"...That Was Beautiful!"
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
"Live At The Fillmore - 1997"
5-STARS *****
I bought the 33-Song 2CD variant (Warner Records 093624882596, Barcode same) of "Live At The Fillmore - 1997" by TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS for under a tenner and my God what a treat. It documents their 20-night 4-week residency at the famous San Francisco Fillmore West venue in January and February 1997 when they would sometimes play for more than 3 hours on any given evening. They ditched strict set playlists and did any old cover version they liked mixed in with deep dive album cuts and one new song a night (The Date I Had With That Ugly Old Homecoming Queen by Mike Campbell on CD1 is one of them). They even took audience prompts – so "Live At The Fillmore - 1997" is genuinely loose and you can feel the fun and energy coming off the stage. All this and Roger McGuinn of The Byrds and the fabulous joy of John Lee Hooker - wow! Here are the details...
USA and UK released 22 November 2022, all songs are by Tom Petty except for the cover versions noted below. The triple-gatefold card sleeve has a cool 24-page colour booklet (attached in the center) and the audio is exceptionally good - Ryan Ulyate and Mike Campbell Producing with Chris Bellman and Bernie Grundman Mastering – names everyone in the audio world trusts – even look out for.
CD1 (71:18 minutes, All Tracks Live, All TP Songs Unless Otherwise Noted):
1. Pre-Show (Spoken Interlude)
2. Jammin' Me (7 February)
3. Listen To Her Heart (1 February)
4. Around And Around (3 February, Chuck Berry song, Rolling Stones covered)
5. Good Evening (Spoken Interlude)
6. Lucille (6 February, Little Richard cover)
7. Call Me The Breeze (1 February, J.J. Cale song, Lynyrd Skynyrd covered)
8. Cabin Down Below (1 February)
9. The Internet, Whatever That Is (Spoken Interlude)
10. Time Is On My Side (7 February, Irma Thomas & Rolling Stones cover)
11. You Don't Know How It Feels (3 February)
12. I'd Like To Love You Baby (3 February, J.J. Cale cover)
13. Ain't No Sunshine (1 February, Bill Withers cover)
14. Homecoming Queen Intro (Spoken Interlude)
15. The Date I Had With That Ugly Old Homecoming Queen (4 February, Mike Campbell & Tom Petty song)
16. Bye Bye Johnny (7 February, Chuck Berry cover)
17. Did Someone Say Heartbreakers Beach Party? (Spoken Interlude)
18. Heartbreakers Beach Party (4 February)
19. Angel Dream (6 February)
20. The Wild One, Forever (31 January)
21. American Girl (7 February)
22. Let's Hear It For Howie & Scott (Spoken Interlude)
23. You Really Got Me (7 February, The Kinks cover)
24. Runnin' Down A Dream (1 February)
CD2 (77:57 minutes):
1. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (7 February, Rolling Stones cover)
2. It's All Over Now (7 February, Bobby Womack song, Rolling Stones covered)
3. Mr. Roger McGuinn (Spoken Interlude - Founder/Guitarist with The Byrds)
4. It Won't Be Wrong (31 January, Byrds cover)
5. You Ain't Going Nowhere (1 February, Bob Dylan cover)
6. Eight Miles High (1 February, Byrds cover)
7. Honey Bee (3 February)
8. John Lee Hooker, Ladies & Gentlemen (Spoken Interlude)
9. Boogie Chillen (7 February, John Lee Hooker cover)
10. Sorry, I've Just Broken My Amplifier (Spoken Interlude)
11. Knockin' on Heaven's Door (3 February, Bob Dylan cover)
12. You Wreck Me (6 February)
13. Shakin' All Over (7 February, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates cover)
14. Free Fallin' (7 February)
15. Mary Jane's Last Dance (7 February)
16. Louie Louie (7 February, Kingsmen cover)
17. Gloria (1 February, Van Morrison song, Them cover)
18. Alright For Now (7 February)
19. Goodnight (Spoken Interlude)
The recordings are live and in your face and yet intimate and never distant. When "Runnin' Down A Dream" hits your speakers at the end of CD1, the Remaster is huge and the band so damn tight and inventive. There's a sympatico between these players that cannot be overstated enough – the little fills from Guitarist Mike Campbell – Benmont Tench on Keyboards – Howie Epstein on Bass and Scott Thurston with Steve Ferrone on Drums - the additional moments they all add – it's just so damn good.
