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Tom Petty: The Last DJ

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Released: 2002.10.08
Time:
 47:59
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: ******.... (6/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.tompetty.com
Appears with: Traveling Wilburys, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, George Harrison
Purchase date: 2002.10.10
Price in €: 13,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] The Last DJ (T.Petty) - 3:31
[2] Money Becomes King (T.Petty) - 5:12
[3] Dreamville (T.Petty) - 3:46
[4] Joe (T.Petty) - 3:16
[5] When a Kid Goes Bad (T.Petty) - 4:51
[6] Like a Diamond (T.Petty) - 4:35
[7] Lost Children (T.Petty) - 4:29
[8] Blue Sunday (T.Petty/M.Campbell) - 2:56
[9] You and Me (T.Petty) - 2:56
[10] The Man Who Loves Women (T.Petty) - 2:53
[11] Have Love Will Travel (T.Petty) - 4:06
[12] Can't Stop the Sun (T.Petty/M.Campbell) - 4:52

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


TOM PETTY - Guitars, Bass on [1],[2],[4],[6],[9],[11], Piano, Ukulele, Vocals, Producer, Orchestral Arrangements

MIKE CAMPBELL - Guitars, Bass on [3],[5],[10], Producer
BENMONT TENCH - Piano, Organ, Various Keyboard
SCOTT THURSTON - Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Ukulele
STEVE FERRONE - Drums
RON BLAIR - Bass on [7],[12]
LENNY CASTRO - Percussion
LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM - Backing Vocals on [10]

GEORGE DRAKOULIAS - Producer
JIM SCOTT - Engineer
RICHARD DODD - Engineer, Mixing, Mastering
RYAN HEWITT - Assistant Engineer
ED THACKER - Additional Engineer on [12]
DON SMITH - Additional Engineer on [12]
STEVE MCGRATH - Demo Engineer
JON BIRON - Orchestral Arrangements, Conductor
ADRIA PETTY - Art Direction
BLOSSOM BERKOFSKY - Photography
DAVID KOMUREK - Illustrator
ZACHARY LARNER - Design

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2002 CD Warner Brothers 47955
2002 CD Warner Brothers 47955



Tom Petty has always battled corporations and the music industry — fighting for lower retail prices for Hard Promises, complaining about videos, and always fighting for old-school, artist-first '60s rock aesthetics. There's a lot to admire about this stance, especially since he's essentially right about corporations having too much of a stranglehold on pop music, but it doesn't provide a solid foundation for an album, as the stultifying The Last DJ illustrates. Not every song on the record is about the death of rock & roll and the evils that corporations do, but it sure feels that way, since it begins with the one-two punch of "The Last DJ" and "Money Becomes King." The former is a bitter lament for the loss of free thought in pop culture, using the DJ as a truth-telling seer; the latter is a rewrite of "Into the Great Wide Open," all about a favorite artist who sells out. Both are didactic with their tortured metaphors and stretched narratives, but they seem subtle compared to the fourth song, "Joe," a heavy-handed tirade about a record company CEO that is unbearable in its awful, vulgar lyrics and is rendered unlistenable by Petty's hammy vocals; it is easily the worst song he's ever written. These front-loaded tracks obscure the lovely "Dreamville," the best song here, and effectively offer an early deathblow to an album that alternately finds Petty muddling through ballads and stumbling through rockers. Though his songcraft serves him well on occasion, it's only on occasion — the aforementioned "Dreamville," "You and Me," "Have Love Will Travel" — and the record's spare, black-and-white production doesn't add color to compositions that need it. Throughout The Last DJ, Petty sounds utterly lost — and instead of liberating him like it did in the past, it paralyzes him, boxing him into a corner where he can't draw on his strengths. It's the first true flop in a career that, until now, had none.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine - All Music Guide
© 1992 - 2002 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



Tom Petty is angry and disgusted with the music business and modern pop culture in general. The title track here tells of "the last human voice" that still holds integrity on the airwaves. "Money Becomes King" is the story of the rise and corruption of a rock star, which becomes a metaphor for the form itself. "Joe" is about a music CEO whose creed is: "You'll get to be famous / I get to be rich." Meanwhile, "When a Kid Goes Bad" and "Lost Children" are self-explanatory titles, describing the result of all this 21st-century ennui. There are great lyrics here, hitting everything from Britney to corporate sponsorship ("All the music gave me was a craving for lite beer"), but, musically, Petty and his band aren't quite up to their old standards. You can still hear classic rock references: "Money Becomes King" nicks the opening of the Turtles' "You Showed Me"; "When a Kid Goes Bad" is a pop variation on the Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." And the piano-driven "Like a Diamond"--the best track--is almost a Name That Tune fest. Elsewhere, it gets a little plodding at times, but as a document of a middle-aged rocker who's mad as hell, it's very entertaining.

