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Chargement... Tom Petty's Southern Accents (33 1/3)par Michael Washburn
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Appartient à la série33 1/3 (139)
"By 1985 Tom Petty had already obtained legendary status. He had fame. He had money. But he was restless, hoping to stretch his artistry beyond the confining format of songs like 'The Waiting' and 'Refugee.' Petty's response to his restlessness was Southern Accents. Initially conceived as a concept album about the American South, Southern Accents's marathon recording sessions were marred by aesthetic and narcotic excess. The result is a hodgepodge of classic rock songs mixed with nearly unlistenable 80s music. Then, while touring for the album, Petty made extensive use of the iconography of the American Confederacy, something he soon came to regret. Despite its artistic failure and public controversy, Southern Accents was a pivot point for Petty. Reeling from the defeat, Petty reimagined himself as deeply, almost mythically, Californian, obtaining his biggest success with Full Moon Fever. Michael Washburn explores the history of Southern Accents and how it sparked Petty's reinvention. Washburn also examines how the record both grew out of and reinforced enduring but flawed assumptions about Southern culture and the Lost Cause of the Confederacy."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)782.42166092The arts Music Vocal music Secular Forms of vocal music Secular songs General principles and musical forms Song genres Rock songs History, geographic treatment, biography BiographyClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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I love this series specifically because it is more than simply a track by track analysis. Some books include one but the series concentrates on bigger issues, whether a personal attachment, societal importance, or the place of the album in the artist's career. Washburn handles all of these elements quite well.
The main thesis is that this album (and technically coupled with Let Me Up) serves as a major pivot point in Petty's career. I think I always believed that but I hadn't thought closely about why, I leaned toward some basic explanation that he had simply matured. While that no doubt plays a part, the experience of making it as well as its reception made him mature a whole lot faster.
The majority of the book weaves the two elements of making the album and what the "concept" represented (knowingly or not). I can remember seeing him on this tour and thinking I might never buy another album of his. And I really like them. Many of my contemporaries in the US bought Damn the Torpedoes as their first Petty album and then bought backwards. I was introduced to the first album while in England so I actually bought the albums as they came out. That is to say I was not someone who just heard the hits and claimed to really like them. But the Southern Accents tour was offensive. I did not buy Let Me Up until much later (still not sure why), though after Full Moon Fever I came back to them.
The discussion Washburn offers about the rationale for the war as well as the shiny veneer concocted to dress the pig up is as good a basic explanation as I have seen is a popular nonfiction book, especially one not a history book about the war. Just know that those claiming to know better and tell you to "read your history" are the ones who don't know, or won't acknowledge, the actual history.
While this book does spend a lot of ink (or pixels) on the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, and current white supremacist terrorism, it is all tied directly to what the songs, the album, and the tour promoted and the segment of the population it encouraged.
In addition, the musical analysis is very interesting and points out some subtle differences that might often be missed.
I recommend this to music fans, Petty fans, and readers interested in the dynamics between popular culture and societal issues. I believe that Petty would have appreciated the even-handed approach that both discussed the problems with the album as well as Petty's attempts (successful, I believe) to make amends for his gross misstep.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )