Once upon a time Tom Petty was an angry young man.
Petty's a little older now - OK, he's a lot older - but he's still angry.
Judging from his latest CD, The Last DJ, he's got his razor tongue in his cheek.
Ably backed by his band of more than 20 years, the Heatbreakers, Petty has crafted a concept album of sorts that skewers the music industry while decrying the loss of innocence pop music has endured these last 20 or so years.
Petty wears his idealism on his sleeve throughout, but he reserves his venom for the greedy money-mongers of the music industry. Even while savaging them, he reserves some sympathy for the hapless artists they exploit.
Like all his best music, Petty's sound harkens to the '60s. On any other album, the obvious "classic rock" sound would be derivative. With Petty, it's the playground he grew up on. Echoes of great classic rock songs can be heard on certain tracks.
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"Joe" is the offspring of Pink Floyd's "Money," and the title track flew straight from The Byrd's nest. He even sends a shout out to the children of Korn with "The Lost Children" - a song that frets for today's youth rather than railing against them.
The disc's highest points are "Like a Diamond" and "Blue Sunday," both of which have a yearning quality that doesn't once become sappy or needlessly sentimental.
As a complete concept album, The Last DJ does leave a little to be desired. But then again, all the classic concept albums rarely stretched beyond 10 songs and usually had some between-song device to keep the story all neatly tied together. Sir Tom is far too organic for that.
Still, Petty and his Heartbreakers make their statements definitively enough and never lose sight of the fact that each song has to stand on its own.
With the help of fellow producer George Drakolious and Mike Campbell - Petty's guitar-playing right-hand man since the '70s - Petty has produced a clean, clear CD that is as challenging as it is soothing. When Petty and the Heartbreakers hit their stride, which is often, the music has an emotional quality that is largely deficient in a lot of today's pop music.
Since pop music is Petty's starting point, that's important. He remembers a day when pop music was frivolous yet still had a kernel of that universal truth - which is the heart of the Beatles-esque closing song, "Can't Stop the Sun."
Despite the public showing of his cynical side, Petty still holds hope for music. In sharing that hope, he gives music lovers fortification.
And inspiration.
