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Gaetzi
Written by Patteron Hood, front man of the Drive By Truckers: [bittersoutherner.com]
"There is real honor in being able to write just one Great Song, and Tom Petty has written dozens of those. But real genius is being able to write one Perfect Song — a tune in which any change would diminish it, a song that is already there in its purest and essential form.
I’ve spent my entire life in pursuit of one Perfect Song. Tom Petty wrote at least 10, maybe more. He was a true master of form, structure, hook, and melody. He always wrote with a sense of humor and a tinge of mystery. No wonder his songs soundtrack so many decades of so many people’s lives
Petty was a master of precision and brevity. He could say more with less than any writer I know. There’s a songwriting saying I have always attributed to Petty (although I can’t find the exact source) that says, “don’t bore us, get to the chorus.” In writing a song, it can often take eight lines for the first verse to set up the chorus. Tom was a master at getting there in four — a technical feat that I attempt with every song I try to write. I’m seldom able to pull it off. “The Waiting,” “Refugee,” “Here Comes My Girl,” “Don’t Do Me Like That,” “A Woman In Love,” “You Got Lucky,” “Straight Into Darkness,” and “Change of Heart” are but a few songs that slam into a transcendent chorus at breakneck speed. I’m in personal and professional awe of his ability to do that."
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Benjiboy13
Palace,
I disagree with this for one reason--the album Echo. Obviously not one of his big ones but personally it's my favorite. He wrote it going through a divorce, bouts of depression, and with his really good friend Howie Epstein was slipping away to the clutches of his heroin addiction. I think you can hear Tom's pain and somberness throughout. There's a couple on there that, in my opinion, hit you if you happen to stumble across them at the right time.
Especially with him passing a couple years ago, Lonesome Sundown, the title track, and particularly Room at the Top (has an eerie feel now that he's in rock heaven) to be specific. I think if you are missing someone or watching someone you love deteriorate before your eyes, a couple of these songs can really pack a punch! Just my experience but obviously can be different for all.
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Palace Revolution 2000
All those are really good answers re Tom Petty.
When I use the phrase "brought to tears", I don't mean it literal in the sense of going "boohoo!'; but where there is a deep emotional response.
When I hear Jagger going :We're going to do one more and then we got to go" and Keith comes in with those chords, the drums crash in, and then Taylor lays it on with the lead lines I get almost overwhelmed. Because it is just...well overwhelming. Or hearing Aretha sing a ballad.
U2 doing "Where the streets have no name" and the lights come on, and the whole place is jumping. Or Arcade Fire, when they were still good. Four Tops harmonies live at the Roostertail.
I'm just naming some first thought s that jump to mind.
I can not quite imagine Tom Petty ever accessing some trigger that deep in me. Deep, but by no means difficult to touch.
But Benjiboy I am going to re-visit "Echo". It is definitely one of Tom's lesser played albums in my room.
I do want to point out that I love Tom Petty. I have every one of his albums, plus many of those live shows out there now. I do prefer the Mach I band.