DVD Review: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Runnin' Down A Dream

As mentioned in an earlier posting, I was determined to get hold of a copy of the Peter Bogdanovic movie called ‘Runnin’ Down A Dream’. This is a movie he made about the life and times of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

 

Well, I eventually bought it, risking my hard earned cash on the South African Postal service by ordering it from Amazon (I looked everywhere in South Africa and could not find the DVD). After two and a half weeks it arrived.

 

The version that I bought consists of the movie spanning two separate DVD’s, a live home-coming concert DVD, and a CD of some live rarities. The movie itself is about four hours long, the length of which has created a bit of controversy in itself.

 

The Movie

 

The movie is in fact a revelation. I had my doubts about a movie of this length, but as explained in the liner notes, so much footage from over the years existed that the actual material available was just too good to omit (we also have a theory on the KraKen Rock that Tom’s slow speaking style also dragged things on a bit). It seems that since the band started, there was always someone around with some form of video camera device. For me, living in South Africa all my life, who had only ever seen the video of ‘Don’t come around here no more’ in terms of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers visual offerings, the time spanning footage was the revelation. There are visuals of the band performing in their early years, interviews spanning all the years, and some shots of the band backing up Bob Dylan. For me this was a pure visual feast.

 

Then there is the actual story (a movie should have some kind of story to it). Narrated by various people involved with the band, including most members of the band, it is riveting. After sitting down and watching the first discs about two hours worth of the movie, we seriously considered putting the second disc in straight away. It is a really enjoyable, informative documentary. The only criticism that I had at the end was that of – ‘why didn’t they explain more about various points’, and of course the answer to that is that four hours was already too long.

 

The story spans the formation of the starting bands in Gainesville, the quick demise of Mudcrutch (including where the name came from), the early days and the fact that like so many other bands they had to first break it in the UK before their home country would even take notice. Then it tracks the change of band members over the years, their relationships with other prominent artists (Stevie Nicks and Bob Dylan for example), as well as Tom’s Traveling Wilburys experience. The message that I felt prevailed from this movie is that, often you are only given one chance to do something – at these times, do not mess up., and don’t forget that dogged determination. If you don’t have it – you will fail.

 

In amongst all of this there are some really great moments, and I think that every person will find their own, whether it be a shot of Dave Grohl hammering away at the drums in a rare live performance, or the expressions on various faces during a drug bust in a German airport.

 

I would say – well worth a watch.

 

The live DVD

 

The live DVD is of a concert at the University of Florida in Gainesville in 2006. The guys are starting to look a bit old, and to me it seems to get off to a bit of a slow start. However, after about three songs in it picks up. My favourite parts are when Stevie Nicks joins them on stage. Viewers of the movie will understand her ongoing wish to be in the Heartbreakers, and with this in mind it is great to see her enthusiasm on stage.

 

Another thought that strikes me every time I watch Live Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers DVD’s is how astoundingly good Mike Campbell is. He is in every sense of the word a virtuoso (scary hairdo though).

 

The CD

 

The CD is only nine tracks long and offers live songs from the very early days to more recent times, mainly culled from live TV appearances such as Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle test and Saturday Night Live. The last track is a sound check of a Hank Williams song that they had never done before (apparently) – hard to believe. Dave Grohl appears on the drums for the SNL performance, and if you had watched the movie, you would know how much that meant to him.

 

Interestingly the old songs sound just as great today, and the new songs sound fresh and strong.

 

Conclusion

 

I am glad that I bought this package. It is quite literally hours of entertainment.

There are amazing insights into the recording industry, as well as insights into the band and their friends. A statement not to be taken lightly when you count people like Bob Dylan and George Harrison among your friends.

If you like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, buy it. If you don’t, borrow it, and you may find that you do like them afterwards.

CD Review: Bob Dylan - Modern Times

CD Review: Bob Dylan – Modern Times

In my explorations in the World Wide Web I have noticed that this album caused some controversy on its release in 2006. Several authoritative publications rated it as a 10/10 or full marks on whatever scale they use, and then very vocal commentators disagreed with that saying that it is not ‘Blond on blond’ or ‘Highway …’. This interested me and I decided that I should form my own opinion. The first thing that you should know is that up until now, I have never owned or heard a full Bob Dylan album – there I said it. Of course I have heard most of the most famous songs, and who does not totally enjoy Hendrix’s version of ‘All along the Watchtower’, but I have no prior experience of a Dylan album. Why I make this point is that, hopefully this will mean that I can provide a view on the album without having any pre-conceived ideas, and also make no comparison to prior work.

Although I must mention that the CD sleeve tells one almost nothing, I have determined that the band on the album is the same that has been touring with Dylan recently and the album was produced by Dylan himself.

In my mind, the antecedents of this album seem to align themselves for the production of a gem. Namely, there is no external pressure on Dylan to produce a best seller or hit single, I don’t think that he needs the money and his last two albums have been hailed as a return to form. Therefore he can go into the studio for the right reasons, to have fun recording a new album with nothing to prove.

So, what is the album like?

The answer is that it rocks! This bunch of old guys, lead by main old guy, Bob Dylan, lay down some funky grooves. The drum and bass section are rock solid. Every song bounces along on some of the coolest rhythm tracks one can imagine. The rest of the band is even better. Then Dylan adds more lyrics to each song than one can believe possible. He just keeps going and he’s got a lot to say. I always thought that his voice would start to grate after a couple of songs into any album, but in a strange way he manages to keep things fresh each time.

The question is: what does he sing about at such length? And interestingly, apart from a couple of barbed political numbers (which are thought-provoking and insightful), the story is the same as any guy has – guy meets girl, guy falls in love with girl, girl frustrates the hell out of guy. Listening to this album is like having a real heart-to-heart discussion on life with your most beloved Uncle. Here he is at 70 odd years, and still describing with such vivid clarity what you have been through, and what you can expect to go through for the next half of your life too. It is encouraging and empathetic in a way that leaves me motivated and glad to be alive and in a relationship. This may sound as if males may get more out of the songs than females, but what I would say is that if you as a female wonder what guys talk about – have a listen to this, you may gain some insights. I know I am generalising dangerously here. You are welcome to disagree; this is only my opinion

As I mentioned, there is not much information on the sleeve notes so I don’t see any song-writing credits. However I recognise some of these songs such as ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’’ and ‘When the Levee breaks’, but I am pretty sure the lyrics are largely his own. My personal favourite track is ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’’ closely followed by ‘Nettie Moore’. Dylan can pull rhymes out of thin air with nonchalant ease. His craft in this area is awesome to behold (sonically that is). Every song is strong and of high quality both musically and in terms of the lyrics – they have already become old friends to me and I can’t help smiling when each song starts and I anticipate what he is going to be singing about. Dylan is one witty guy who really loves music and still has a lot to say. The love of music is very tangible and this is why I like the album so much. In recording this album, Dylan also performs a very important role in an ‘oral history’ type of way by updating some near-traditional old songs, polishing them up and delivering them to generations who may never have heard them. Hopefully this will encourage people, especially other musicians, to examine their roots from time to time.

The band sounds comfortable and un-hurried. Dylan has taken some time to get into a studio, gather his thoughts and deliver a carefully prepared package of songs for his audience. My interpretation of the message is that people should stick together, enjoy life and don’t forget to stop and laugh at yourself every now and then.

I think that I should explore some of Dylan’s back-catalogue.

Or would that destroy the impression I now have?

Please add comments if you have them, they are most welcome.