Bill Holdship - Amazon.com



Tom Petty ist wütend und vom Musikgeschäft und der heutigen Popkultur ganz allgemein angewidert. Der Titeltrack erzählt von der letzten menschlichen Stimme ("the last human voice"), die noch mit Anstand über die Radiosender rüberkommt. "Money Becomes King" ist die Geschichte vom Aufstieg und vom Niedergang eines Rockstars, eine Metapher für diese Gattung. "Joe" handelt von einem Manager der Musikbranche, dessen Glaubensbekenntnis so lautet: "You'll get to be famous / I get to be rich" ("Du wirst berühmt / Ich werde reich"). Die Titel "When A Kid Goes Bad" und "Lost Children" sprechen für sich selbst. Sie beschreiben die Folgen des Gefühls von Überdruss zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts. Hier hören wir großartige Texte, die auf alles anspielen, angefangen von Britney bis hin zur Sponsorentätigkeit der Unternehmen ("All the music gave me was a craving for lite beer" - "Die Musik hinterließ mir nur den Wunsch nach einem Bier") - aber musikalisch erreichen Petty und seine Band nicht ihren früheren Standard. Heraushören kann man Anspielungen auf Rock-Klassiker: "Money Becomes King" übernimmt die Eröffnungspassage von "You Showed Me" der Turtles. "When A Kid Goes Bad" ist eine Pop-Variation von "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" der Beatles. Das vom Klavierspiel geprägte "Like A Diamond" - der beste Track - ist fast wie das Spiel "Wer kennt die Melodie?". Sonst gerät alles manchmal ein wenig mühsam. Aber als ein Dokument für einen Rocker mittleren Alters, der immer noch verrückt spielt, ist es sehr unterhaltsam.

Bill Holdship - Amazon.de


The "Down-with-corporate-rock" song cycle that opens Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' sparkling The Last DJ calls out creativity-stifling radio execs, hurls a massive boulder at the big money touring racket, and lambastes greedy label moguls like it was Elvis Costello's "Radio Radio" updated for the Clear Channel era. Yes, Petty's putting the screws to institutions that have made him a very wealthy man. But it's not as if he's ever played by the Man's rules. Rather than go quietly into his twilight years by attaching a corporate name to his tours (he doesn't) or kowtowing to radio to keep himself from being further marginalized on a young man's airwaves (he won't), Petty is letting them know he's still here - as vital as ever - with his inimitable "screw you" charm. And God bless him for it. Petty relaxes the concept throughout the album, yet still comes up with songs that are loosely connected to the cause, like the gorgeously orchestrated ode to lost innocence that is "Dreamville." The rambling country-rock of "Blue Sunday" is yet another in a long line of losers-in-love gems. Sometimes, clichés say it best: Petty just gets better with age.

Patrick Berkery - October 9, 2002
CDNOW Contributing Writer
Copyright © 1994-2002 CDnow Online, Inc. All rights reserved.
 

 L y r i c s


THE LAST DJ

well, you can't turn him
into a company man
you can't turn him into a whore
and the boys upstairs
just don't understand anymore

the top brass don't like him
talking so much
and he won't play
what they say to play
and he don't want to change
what don't need to change

there goes the last dj
who plays what he wants to play
and says what he wants to say
hey, hey, hey
there goes your freedom of choice
there goes the last human voice
there goes the last dj

some folks say they're gonna
hang him so high
'cause you just can't do what he did
there's some things you just can't
put in the minds of those kids

as we celebrate mediocrity
all the boys upstairs want to see
how much you'll pay for
what you used to get for free

there goes the last dj
who plays what he wants to play
and says what he wants to say

hey, hey, hey
there goes your freedom of choice
there goes the last human voice
there goes the last dj

well, he got him a station
down in mexico
sometimes it'll kinda come in
and i'll bust a move and
remember how it was back then

there goes the last dj
who plays what he wants to play
and says what he wants to say
hey, hey, hey
there goes your freedom of choice
there goes the last human voice
there goes the last dj


