Pack Up the Plantation: Live! is the first official live album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in November 1985 by MCA Records. It was released as a double LP and, in slightly truncated form, a single cassette or compact disc. A concert film of the same name was released on home video in 1986. Stevie Nicks sings on two songs, including the US single "Needles and Pins", which reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100.
| Pack Up the Plantation: Live! | ||||
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | November 25, 1985 | |||
| Recorded | July 16, 1978–August 7, 1985 | |||
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| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 71:12 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Pack Up the Plantation: Live! | ||||
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Background
editThe album was primarily recorded at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles during the band's 1985 tour, but also includes several tracks from previous tours. Stevie Nicks, who collaborated with Petty and frequently appeared with him on tour, sings with him on two songs on the album. The first is a cover of the Searchers' 1964 hit "Needles and Pins," which was released as a single and reached No. 37 in the Billboard Hot 100.[1] Nicks' second track is "Insider", one of two cuts from Petty's 1981 LP Hard Promises that feature her.
"Breakdown" is notable because the audience takes over from Petty at the start, singing the first two verses and the chorus loud enough to be picked up by the mics. Petty quips, "You're going to put me out of a job", to huge applause, then launches into a reprise of the second verse.
Releases
editNo other singles were released from the album in the United States, although a cover of the Byrds' 1967 hit "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" was released in Europe. "Refugee" was also issued in Europe on a four-track EP.
A concert film of the Wiltern Theatre performance, also titled Pack Up the Plantation: Live!, was released on home video in 1986. It included songs that did not make the album, such as originals "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Don't Come Around Here No More", as well as covers such as "Little Bit O' Soul" and "Route 66".
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Blender | [3] |
| Chicago Tribune | [4] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
| The Essential Rock Discography | 4/10[6] |
| MusicHound | 3.5/5[7] |
| Rolling Stone | (mixed)[8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
| Sounds | [10] |
Sandy Robertson, writing for Sounds, described it as "a turgid four-sided video soundtrack".[10][clarification needed] Jimmy Guterman, writing for Rolling Stone, said that Petty "sounds impassioned and impressive when he lays into his early songs", and that the Heartbreakers are "an undeniably great band."[11]
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt the album was a logical follow-up to the band's album Southern Accents, "criticized from many corners for being too slick," but relied too much on that album's material. He concluded that Pack Up the Plantation featured "strong performance and neat surprises", which "alone makes it worth investigating for dedicated fans, even if it doesn't quite deliver the knockout punch many listeners might have wanted."[2]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Tom Petty, except as noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" | Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn | 3:30 |
| 2. | "Needles and Pins" | Sonny Bono, Jack Nitzsche | 2:23 |
| 3. | "The Waiting" | 5:08 | |
| 4. | "Breakdown" | 7:43 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "American Girl" | 3:50 | |
| 2. | "It Ain't Nothin' to Me" | Petty, David A. Stewart | 6:05 |
| 3. | "Insider" | 5:16 | |
| 4. | "Rockin' Around (With You)" | Petty, Mike Campbell | 3:20 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Refugee" | Petty, Campbell | 5:22 |
| 2. | "I Need to Know" (LP and cassette only) | 2:30 | |
| 3. | "Southern Accents" | 5:20 | |
| 4. | "Rebels" | 6:10 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Don't Bring Me Down" | Gerry Goffin, Carole King | 3:40 |
| 2. | "You Got Lucky" (LP and cassette only) | 4:20 | |
| 3. | "Shout" | O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley | 9:30 |
| 4. | "Stories We Could Tell" | John Sebastian | 3:55 |
The two songs appearing only on vinyl or cassette have never been officially released on CD. Both songs were also initially not included in the 2015 Hi-Rez remaster, despite being a digital download without time limits. However, after fan response, they were belatedly added to the release.
Recording information
editAll tracks recorded at the Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, California, August 7, 1985, except:
- "Don't Bring Me Down" – Paradise Theater, Boston, July 16, 1978
- "Stories We Could Tell" – Hammersmith Odeon, London, England, March 7, 1980, engineered by Charles Kaplan in the Mobile Manor Unit
- "Needles and Pins", "Insider" – The Forum, Los Angeles, June 1981
- "Shout" – The Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio, March 19, 1983
- "Rockin' Around (With You)" – Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, California, June 1983
Personnel
editTom Petty & the Heartbreakers
- Stan Lynch – drums, vocals
- Mike Campbell – lead guitar, 12-string, lap steel, slide guitars
- Tom Petty – lead vocals, 6 and 12-string electric guitars, acoustic guitar
- Benmont Tench – keyboards, vocals
- Howie Epstein – bass guitar, mandolin, backing vocals
Soul Lips Horns (on tracks recorded at the Wiltern Theater)
- Jimmy Zavala – saxes, harmonica
- Lee Thornburg – trumpets, flugel horn
- Nick Lane – trombones, euphonium
The Rebeletts (on tracks recorded at the Wiltern Theater)
- Pat Peterson – backing vocals, percussion
- Caroll Sue Hill – backing vocals, percussion
Additional musicians
- Ron Blair – bass guitar on "Insider", "Needles and Pins", "Stories We Could Tell", "Don't Bring Me Down"
- Phil Jones – percussion on "Insider", "Needles and Pins", "Rockin' Around (With You)", "Shout"
- Bobby Valentino – violin on "Stories We Could Tell"
- Stevie Nicks – vocals on "Insider", "Needles and Pins"
Technical
- Tom Petty – producer
- Mike Campbell – producer
- Don Smith – engineer
- Alan Weidel – assistant engineer
- Doug Field – engineer
- Mike Craver – engineer
- Charles Kaplan – engineer ("Stories We Could Tell")
- Shelly Yakus – engineer ("Shout", "Needles and Pins", "Insider")
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
Charts
edit| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | US Billboard 200 | 22[12] |
References
edit- ^ "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Tom Petty - Pack Up the Plantation: Live! Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
- ^ "Tom Petty: Pack Up The Plantation—Live!". Blender. Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ Kot, Greg (September 1, 1991). "Through The Years With Tom Petty". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2005. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 816. ISBN 978-1-84195-827-9.
- ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Visible Ink Press. p. 870. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ^ Guterman, Jimmy (January 16, 1986). "Pack Up The Plantation: Live!". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ "Tom Petty: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
- ^ a b Robertson, Sandy (December 14, 1985). "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 'Pack Up the Plantation Live!'". Sounds. p. 28.
- ^ Guterman, Jimmy (January 16, 1986). "Pack Up The Plantation: Live!". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2019.