Posts Tagged ‘Mike Campbell’

Live In Concert (Blu-Ray) – Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

A live release is always a slightly treacherous endeavour; capturing the energy of a great live show within the confines of a shiny disc is not always as easy as it sounds.

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Live In Concert sees Petty and Co.’s 2003 Sound Stage show touched up and reissued on DVD and Blu-Ray.  Recorded after his induction into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002, this features tracks from across Tom Petty’s career including his stint in the ‘supergroup’ The Travelling Wilburys alongside some hand-picked American Roots classics.

Petty is backed by his band of Heartbreakers whose current line-up includes original members Ron Blair and Benmont Tench.  More than just making up the numbers are Mike Campbell, Scott Thurston and the ever reliable Steve Ferrone on drums, musical veterans one and all who radiate a palpable air of confidence throughout .

Petty himself cuts a surprisingly relaxed and laid back band leader, notoriously prickly, he seems quite at ease throughout and whilst between song banter is kept sparse, his playing more than makes up for any lack of communication.  The set list is an eclectic mix of Petty originals and covers and serves as a perfect balance between his own output and tributes to those that have influenced his career.

Amongst the many highlights is a sublimely beautiful rendition of Crawling Back To You makes this set worth buying on its own.  Rarely played live, it is taken from 1994’s Wildflowers and is one of my personal favourite Petty tracks.

A great run through of Willie Dixon’s Little Red Rooster nestles comfortably amongst the Petty originals, I Won’t Back Down and Refugee represent the more well-known side of Petty’s releases and still sound every inch the classic today.

Finishing with another Wildflowers’ number, You Wreck Me, Live In Concert may be light on theatrics or stage sets but it more than makes up for this with the sheer captivating power of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers performance.

The blu-ray/DVD is sadly lacking any kind of bonus material, no interviews or out-takes are included which is a shame as it would have been interesting to get some input from the band about the show.  This however is a small gripe as the quality of picture, sound and show itself are fantastic and it is the perfect introduction to Tom Petty’s work as well as being essential viewing for existing fans.

Jules says…

To find out more visit the Tom Petty website HERE.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Live in Concert (DVD & Blu-Ray)
Release Date 4th Jun 2012

Live Anthology (Deluxe Box Set)
Playback (6CD Box Set)
Release Date 11th June 2012

SENSATIONAL LIVE CONCERT DVD AND BLU-RAY RELEASED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE UK PLUS BOX SET REISSUES AHEAD OF UK CONCERTS

As Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers prepare for their live shows at the Royal Albert Hall on June 18th and 20th, Universal Music marks the occasion with the first UK DVD and Blu-ray release of the classic Live in Concert show.

Recorded for a two-part PBS Soundstage, this is a fascinating and exciting show, where the extensive covers are just as interesting as the hits.  Kicking off with Big Joe Williams’ “Baby Please Don’t Go” the stage is set for the rest of this show.  Petty pays tribute to both Elvis and Ray Charles with a King-like romp through “I Got A Woman.”  He also satisfies his J.J. Cale fixation with reworkings of “Thirteen Days“.  The band settles in and plays rarities and personal favourites that have never before been officially recorded as 11 high-definition cameras catch all the action from every angle.

Tracklist

Baby Please Don’t Go
Crawling Back to You
Handle With Care
I Won’t Back Down
I’m Cryin‘
Angel Dream
Melinda, Born in Chicago
Little Red Rooster
Carol, Refugee
Love is a Long Road
You Don’t Know How it Feels
Black Leather Woman
I Done Somebody Wrong
I Got a Woman
Thirteen Days
Wake Up Time
Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms
Lost Children
Two Men Talkin‘
20. You Wreck Me

There will also be two box set reissues: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Live Anthology Deluxe Box Set is the first ever career-spanning multiple-disc set of live recordings.  The collection brings together the best material from thirty years, culled from hundreds of hours of incredible live concert recordings covering every era of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ tours and represents the best tracks as chosen by producers Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Ryan Ulyate.

- 62 tracks on 5 CDs including 14 exclusive tracks on the 5th disc only available in this collector’s deluxe box set

- DVD of “400 Days”, a documentary film by director Martyn Atkins, made during the 1995 Wildflowers Tour

- DVD of New Years Eve 1978 Santa Monica, CA concert

- Vinyl of the re-mastered 1976 Official Live ‘Leg bootleg album

- One Blu-ray disc of all 62 tracks in both stereo and surround sound. This high resolution Blu-ray is an audio only disc with basic song navigation and information displayed on the screen. The 96K 24-bit audio on the disc has 256 times more resolution than a CD providing greater detail and reproducing the music’s full dynamic range, from the softest to the loudest sounds

- Deluxe book with liner notes offering personal perspective by Tom Petty, Warren Zanes, Bill Flanagan, Robert Hilburn, Joel Selvin, Austin Scaggs, and Phil Sutcliffe

- Lithograph reproduction of Shepard Fairey Cover Art (12” x 12” on high quality stock)

- Reproduction of 1997 twenty night Fillmore stand concert poster (8” x 12” on high quality stock)

- The Live Anthology notebook

- Assorted authentic vintage backstage satin passes

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ‘Playback’ is a 6 disc box set, originally from 1995 which contains album tracks, B-sides, outtakes & early songs.  This comprehensive set has not been available outside North America since 2005.  Playback is a career retrospective spanning Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ stay at MCA Records. It includes a collection of Petty’s best-known material, as well as tracks recorded by his first band, Mudcrutch, solo demos, 27 previously unreleased songs, B-sides and live cuts.

Spanning 20 years of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ career, from 1973 to 1993 and featuring more than 90 songs PLAYBACK is the definitive Petty document.