah, I loved it yet try as hard as I could ( & I love chocolate) I just couldn't drink more than half. "Strong energy, man," as my companion said, somewhat hilariously.  Defeated by too much of a good thing.  Strong stuff indeed.

    ....and yet, unless I'm mistaken, these songs you're taking about, Two Gunslingers, were indeed all alive in one form (recorded) or another (jam sessions, live in concerts) at the same time.  Woah! Pace your creativity, Mr Petty, you're gonna scramble our brains....

  23. Posted · Report reply

    Am actually rolling on floor laughing. So got up, dusted off,  returned to screen chuckling so much I got hiccups. Then discog recommendations.  Am now just safely back from heroically resisting being sucked into irresistible more-ness / black hole of discogs.com. If you don't hear from me, I'm hiding my credit card from myself & maybe promising myself that I can go visit my favourite local vinyl & CD shop instead.  

    • In the meantime, hey I saw that sampler one of debut earlier yesterday, on discogs, but thought it was a fake-up someone made recently.  Is it a real original sample? 

    Hats off to idea of slapping a band logo sticker onto blank white album cover. Up there for thinking, down there for dancing. (Does that slang translate? Rough meaning is  "you're using your brain, well done".)

    PS still going zzzzzzaaaaagggghhhh at idea of bleached out Eyes To The Soul image as cover on Hard Promises.  Almost as weird as that Lolita-like girl on American Girl single that TP talks about in documentary interview with Cameron Crowe, saying "she's not the girl we imagined, we had to change that UK cover". 

    Still some outbreaks of chuckling happening here. 

  25. Posted · Report reply

    Hard Promises

    Oh THAT image - all details bleached out -  i think of it as an artwork maybe called "the eyes to the soul of the recently bereaved". 

    Oh, I knew it existed, I just thought it was used for publicity or for a single. Uh, wow, I'm reeling at thought of that image instead of "browsing for vinyls" who is at the other end of the spectrum (much more authentic, no filters or photography trickery).

    Zzzzzaaaaaagggghhhh sound of my brain right now.

    Debut

    Right - I like that, I really do - photos of everyone else too, not just Tom Petty as a solo act. Redford Cowboy, I do believe here's a challenge for you, if you're interested at all.  I hear you, Shelter, about musicians breaking into music without relying too much on image.  There've been cases, i think, where, historically, issues like a culture's racism was a factor....Apparently Chuck Berry was heard as sounding "white" while Elvis Presley sounded "coloured" - though I don't really understand all that stuff. Ideally, it's more about letting their music speak for itself? Surely?

     

×
×
  • Create New...