Ron Blair - bass
Mike Campbell - guitar, vocals
Stan Lynch - drums
Tom Petty - lead vocals, guitar, harmonica
Benmont Tench - keyboards, vocals
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers had weathered some tough times prior to the release of their 1979 breakthrough album, Damn the Torpedoes, and the tour that promoted it, recorded here by King Biscuit for radio broadcast. The band's record company, Shelter Records, had been absorbed into MCA, and Petty was determined to get out of the contract. While he fought it to the point where he eventually was forced to declare bankruptcy, he and MCA eventually settled, and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers saw their greatest success on that label.
Damn The Torpedoes, made under the duress of the lawsuit, would refine the band's sound, which became a terse and lean musical texture that blended the best elements of The Byrds (Petty's biggest influence) with The Rolling Stones (the musical inspiration for the backing band the Heatbreakers). There is a considerable chunk of Damn The Torpedoes material weaved into a set list of material from their two previous LPs, 1976's Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and 1977's You're Gonna Get It!. The result is a testament to the early, and often brilliant, live shows of the group.
"Shadow of a Doubt," "Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll," and "Fooled Again" start the show on the right pace. By the time they launch into the FM classic, "Here Comes My Girl," the audience is more than ready to rock. A steady stream of hits and solid FM material follows, and includes "Even The Losers," "The Wild One, Forever," "I Need To Know," "Don't Do Me Like That," "Refugee," and the poignant "Listen To Her Heart."
"American Girl," which Petty wrote for Byrds front man Roger McGuinn before having a hit with it himself, is a highlight. The same can be said for the band's funky and dramatic version of "Breakdown," which has been a core hit in the Petty live show since day one. "Too Much Ain't Enough," is followed by an eleven-minute version "Shout!"
Petty and the band return with a rousing re-make of the 1965 Dave Clark 5 hit, "Any Way You Want It," as well as a tight version of "I Fought The Law (And The Law Won)," originally released by one-hit-wonders the Bobby Fuller Four in 1966. A final encore of "Route 66" closes things out. As a bonus, there are alternative remixes of "Shadow Of A Doubt" "Don't Do Me Like That," "Refugee," and "Breakdown" offered after the initial show ends.
Read more about Tom Petty in Crawdaddy! Magazine:
Read "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream" in Crawdaddy!
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