Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - The Last DJ

Tom Petty begins The Last DJ with, "You can't turn him into a company man, you can't turn him into a whore." It's possible that Petty was talking as much about himself as the fictitious DJ whom the song centers around - in Petty's 13-album career, he's never allowed any corporation to use any of his songs. It's also evident that Tom Petty is fed up with the way the music industry is running the game these days. Instead of keeping his mouth shut and talking behind backs, he's dedicated much of his new album to the cause of putting the facts in everyone's face. As the album begins, the title cut instantly chimes in with a ringing melody that harkens back to a more golden age of music, and sets the pace for the rest of the album. The second track, "Money Becomes King" is a fated tale about Johnny Rocker, who rises from obscurity to fame and fortune, light beer commercials and over-priced tickets. Next, "Joe" is heavy-stepping gambol that addresses the corporate "head honchos" responsible for assembling and packaging pop stars - "he gets to be famous I get to be rich." Perhaps Petty and the Heartbreakers were caught up in all the nostalgia of remembering better days, but many of the more rocking tracks invoke Petty's younger days of rock 'n roll riffs and swagger - note "When A Kid Goes Bad" and "Lost Children". The light-hearted "You And Me", with it's playful piano melodies, and the grand ballad "Have Love Will Travel" both show the love of song that Petty found with Wildflowers. Finally, to remain in top form, Petty throws us a curve with "The Man Who Loves Women", a mischievous tune full of throwbacks to the Beatles (also see the rock-typical, middle-finger-in-the-air closer "Can't Stop The Sun"). It's all classic Petty, the whole album. I've always said that Tom Petty gets better with age. From Full Moon Fever on, I've taken more and more notice of what Tom Petty releases. It's perhaps the longing for the ways past that makes this album not exactly what I want it to be. By attempting to make a statement about where the music industry has wandered astray, Petty put substance over style and forgot to push his creative boundaries. It even affected the tracks not laden with the lofty task of pulling the music industry's pants down. I would have liked to see the inventiveness and grit culled in Echo, but you can't have it all, I suppose. [www.tompetty.com]