Fred Leo

Sorry, still on my Petty jag. I’m really enjoying the live anthology. The songs are simple and infectious, obviously, but you really get a feeling for the musicianship and performances that bring life to them. This is a *band* in the way I prefer to think of a band. You can listen to most any track and pick out a player to focus on and be impressed. I think the bass is often underappreciated, so I listened carefully to Ron Blair, and he did some fantastic stuff. Had to laugh at the improvs Petty did in “Breakdown,” when he said “You think you’re God’s gift to women…” Shouldn’t that be men? Well, if not, it makes the story more sweeps week, I guess. Also, as I think I mentioned, the recordings sound really, really good. I think the full release is in a few weeks — Best Buy and some other places. It’s a real keeper for me. The catalog, the longevity, the contibution of this band, all reason to treasure it. I was playing along with tunes last night (many Id deconstructed in my head over the years but not at the fretboard.) So far its been great fun. Simple and rewarding stuff to learn in terms of chords. Will definately suggest to the son that he sit down and figure a load of Petty songs over Tgiving break.