Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I find it a bit curious so many of the reviews here dislike the live covers on this album; as a fan I really enjoy the boys' takes on the Byrds "So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star," or "Needles and Pins," or even "Don't Bring Me Down." I don't look for a "greatest hits live" package from a performer I respect -- I want that artist to dig deep, find some chestnuts from the catalogue, or do some covers that mean something to them -- and that's what Pack Up the Plantation is.
Is it representative? I'd say, after two and half years of effort to create Petty's statement on the South of his raising -- Southern Accents, the live album from the tour of Southern Accents finds Petty in his most meaningful, heartfelt period. My personal view is he feared revealing his most innermost thoughts about the South and himself on Southern Accents, so he felt he needed to gloss up those concepts with Dave Stewart's production tricks and copious horns. Don't forget -- this was 1985. But strip all that away and you have pure Petty, from the heart. The songs skew toward that album, with strong performances of "Rebel" and "It Ain't Nothing to Me," but he throws in some fan favorites as well. It's rounded out with some fun covers, though I agree "Shout" probably didn't need to be included.
I do find this particular cd release to be lacking, however, in that two songs are cut short and the order rearranged from the original release. There's no reason to truncate or reorder the original, and I hope subsequent pressings fix this glitch.
In sum, this is vintage mid-period Petty, rocking out on songs from his heart, even getting Stevie Nicks to join in a few tunes. Is it a comprehensive overview of his career, live? Clearly not. But taken for what it is, Pack Up the Plantation is a very enjoyable live Petty experience and an example of why this artist has been so enduring for so many years.
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