Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Runnin' Down a Dream (Chronicle Books, 2007)
This large format (9.5"x11") picture book is credited to Tom Petty, but it's really a collection of interviews with Petty, and the members, both current and past, of his band The Heartbreakers. It is the print representation of the new full length documentary of the same name, made by Peter Bogdanovich. They're all doing it now, after Jonathan Demme took on Talking Heads, Scorcese did Dylan, the Band (and upcoming docs on the Rolling Stones and George Harrison) feature film directors are making rock'n'roll documentaries. And they're doing a damn fine job!
Bogdanovich's film runs so long it takes up 2 DVDs and comes packaged with a third DVD of the Petty Anniversary concert, and a bonus CD of unreleased and rare tracks. Here between the covers of this book you get the text of the interviews, and pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. I've never thought Tom Petty was that attractive, but I must say, that these shots do show a rock'n'roller at work. The interviews tell the whole story. From early days in Florida, through Mudcrutch, the birth of the Heartbreakers, solo albums, lawsuits, the Traveling Wilburys, and the continuing story of the Heartbreakers these 240 pages tell it all. No holds barred. You might say "'Damn the Torpedos' and full speed ahead."
Petty has always been honest and forthright. He comes across that way on the printed page (just as he does in the live interviews in the film.) He talks openly about the lawsuit (he withheld an album over unpaid royalties and won), about band members (why they were released, their drug problems, and his high regard for them), and the band members respond.
The book is filled with pictures. Hundreds of pictures. Some familiar, many previously unseen. The band members were amateur photographers, who chronicled their career every step of the way. There's even an 8 mm film of their van breaking down on the way to L.A.!
Petty wanted to be in a band. He signed his first record deal as part of Mudcrutch, and never wanted to be a solo artist. It's ironic that his biggest success came with his solo album Full Moon Fever, which only became a solo album because that's how producer Jeff Lynne worked. A quick look at the credits for that album still shows Mike Campbell (guitar), Benmont Tench (piano), and Howie Epstein present and accounted for. Heartbreakers all. And . . . George Harrison. The Wilburys days are covered in detail. Petty was thrilled to be working with (and friends with) a Beatle, Dylan, and Roy Orbison. But still, Petty keeps a spot in his heart for the band. The Heartbreakers.
It's not literature. But if you care about rock'n'roll, and American music (its art and its business) you owe it to yourself to get this hefty volume. One warning, the heavy covers feature molded images of the Petty/Heartbreakers logo, and they seem to be cast in rubber with the attending odour. Once you get past that, it's a great read.