MONEY BECOMES KING

if you reach back in your memory
a little bell might ring
'bout a time that once existed
when money wasn't king
if you stretch your imagination
i'll tell you all a tale
about a time when everything
wasn't up for sale

there was this cat named Johnny
who loved to play and sing
when money wasn't king

we'd all get so excited when
john would give a show
we'd raise the cash between us
and down the road we'd go
to hear him play that music
it spoke right to my soul
every verse a diamond
every chorus gold
the sound was my salvation
it was only everything
before money became king

well i ain't sure how it happened
and i don't know exactly when
but everything got bigger
and the rules began to bend
and the tv taught the people
how to get their hair to shine
and how sweet life can be
if you keep a tight behind
and they raised the cost of living
and how could we have known
they'd double the price of tickets
to go see johnny's show

so we hocked all our possessions
and we sold a little dope
and went off to rock and roll

we arrived there early
in time to see rehearsal
and john came out and lip-synched
his new lite beer commercial
and as the crowd arrived
as far as i could see
the faces were all different
there was no one there like me

they sat in golden circles
and waiters served them wine
and talked through all the music
and paid to john paid little mind
and way up in the nosebleeds
we watched him on the screen
they'd hung between the billboards
so cheaper seats could see

johnny rock that golden circle
and all those vip's
and that music that had freed us
became a tired routine
and i saw his face in close-up
trying to give it all he had
and sometimes his eyes betrayed him
you could see that he was sad
and i tried to rock on with him
but i slowly became bored
could that man on stage
with everything
somehow need some more?

there was no use in pretending
no magic left to hear
all the music gave me
was a craving for lite beer
as i walked out of the arena
my ears began to ring
and money became king


DREAMVILLE

goin' down to lillian's music store
to buy a black diamond string
gonna wind it up on my guitar
gonna make that silver sing

like it was dreamville
a long time ago
a million miles away
all the trees were green
in dreamville

i keep wakin' up all by myself
with a blue jay in my brain
flappin' his wings
making me sing
it was just about to rain

like it was dreamville
where i was born
light-years from here
and the air smelled good
in dreamville

like it was dreamville
where i was born
light-years from here
and the trees were green
in dreamville

ridin' with my momma
to glen springs pool
water was cold
my lips were blue

there was rock and roll
acros s the dial
when i think of her
it makes me smile

like it was dreamville
a long time ago
a million miles away
all the trees were green
in dreamville
in dreamville

it was in dreamville
a long time ago
light-years from here
and the air smelled good
in dreamville


JOE

my name's joe
i'm the ceo
yeah, i'm the man
makes the big wheels roll
i'm the hand on
the green light switch
you get to be famous
i get to be rich

go get me a kid
with a good-looking face
bring me a kid
can remember his place
some hungry poet
son of a bitch
he gets to be famous
i get to be rich

or bring me a girl
they're always the best
you put 'em on stage
and you have 'em undress
some angel whore
who can learn a guitar lick
hey, that's what i call music

well they'll come lookin' for money
when the public gets bored
but we'll fight 'em with lawyers
they could never afford
yeah, i'll make her look
like a spoiled little bitch
she gets to be famous
i get to be rich

or bring me a girl
they're always the best
you put 'em on stage
and you have 'em undress
some angel whore
could learn a guitar lick
hey, now that's what i call music

so burnt-out Johnny
thinks our books are shifty
what good's that alchi to me
when he's fifty
we could move catolog
if he'd only die quicker
send my regards to the gig
and a case of good liquor
he gets to be famous
i get to be rich
he gets to be famous
i get to be rich

my name's joe, i'm the ceo
i'm the man makes
the big wheels roll


WHEN A KID GOES BAD

you got a different kind of
look in your eye s
something about you
that i don't recognize
these things are talked about
in quiet tones
i never saw a person
so all alone

some momma's cryin' some daddy's
sad when a kid goes bad makes you
wonder what made him mad when a kid
goes bad

you built for innocence
you built for joy
suddenly evil's all that
you enjoy
but if you shoot at every
one you see, well you
can't be my friend cause
you might shoot at me

some momma's cryin'
some daddy's sad
when a kid goes bad
makes you wonder
what made him mad
when a kid goes bad

when a kid goes bad
when a kid goes bad

somewhere along the way
did we let you down
did you cry out for help and
none was around
don't try to tell me
that you don't know the score
are you so shut down
you can't feel anymore?

