Tom Petty = *****
Book = *** ( )

You like Tom Petty. I like Tom Petty. Everyone likes Tom Petty. However, having a musician write a biography of another, albeit crazy famous, musician could have gone really badly. To much inside baseball? No way. This was hands down the best rock bio I have ever read. Petty comes across as a complicated, driven, nuanced character that you end up understanding quite a bit better, and liking no less.
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A solid compendium of the band and their lives of 40 or so years. I grew up with TP&HB but quit listening to them after Southern Accents. This book has inspired me to follow up with the art that was produced since that record released. I still can't believe he's gone. If you're a fan of TP and the band, this is a great read. ( )

This is a captivating bio of Tom Petty. Zanes does a wonderful job in crafting an intimate portrait of a rather shy artist who mostly let his music do the talking. Growing up in an abusive home in Gainesville, Florida, Petty wanted to escape the physical and emotional toil exacted by his alcoholic father. Zanes takes us through the early days of Mudcrutch, the formation of the Heartbreakers, and the highs and lows that followed. Some highlights that stood out to me were how Stan Lynch created so much tension for Petty and the band, how Howie Epstein slipped away from addiction while Petty was fighting his own battle with heroin, and how Stevie Nicks was determined to befriend and collaborate with Petty. It's also wonderful to learn about how important the mid-80's tour with Bob Dylan (as his backing band) was, how George Harrison formed such a bond with Petty, and how Petty regretted letting Mike Campbell's music track for "The Boys of Summer" slip away and land in Don Henley's hands.

Alongside sharing Petty's struggles with heroin and the day-to-day of keeping a band of strong headed musicians together, Zanes also reveals how Petty left one abusive relationship (his father, who hit Petty up for money at the funeral of Petty's mother) for another (his first wife Jane, who was physically and verbally abusive to him, and who suffered from mental illness and addiction).

Petty poured his pain into his music and the beneficiaries of that pain are his fans. His music is wistful, humorous, and hopeful, and the stories behind those songs also help form the backbone of this book.

Petty's death left a huge hole in the music world, but this books helps us understand that, more than a gifted musical artist, Petty was a man struggling to find happiness, a man who was always learning to fly. ( )

Gotta say, this was easily one of the better rock biographies I've read (and I've read a lot). Despite what many are indicating in their reviews, this is not a "this happened, then this happened, then this happened" narrative. Yes, there's definitely some of that in there (show me any biography that doesn't do that), but Zanes also folds in some fascinating insights along the way, whether it's about the music scene in Florida, the weird conglomeration of Petty's group and the Felder/Leadon connection to the Eagles, or digging deep into Petty's mother and father, or wife and kids.

And there's also, of course, the music. How it came to be. How Petty learned from everyone. How each album tended to reflect Petty's ongoing trials and life at the time.

It paints a clear picture of how the man had to learn to become a band leader—sometimes at the expense of friendships—to protect what he and the band had built. I think, innately, there came a point where Petty understood Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were as much band as brand, and he always fought to protect both. Along the way, he also showed who he was, taking on labels and the music industry itself, and also became (though I hate the term) an elder statesman of rock.

Did he piss off some people along the way? Sure he did. Probably no one more than his brilliant, but miserable drummer Stan Lynch. Did the band have their fights? Again, sure they did, though less so once Lynch left.

But what marriage of 40-odd years doesn't have its ups and downs? And this was the marriage of Petty, Campbell, Tench, and a revolving cast of drummers, bassists, producers, and mentors.

But does this tell an interesting and illuminating history of one of the most important musical talents to come out of the 70s? Hell yes it does.

And when I finished it (the book was released prior to Petty's death), I found myself mourning the loss of the man all over again. ( )