Disco de Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers: “Pack Up The Plantation: Live”

'Pack Up...' is truly a good live album for Tom Petty&The Heartbreakers.I get SO tired of fans saying that Petty is simply a Bob Dylan rip-off.That's where they're wrong,Petty actually CAN sing.Saw Petty on this very tour.It was his first when he employed that 'Alice In Wonderland' routine.'Pack Up...' sounds decent,not perfect.But awfully close I thought.Saw Petty here recently and I can honestly say it was one of the BEST sounding shows I've seen in sometime.Tunes I thought made this CD a true keeper were The Byrd's "So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star",The Searcher's "Needles And Pins","The Waiting","American Girl","Refugee" and "Don't Bring Me Down".Total of fourteen tracks and a duration of 71:12.A should-have.

Petty's 1985 double-LP live outing was reduced to a single disc for CD releaese, and lost two tracks ("I Need to Know" and "You Got Lucky") in the process.

Regardless, this is a great spin: it sounds just like a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers live show. Of course, if you don't like Petty, you probably won't much like this, and if you do, well...

Cut 1, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are the Byrds! Cut 2, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are the Searchers! Most of the rest of the disc shows that they're really Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers after all, but jeez, that guitar sure sounds familiar (12-string Rickenbacker maybe?).

The originals are stretched out nicely on this disc, giving them a new dimension over the studio recordings. The studio version still maintain more radio punch power, but the live versions, replete with audience sing-a-long and howling are a good second opinion. The Heartbreakers are quite the crack live rock'n'roll band.

Points off for CD-booklet reproduction of the cover that renders the credits almost unreadable.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been together for well over 25 years, they have an extensive, excellent catalog of their own songs and are an awesome live concert band. So the problems with this album (for me, as a major fan) are that 1) there's only this one CD of live music after more than 25 years; 2) a lot of the songs are "covers", rather than the band's own self-authored songs; 3) the songs are taken from various tours from 1978 to 1985, and not even presented in chronological order; 4) there's none of Petty's commentary between the songs as there would be in a concert 5) a lot of these songs include horns in new arrangements, quite a change from their original form. So while I enjoy this CD, it's not really representative of the band's overall work.

Ok, so what's good about the CD? While it falls down as being "representative" of the band, it is a nice supplement for those who have heard some more "typical" TP&HB concerts in person, via the official live concert videos, via radio concert broadcasts, or via bootleg recordings. I've been to many of their shows, have the official concert videos, have tons of bootlegs, etc. so for me the horns on "Refugee" and "American Girl" are interesting, but I'm glad I've also heard them performed live elsewhere, without the horns. And the songs where horns were in fact intended, "Rebels" and "It Ain't Nothing to Me", do truly rock here. Another treat for fans is "Rockin' Around With You", on the CD here from a late 1970's live recording with Ron Blair on bass - I've never heard this song performed live anywhere else, not on any bootleg. And it's great to have Stevie Nicks on a couple of the songs ("Needles and Pins", and "Insider") even though, again, she's not normally with the band, so those songs are untypical.

Altogether, this CD is a mishmash of well recorded and well performed songs, but it doesn't really work as an overall album - because it's not at all like a typical TP&HB concert. If you were wanting to hear a typical concert from this band, with mostly the band's own songs, Petty talking between songs, etc., you'll be disappointed if this CD is the only live material you hear from them. Personally my favorite "official" live release from the band was the "Take the Highway" video concert (now out of print, unfortunately). And there are several bootlegs I prefer to this CD, but I won't name them since they aren't for sale. However, if you are a fan and you can enjoy these tracks one song at a time, taking them for what they are rather than a full "typical" TP&HB concert, then you ought to buy this CD. And hopefully they'll release more official CDs from this band eventually (they do include a handful of live songs in the 6 CD boxed set, but only one is a Petty authored song, a slow though excellent version "King's Highway") - they would do well to release some of their old tv and radio show concerts to DVD and CD, but even if they do, this CD will still have something to offer for serious fans.

This is not Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at the top of their game, probably due to song selection more than anything else. Granted, "Pack up the Plantation: Live!" was released in 1985, so obviously future Petty classics are missing. Nonetheless, songs like "Rockin' Around (With You)" and the overplayed cover of "Shout" could have been left off, in order to include cooler live tracks from the band.

Having mentioned the bad aspects, there are still some good moments on the album, which is basically a fun, crowd-pleasing affair. The band begins with a cover song from its musical heroes, The Byrds, on the lively "So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star," which starts things off in a good-time rock and roll mode. The crowd also eats up popular 1980s hits like "The Waiting" and "Breakdown," the latter of which features the crowd shouting vocals for the entire first verse, a truly cool and spontaneous moment. After the crowd does its thing, Petty deadpans, "You're gonna put me out of a job." Stevie Nicks joins Petty on "Needles and Pins" and the great ballad "Insider;" on each song the duo click fabuously, their voices melting together. Another nice ballad is "Southern Accents." The rougher "It Ain't Nothin' to Me" boasts an R.E.M.-like bridge that could possibly take listeners aback, but via his lyrics, Petty's way of ignoring trends, hype and fashion will all sound familiar. In actuality, Petty and R.E.M. have more in common than meets the eye. The ever-present background horns on this record, for instance, though a popular musical trend in the '80s, are still a unique instrument to bust out on stage for a rock band. Like R.E.M., Petty does his own thing.

By the end, things become thrown together, due to changed venues that seem more intimate than before. The editing between songs leaves a little to be desired, and the flow of the album suffers. Give Petty credit, however, for choosing and playing songs like "Don't Bring Me Down" and the closer, "Stories We Could Tell." They're not well-known staples, but are worthy tunes.

If Petty's voice annoys you, then it's best to avoid him live; his nasally twang comes off even more accentuated in front of a crowd. Also, the warning on the cover, "Configuration Different than CD," is no joke; the track listing is completely messed up. Perhaps MCA Records will remedy this in the future.

this a is great live cd,the performances are good.the only thing wrong is that the cd version cuts off two songs that were on the tape and record.I have both the tape and cd and i'm disappointed that they cut off the two tracks so the album could be a single disc set instead of a two disc set.get the tape if you can!