some momma's cryin'
some daddy's sad
when a kid goes bad
makes you wonder
what made him mad
when a kid goes bad

when a kid goes bad


LIKE A DIAMOND

madmen crawl
across s the wall
knight gets away
kings all fall
queens chase men
saints all sin
and good things
all must end

but she goes on forever
she goes on forever
yeah, she's gonna shine
forever
like a diamond
in the sunlight

big full moon above the road
i'm a long long way
from tomorrow
gotta light my way
down this highway
to get to her

'cause she goes on forever
she goes on forever
yeah she's gonna shine
forever like a diamond
in the sunlight

deacons steal
and ma can't feel
if you're lonely
and behind the wheel
when the ground gives way
you have to pray
to the unknown
and hope it's real

but she goes on forever
she goes on forever
she's gonna shine forever

like a diamond
in the sunlight


LOST CHILDREN

lord please watch over
all these lost children
born to chase the hurricane
please shine some light down
on those who wander
filled with hunger and pain

please raise the wind
for all those out sailing
on an ocean alone
lord shine a light on
all these lost children
far away from their home

lord keep an eye on
all these lost children
swept away in the wind
please shine some light down
on all those travelin'
lead them all home again


BLUE SUNDAY

she took a rolled-up twenty
out of her pocket
and paid for my cigarettes
we were friends at first sight
in the 7-Eleven light
she said here let me cover it
and i rode shotgun all that night
she drove and never made a sound
when i asked if there was
anything wrong
she said nothin' worth talking about

it's a blue sunday
down the interstate
it's a blue sunday
blue with shades of gray

her back seat could have been a hotel
i slept for a thousand years
every now and then she'd
laugh out loud for no reason
i pretended not to hear
and rolled my jacket up under my head
and stretched my body out
couldn't be too far in front
of her daddy's bloodhounds
but i ain't gonna worry now

it was a blue sunday down the interstate a
blue sunday yeah blue with shades of gray
yeah you know me we've never met before it's
a blue sunday when it's time to leave you go


YOU AND ME

take a look at
what i've got
i can't promise
you a lot
but you and me
and the road ahead

i can't save
you from yourself
you got to want it
all that's left
is you and me
and the road ahead

wherever that wind might blow
wherever that river rolls
you know i will go with you

looking over
the mountain's crown
the water roars
and tumbles down
like you and me
and the road ahead

wherever that wind might blow
wherever that river rolls
you know i will go with you

just you and me
and the road ahead


THE MAN WHO LOVES WOMEN

he's the man who loves women
women, women, women,
he's the man who loves women
and fallin' in love every day

when he sees a señorita
it s a sure thing that he'll heed her
he's the man who loves women
fallin' in love every day

but in the mornin'
when she wakes up
he'll be far away
keepin' his secret safe
hey, hey, hey

he's quite prepared to mingle
comes on like he's single
he's the man who loves women
and falling in love's just his way
one of these days he's gonna pay
for falling in love every day

oh stay away
he's the man who loves women


HAVE LOVE WILL TRAVEL

you never had a chance
did you baby
so good-looking, so insecure
and now you say
you can't remember
when the lines you drew
began to blur

yeah, when all of this is over
should i lose you in the smoke
i want you to know
you were the one

and, may my love travel
with you everywhere
yeah, may my love travel
with you always

maggie's still trying
to rope a tornado
joe's in the back yard trying to
keep things simple
and the lonely dj's
diggin, a ditch
trying to    keep the flames
from the temple

oh, and if perhaps i lose you
in the smoke down the road
i want you to know
you were the one

and, may my love travel
with you everywhere
yeah, may my love travel
with you always

how about a cheer
for all those bad girls
and all the boys
that play that rock and roll
they love it
like you love jesus
it does the same thing
to their souls

and when all of this is over
should i lose you in the smoke
i want you to know
that it's all right

and, may my love travel
with you everywhere
yeah, may my love travel
with you always


CAN'T STOP THE SUN

well you may take my money
you may turn off my microphone
but you can't steal
what you can't feel
can't stop the sun from shining
down and down and down

and you may think you control things
but there'll be more just like me
who won't give in
who'll rise again
can't stop the world from turning
'round and 'round and 'round

hey mister business man
be sure to wash your hands
be careful where you stand
'cause life goes on and on and on

and you may think it's all over
but there'll be more just like me
who won't give in
who'll rise again
can't stop a man from dreaming
on and on and on

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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