Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Pack up the Plantation: Live!

live heartbreakers with brass section

i think this is the only live official recording of Tom Petty, apart some live DVD. the whole group is not in perfect form, but the concert is enjoyable just the same. the main thing is that the musician involved are the Heartbreakers and a brass section. the result is good enough. the price is very cheap, so everybody can buy this cd. June 15, 2008

Some good songs but also some problems

THERE ARE 3 DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THIS THING
2 SONGS ARE MISSING FROM THE LP
THE VHS TAPE IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
GUEST APPEARANCE BY STEVIE NICKS

There were three different formats of this released, all with different songs on them. There was the double LP, which has 16 songs (the cassette tape also has the 16 songs). The LP and cassette are about 78 minutes long.

The songs on the LP and cassette come from different concerts spanning from 1978 to 1985.

This came from the early days of CD's, so there are the early problems of converting LP's to CD's. The CD release only had 14 songs, with 2 from the LP missing. This was because the time limit on a CD at the time was 74 minutes (you can now get 80 minutes on a CD, I will explain at the end for my review). Missing from the LP are, I Need to Know and You Got Lucky. Also, the sound quality of the CD is not great and the CD art is just the album cover shrunk down, so it is impossible to read the words.


There is also a VHS tape of Pack Up the Plantation. It contains 16 songs, some of which are on the LP and others that are not. The VHS tape is all from one concert, and does not contain any of the earlier recorded songs.

There are some problems with the recording and mixing on many of the songs. The quality of the sound probably has to do with when they were recorded (but I would not assume that the later recorded material is better).

For the most part, mixing is very poor. In many cases, the audience is mixed too loud and overcomes the band. But, the song Breakdown contains a sing along, and in this case the audience is not mixed loud enough. You can barely hear the audience singing in parts. The songs with Stevie Nicks are also poorly mixed, making it difficult to hear her singing in parts.

The overall sound quality is not great. Is is a little muddy and flat, like all CD's from mid 1980's.

There is some controversy because Petty does a lot of covers, instead of his own hits. Some think this is good and others think it is bad. I don't care as long as the songs and peformances are good.

There are a number of pretty good to great performances, like on the Byrd's So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star, the Isley's Shout, and his own Breakdown and It Ain't Nothing to Me.....although, doing Shout is an easy crowd pleaser and not much of a challenge.

However, other songs are just boring, or mundane and the studio versions are better. I don't care for Needles and Pins (with Stevie Nicks on vocals), the old song cowritten by Sonny Bono and made famous by DelShannon and the Searchers. He just runs through the Waiting and American Girl. And, I think the peformance of Rebels is just too lush. How can a song about being born a rebel have a string and horn arrangement?

Why were CD's orginally 74 minutes but can not be 80 minutes long? The actual spec for a CD is 74 minutes. But, there was spec range allowed for the bit size (dimple on the disc) and the sampling speed to allow for manufacturing variations. But, the manufacturing process was so precise, the variations were not needed. So, if the manufacturers pushed the bit size to the bottom end of the spec and the sampling frequency to the top end, then they could get 80 minutes out of a CD. Many double albums were first released as double CD's (Derek and the Dominos, Jimi Hendrix Electric Ladyland and Yes Yesshows to name a few). But, they were later remastered and rereleased on a single CD.

May 13, 2008

Great Petty.

I have the VHS tape & it's a terrific performance in true Tom style, but the thing that burns me up is: there's NO DVD of this concert & it seems as tho the CD cuts out or does'nt even include ROUTE 66. IMOP, that was 1 of the highlights at the end of the R & R. I wonder why? March 6, 2008

Stay Out of the Light

Got to see Tom Petty in Honolulu, Hawaii way back in 1981. "Torpedoes Tour". About Mid Set, Tom Leaves the Stage during a Mike Cambell, guitar solo, The Light Guys Caught him with their Spots on the Right side of the Stage, with his nose in a Straw snorting some kinda White Powder. He didn't care and continued on with his 'Business'....Well, the Whole place went NUTS....You sorta had to of been there BUT it was a great Rock N' Roll Moment..
"Pack up the Plantation" is easily one of the best live recordings from the 80's. Tom was "Everyman's" Rock Star and a very cool one at that. If you are building a proper Tom Petty Collection, this CD has got to be part of that Collection...Period. This one is Essential. July 28, 2007

Due for a remaster...

I first saw Mr. Petty on his SOUTHERN ACCENTS tour and was blown away. Everything critics had said about the Heartbreakers being among the tightest of tight musical groups was perfectly exemplified by their live show, and while PACK UP THE PLANTATION makes for a good souvenir and is a fine record, it will never quite equal the memory of hearing them in person. That said, I'm disappointed that the CD version of the album is so lacking, having dropped two cuts and (apparently, I haven't checked this myself) truncated some of the remaining tracks. The sound on this old MCA CD also doesn't have much warmth or dynamics, and could use a remastering. (Hey! Rhino! Time to include this one in your catalog!) One reviewer here also mentioned the shoddy art reproduction and the credits which are now so small they're impossible to read. He's absolutely right, but then again, this is MCA; Petty didn't like being signed to them and apparently the feeling was mutual. Remember the whole HARD PROMISES/$8.98 uproar? June 9, 2007

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