More Tom Petty

The last time I mentioned TP was in 2014 with the Hypnotic Eye album although I have a lot of Tom Petty's albums on cd.

 This album originally came out in 1993 remaining a favourite of many although though their have been other compilations such as Playback box set and 2000's Anthology: Through The Years and it recently (July 2016) came out on double vinyl.

More accurately for people living  my side of the Atlantic, it's a re-issue as there was a very limited vinyl release for Europe and the UK and that edition is like much early 90's vinyl very expensive when you see a copy.

The strength of this set is its brevity containing only the 45's and two new recordings such as Mary Jane's 2nd Dance and that the running order makes for a highly enjoyable play starting with such early tracks as American Girl running through such gems as I Need To Know, Refugee, Don't Come Around Here No More and I Won't Back Down with a lack of anything resembling padding so in just over 68 minutes the case for Tom Petty is made convincingly in song and arrangements.

The four side splits are chosen well so you get the opportunity changing them to reflect on what you have heard and in non technical terms the sound and pressing quality of this European lp set is really high with the grooves cut by Chris Bell.

 Before the Heartbreakers were formed, there were a group of guys who played with Tom Petty In Gainsville, Florida and that band was reformed for an album in 2007 and this, Mudcrutch2, is their new offering also bought on vinyl issued May 20th with shared song writing between the band and Tom.

New Tom Petty and some Rush re-issues

This week I'm looking at a brand new album on lp record just like it was when I was in my teens and a couple of cd re-issues.

Those who follow the album charts can't helped to notice Tom Petty recently topped it in the States with Hypnotic Eye that came out late July but it wasn't until last week I got my copy because it is the 140 gram German lp pressing simply cos it sounds a bit better (and has more dynamics) than the cd version plus came with a free download code for 24bit (48K) High Definition lossless digital audio and regular slightly more compressed Mp3. 

Favourites from this altogether really good comeback album are Burnt Out Town which with American Dream Plan B  and Power Drunk are good examples of Tom Petty drawing from current affairs to write spirited songs about the World we live in.

As some of you are aware, I do buy specialty reissues that offer better sound than the originals and one that recently landed my was this, the late 1989 Presto album by ace Canadian rockers, Rush that I bought when it first came out. 

I felt around the time they issued Hold Your Fire! in 1987, they were losing their way, sounding too close to bland 'Stadium  Rock' for a band who impressed me from a very early age with more complex lyrics and musicianship but This had what was missing - 'bite' in the lyrics.

It also helped some of the songs used childhood settings such as playing Rock,Paper,Scissors in Hand Over Fist and examining self deception and vanity through play in War Paint  to make their points clearly.

This copy sounded warmer and less brittle than the original.

Earlier in the year, this rather more longer Progressive rock inspired opus from 1978 was re-issued that not only completed the space fantasy story of Cygnus X1 started in 1977's A Farewell To Kings album, give us a parable on forced equality in the form of The Trees but gives us La Ville Strangliato a marathon over 9 minute totally amazing work out just showing how accomplished at playing their instruments the band really are.

 I also picked up the 2013 issue in this series of Counterparts from 1993 which includes Animate, Cut To The Chase and Cold Fire.

All three of  these discs are super audio compact discs  (sacd)  designed to give better sound on suitable players that also  have a regular cd player for the rest of us.