Even though his output had slowed over recent years, consistent touring—as well as material shared on his satellite radio show, which eventually turned into its own channel—made it clear that there was a plenty of unheard material in his clubhouse, certainly since the Playback set just scratched the surface. Rather than rushing out another hits collection with the same obvious songs, his family and band members wisely waited till the following fourth quarter before unveiling An American Treasure. A true valentine for the fans, these four CDs offer about four hours’ worth of mostly unreleased material, with a handful of previously unknown songs. Even familiar deep cuts from the albums we all know are presented in different mixes, often extended past a fade or buffed of their contemporary sheen. The booklet provides commentary and detailed credits for each track, ensuring that Stan Lynch, Howie Epstein, and even overlooked Mudcrutch member Danny Roberts get their due. And there are no covers here—Tom wrote them all.
Having already mined their concert history for a previous box, the live percentage of the set is lean yet choice. Highlights include stripped-down arrangements of “Even The Losers” and “I Won’t Back Down”, a beefed-up “Saving Grace” with the full band, “Insider” with Stevie Nicks 25 years after the album version and, best of all, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar introducing the band at the fabulous Forum.
The discs are thematically separated between decades, with some wavering of chronology but still linear. The ‘70s disc opens with another take of “Surrender”, which somehow got left off their first three albums, and closes with the soulful Mudcrutch track “Lost In Your Eyes” (complete with uncredited trumpet!), both of which showcase the gargle of a voice Tom had when the journey began, as heard in between. The ‘80s kicks off terrifically: the positively stellar “Keep A Little Soul” would have been the best song on Long After Dark, and still in rotation today if only. “Keeping Me Alive” and “The Apartment Song” are pretty close to the versions on Playback, but still work for the narrative. “Don’t Treat Me Like A Stranger” is rescued from the B-side of “I Won’t Back Down”, just as a full band take of “King Of The Hill” with Roger McGuinn reminds us what a great tune that is. A couple of tracks from Southern Accents are given more authentic, less robotic mixes, while “Walkin’ Through The Fire” is a missing piece of its original concept, and illuminates “My Life/Your World” (not included) somewhat.
The ‘90s were arguably the peak of his popularity, which we know does not always equal “good”. However, this segment brings out some of the overlooked elements of some less-than-perfect albums; the outtakes “Gainesville”, “I Don’t Belong”, and especially “Lonesome Dave” are very worthy of the canon, while an electric “Wake Up Time” proves he made the right choice for the version that closed Wildflowers. The final disc is left to cover this century, when radio and video weren’t promoting his music as much anymore. As much of that latter period leaned on blues for the albums, it’s nice to hear breezy tunes like “You And Me”; “Bus To Tampa Bay” and the alternate “Sins Of My Youth” would have been wonderful side trips on Hypnotic Eye. “Two Men Talking” is redeemed by the wonderful interaction between Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell, the longtime sidemen who co-produced the project. The set ends with the last original song from his last original album: “Hungry No More”, live with Mudcrutch, bringing it all back to the beginning.
An American Treasure is an apt title, for it shows even us jaded types that he never stopped doing what he loved, nor did he stop honing his craft. As wonderful as the music is, we’d rather he was still around.
Tom Petty An American Treasure (2018)—4
I came across the two CD version. Although hardcore fans might be annoyed that the package contains previously released recordings, none of them are obvious selections. It’s a nice tour on an alternate route through Tom’s history.
ReplyDeleteRandom thoughts:
The first two tracks obviously set up the agenda, which is “rockin’ “. That seemed to be very important when one was in or just past adolescence.
It seems that when they first started playing “Listen to Her Heart", they hadn’t quite got the ringing guitar down yet, which is the song’s main hook.
The unedited version of “Here Comes My Girl” is just a bit more of a bad thing.
A big disagreement on “Keep A Little Soul”. The only song that it could have possibly replaced is “You Got Lucky”.
I like this mix of “Rebels” better than the original. It sounds more like a Heartbreakers track with the horns pushed back farther in the mix.
"Walkin’ from the Fire" should have been used on “Southern Accents” instead of either of the last two tracks. Speaking of which, I don’t think that "The Best of Everything" is a great enough song to have not one, but two, alternate versions released.
The live ballad version of "I Won't Back Down" is quite interesting. The message of the song isn’t watered down in the least. I wonder if this arrangement was the prototype for Johnny Cash’s cover.
The string arrangement on “Like a Diamond” is quite lovely. It should have made it to the album version. It would have a bit variety which is somewhat lacking on the album.
You’re right, listening to this made me miss Tom more. Yet, surprisingly, more was still to come.