TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS
‘THE LAST DJ’:
Critical Soundbites
“It’s too late in TOM PETTY’s career for him to monkey with his sound, and on THE LAST DJ he remains a committed minimalist, letting jangly guitars, floating keyboards and his much imitated whine rule the day. But PETTY is still evolving as a writer, and THE LAST DJ contains his most interesting and confident material in a decade. As ever, there are small-time characters with big-time regrets, but whereas previous PETTY protagonists had no one to blame but themselves, many of these losers are paralyzed by the grip of corporate culture. On ‘Money Becomes King,’ he rasps, ‘If you stretch your imagination, I’ll tell you a tale/ About a time when everything wasn’t up for sale,’ while on the title track he curses the end of creative choice over the airwaves. It’s not a protest song, but an elegy—one that deserves lots of play over those dying airwaves.”
--Josh Tyrangiel, TIME, 10/7/02
“Throughout the album, the songs switch off between indictment and benediction. PETTY watches a rampage with sad bafflement in ‘When a Kid Goes Bad’; in ‘Lost Children,’ he rises to falsetto with a prayer for their safety. ‘Blue Sunday’ is a glancing encounter between two highway drifters, with gleaming 12-string guitar; ‘Have Love Will Travel’ and ‘Like a Diamond’ remember romances that strayed apart. And ‘You And Me’ is a classically balanced, good-hearted promise of undying love. But PETTY's greatest gift is to speak for a stubborn Everyman: the voice that came through in ‘I Won't Back Down,’ ‘Don't Come Around Here No More’ and ‘Free Fallin'.’ The album's finale is ‘Can't Stop the Sun,’ a stately ‘Abbey Road’-style crescendo in which the singer warns, ‘You can't steal what you can't feel’ and ‘There'll be more just like me who won't give in.’ The tempo, as always in THE HEARTBREAKERS' music, is deliberate and inexorable, with no need to rush and no possibility of retreat.”
--Jon Pareles, NEW YORK TIMES, 11/13/02
“(PETTY’s) new songs on THE LAST DJ are as catchy and incisive as the stuff on Damn the Torpedoes and Full Moon Fever…”
--VANITY FAIR, 11/02
“The title track is a wake-up call: a fiery rock tune that defends freedom of choice for DJs, rather than their having to play songs chosen by anonymous consultants…it rivals (PETTY’s) best work, including his Damn the Torpedoes and Wildflowers albums. He and THE HEARTBREAKERS offer a thoughtful amalgam of pop and psychedelia.”
--Steve Morse, BOSTON GLOBE, 10/6/02
“Finger-pointing lyrics become finger-snapping melodies in the buyont folk-rock of ‘The Last DJ’ and in the lilting orchestrations of ‘Money Becomes King.’ In contrast to his last studio release, the stripped-down, garage-rocking Echo, THE LAST DJ makes its points with subtly orchestrated anthems. PETTY’s drawl is relaxed yet purposeful; he longs for a better world even as he quietly mourns what’s been lost.”
--Greg Kot, ROLLING STONE, 10/17/02
“…PETTY’s droll wit and THE HEARTBREAKERS’ empathetic playing make tracks like ‘Money Becomes King’ and ‘Can’t Stop the Sun’ about as entertaining as polemical pop music can be. And the expansive arrangements give THE LAST DJ a pleasant, Beatles-flavored kick. A-“
--Marc Weingarten, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, 10/11/02
“In the elegiac, Beatles-esque ‘Dreamville,’ he remembers when he was electrified by a visit to a music store to buy a guitar string. Now, PETTY’s making music worthy of a future generation’s nostalgia.”
--Dimitri Erlich, INTERVIEW, 11/02
“…(THE LAST DJ is) one of the group’s great achievements, including more than a few instant classics, ‘Have Love Will Travel’ topping the list.”
Ben Wener, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 10/17/02
“For all the album’s jaundiced views, PETTY made sure to close it on a sweet and hopeful note. In ‘Can’t Stop The Sun,’ an artist triumphs over the business by the sheer force of his passion—and through the audience’s pent-up hunger to share it.”
--Jim Farber, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, 11/14/02
“PETTY has always seemed to have more in common with Joe Rock Fan than the larger-than-life stars with whom he shares membership in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s no surprise, then, that the anger, frustration and sadness over the state-of-the-rock union in this loosely thematic album reflect the view of the disheartened classic-rock fan more than that of the jaundiced rock star.”
--Randy Lewis, LOS ANGELES TIMES, 10/6/02
“…PETTY has had great success, but he’s always maintained an outsider’s point of view. That gives him a rich perspective…PETTY is a master songwriter; even his most principled themes come wrapped in a beautiful blanket. ‘The Last DJ’ is just the catchiest little thing you could imagine, while ‘Money Becomes King’ has big waves of heroic-sounding strings. His themes are sharp, and his effort to raise the dialogue deserves applause. But his skill at juxtaposing political commentary with gorgeous pop is the most refreshing, even startling part of it all.”
