Tom Petty’s career was pointing to “the obligatory live album”, and that’s where Pack Up The Plantation came in. Like any good rocker he had years of tapes to choose from, but the majority of this two-record set came from a show at LA’s Wiltern Theater (which also was the source of an accompanying home video, with a different song selection). Some tracks came from earlier tours, which likely sent some royalties the way of retired bass player Ron Blair.For the most part, the album gives a good idea of a Heartbreakers show, by including the hits and some well-placed covers, highlights being the opening “So You Wanna Be A Rock ‘N Roll Star”, with a guitar solo drenched in “Eight Miles High”, and “Needles And Pins” featuring Stevie Nicks on harmonies. The Animals’ “Don’t Bring Me Down” comes from a 1978 theater date, but “Shout” goes on far too long and makes one long for Otis Day & The Knights. A better use of audience participation comes on “Breakdown”, wherein Petty steps back to let the crowd sing the verses.
“The Waiting” is another nice departure, played mostly solo until the band plows in after the bridge. “It Ain’t Nothin’ To Me” translates okay to the stage, helped out by the three-person horn section and pair of female vocalists along for the tour. (Luckily, they wouldn’t stay; for the most part, the band would not use such live augmentations going forward.)
For fans and newbies alike, Pack Up The Plantation did the job. In a demonstration of either Petty’s affinity for vinyl or the record company’s theory of value, the compact disc version sported two fewer tracks (“I Need To Know” and “You Got Lucky”) than the better-selling LP and cassette versions.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Pack Up The Plantation Live! (1985)—3½
Current CD: same as 1985, minus 2 tracks
I saw the band for the first time on this tour, and they were delightful. The setlist was as you might expect – cuts from “Southern Accents” and selected hits from the earlier albums, with “Little Bit of Soul” covered for the encore. The concerts filmed for the video a couple of months later, interestingly cut a few of the originals and lengthened the encore with more covers. That at least made some sense.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this album doesn’t, particularly as a first live release. The tour, with a horn section and female backing singers, is the most atypical that they ever did. Then, combining selected tracks with songs from earlier tours turns the album into a jumble. Not that it’s a bad listen at all, but the songs don’t flow well like the setlist to an actual concert would. I don’t think it’s the best place for a newbie fan to start with live Tom.