CD1 is 24 tracks 71:18 minutes, CD2 is 19 tracks at 77:57 minutes - so as you can see both discs offer real value for money too. Over on CD2 guest musicians include Roger McGuinn of The Byrds giving the band the jangle-nod and a mighty showing from an elderly "Boogie Chillun" Blues Legend himself John Lee Hooker.
As many have already said, the set is top-heavy with cover versions of songs they loved and inspired them interspersed with brilliant Petty rockers and smoochers. Sometimes a band is cooking and they were on fire. It's not just the Mike Campbell solos on stuff like "Cabin Down Below" or "You Don't Know How It Feels" - but the cool choices like J.J. Cale's "Call Me The Breeze" and "I'd Like To Love You Baby" - or the rocking Chuck Berry "Bye Bye Johnny". They eat up the Stones, pumping new life into "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction") and Bobby Womack's "It's All Over Now" - an R&B song closely associated with The Rolling Stones. And to hear that Byrds sound and harmony vocals on "It Won't Be Long" is absolutely magical for an old fart like me - never mind the fabulous guitar sound they got for "Eight Miles High". Even when it seems like he's reached too far like the soulful Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine" - Petty makes it work. He follows fun with touching - a lovely forgotten album track "Angel Dream" - the band in perfect harmony - those keyboard fills (someone in the audience actually shouts in surprise "...That was beautiful!"). By the time you get to the truly fantastic riffage of "Mary Jane's Last Dance" (a stand-out new track on the 1993 "Greatest Hits" set), which he extends into a Rock epic - resistance is pretty much futile. You could roast a hog on their tough Rockin' sound.
I'm now going have to own the 4CD Box Set with 84-songs - dosh-a-lot or not. And I'm sure I speak for millions - I wish Petty and his fantastic band was still here to be able to witness once again this kind of brilliance.
RIP TP - "The Wild One, Forever"...
CD1 is 24 tracks 71:18 minutes, CD2 is 19 tracks at 77:57 minutes - so as you can see both discs offer real value for money too. Over on CD2 guest musicians include Roger McGuinn of The Byrds giving the band the jangle-nod and a mighty showing from an elderly "Boogie Chillun" Blues Legend himself John Lee Hooker.
As many have already said, the set is top-heavy with cover versions of songs they loved and inspired them interspersed with brilliant Petty rockers and smoochers. Sometimes a band is cooking and they were on fire. It's not just the Mike Campbell solos on stuff like "Cabin Down Below" or "You Don't Know How It Feels" - but the cool choices like J.J. Cale's "Call Me The Breeze" and "I'd Like To Love You Baby" - or the rocking Chuck Berry "Bye Bye Johnny". They eat up the Stones, pumping new life into "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction") and Bobby Womack's "It's All Over Now" - an R&B song closely associated with The Rolling Stones. And to hear that Byrds sound and harmony vocals on "It Won't Be Long" is absolutely magical for an old fart like me - never mind the fabulous guitar sound they got for "Eight Miles High". Even when it seems like he's reached too far like the soulful Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine" - Petty makes it work. He follows fun with touching - a lovely forgotten album track "Angel Dream" - the band in perfect harmony - those keyboard fills (someone in the audience actually shouts in surprise "...That was beautiful!"). By the time you get to the truly fantastic riffage of "Mary Jane's Last Dance" (a stand-out new track on the 1993 "Greatest Hits" set), which he extends into a Rock epic - resistance is pretty much futile. You could roast a hog on their tough Rockin' sound.
I'm now going have to own the 4CD Box Set with 84-songs - dosh-a-lot or not. And I'm sure I speak for millions - I wish Petty and his fantastic band was still here to be able to witness once again this kind of brilliance.
RIP TP - "The Wild One, Forever"...
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