--Teresa Gubbins, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/6/02
“On the bluesy ‘Money Becomes King,’ PETTY, in his distinctive drawl, sings about a sellout rock star who now only leaves his fans with ‘a craving for lite beer.’ Tender moments, including a couple of sweet love songs, temper the biting commentary. With its lush orchestration and nostalgic lyric about a place where ‘the air smelled good,’ ‘Dreamville’ evokes just that.”
--Chuck Arnold, PEOPLE (“Album of the Week”), 10/14/02
“In songs plainspoken and devastatingly direct, PETTY laments the corporatization of radio and the greed that stunts artistic careers, the worship of false American Idols, and the profit-at-any-cost orientation that derailed Enron and, he believes, exists throughout the business world.”
--Tom Moon, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/6/02
“..he snarls against the radio (‘Last DJ’) and the concert business (‘Money Becomes King’), kicking the music biz in the teeth for whoring itself to the top bidder. He’s not just bitching, though. As the peerless HEARTBREAKERS augment their jangling guitars with piano and strings, PETTY yearns for young love, big backseats, and the days before rock—classic or otherwise—was just a fancy way of selling beer. We’ll drink to that.”
--David Peisner, MAXIM, 10/02
“Remember when albums were something more than a few hit singled with some filler materials? THE LAST DJ simmers with pure unbridled depth.”
--DRUM!, 10/02
“The charged emotions push PETTY and THE HEARTBREAKERS to equally spirited performances…THE LAST DJ is the group’s spikiest set in years.”
--Gary Graff, Stereo-Type (Wilkes Barre, PA), 10/02
“Mike Campell on guitar, Benmont Tench on keys and the rest of THE HEARTBREAKERS are often praised as the best working band in rock, and here they deliver the goods…PETTY’s a class act who creates modern rock classics like ‘Have Love Will Travel,’ ‘Lost Children’ and “Can’t Stop the Sun’…PETTY’s fine rock songs… give voice to losers, lovers, and fans of rock & roll…”
--Brian Newcomb, ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH, 10/24/02
“‘Like A Diamond’ is an ode to hope and perseverance. ‘Have Love Will Travel’ has a sweet heart, a celebration of all things good. ‘Blue Sunday’ and ‘You and Me’ are both tender looks at a world-weary people optimistic about a new relationship, with small acts of kindness and caring throughout both songs.”
--Mark Brown, ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 10/4/02
“Here they are, going strong a quarter century after they had their first album released, able to record albums of new music that are embraced by fans. And their new music matters. PETTY still has something to say, and his band can still deliver music that makes his words come alive… This album, like TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS, is about the power of music to triumph over "Mister Business Man," as PETTY puts it.”
--Michael Goldberg, NEUMU.NET, 10/7/02
“…THE LAST DJ sparks needed conversations about what music we should support and why.” --Matt Kettmann, SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT, 11/7/02
“Like the great rock albums of yesteryear THE LAST DJ is a disc with hidden depths, and one that holds up under repeated listenings. It also spells what many people have known for a long time: real rock and roll is in greater danger of extinction than it has ever been. And TOM PETTY and THE HEARTBREAKERS are out to save it.
--Alan DiPerna, GUITAR WORLD, 1/03
“Fatcat record-company CEOs, rich superstars who lip-sync and sell out their music for beer ads, fans who talk through live shows—all come in for a sound thrashing here. Balancing this out are several of the most gorgeous ballads PETTY and his HEARTBREAKERS have ever done, among them ‘Dreamville’ and ‘Like a Diamond.’ The result is that the first seven songs rank with some of the best music he’s ever cut.”
--, FORT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM, 11/15/02
“The title track opens the set with a spray of 12-string and then dives into its message…it’s about the loss of individual voices in radio, but it cuts more deeply as a metaphor for the waning of freedom and self-expression on many fronts. The lyrics of the next rack, ‘Money Becomes King,’ will resonate with anyone who has felt fleeced after a stagey rock show at the local enormodome…PETTY’s candor is as welcome as a hit of fresh air after leaving a stale, smoke-filled arena.”
--Parke Puterbaugh, SOUND & VISION, 11/02
“…one more incredible record in a long line of PETTY successes…THE LAST DJ provides a showcase for PETTY’s consistent craftsmanship and evolving maturity…Investing each song with the appropriate attitude and mood, the trio at the heart of this band—PETTY, guitarist (MIKE) CAMPBELL, and keyboard player BENMONT TENCH—proves that they are still the beat rock and roll band playing today.”
--Seth M. Limmer, POPMATTERS (Philadelphia, PA), 12/2/02
“…it focuses…on a reborn sense of the pleasure, purpose and power of a rock ’n ’roll song…A sage and solid record…”
--Jim Irvin, MOJO (United Kingdom), 12/02
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