Tom Petty Pack Up The Plantation: Live CD

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, acoustic, electric, 6- & 12-string guitars); Mike Campbell (electric, 12-string, lap steel & slide guitars); Howie Epstein (mandolin, bass, background vocals); Benmont Tench (keyboards, background vocals); Stan Lynch (drums, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Stevie Nicks (vocals); Bobby Valentino (violin); Jimmy Zavala (harmonica, saxophone); Lee Thornburg (trumpet, flugelhorn); Nick Lane (trombone, euphonium); Ron Blair (bass); Pat Peterson, Carroll Sue Hill (percussion, background vocals); Phil Jones (percussion).
Recorded live at various locations during Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' 1985 tour.
Personnel: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar); Stan Lynch (vocals, keyboards, drums); Benmont Tench (vocals, keyboards); Pat Peterson, Carroll Sue Hill (vocals, percussion, background vocals); Stevie Nicks (vocals); Mike Campbell (guitar, slide guitar, steel guitar, harmonica, keyboards); Howie Epstein (mandolin); Bobby Valentino (violin); Jimmy Zavola, Jimmy "Z" Zavala (harmonica, saxophone); Lee Thornburg (trumpet, flugelhorn, horns); Nick Lane (trombone, euphonium, horns); Phil Jones (percussion).
Recording information: Forum, LA, CA; Hammersmith Odeon, London, England; Irvine Meadows Amphitheater, Irvine, CA; Paradise Club, Boston, MA; Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH; Wiltern Theater, LA, CA.
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers released a live video as a companion piece to their 1985 concert album Pack Up the Plantation: Live!. Taken from one show at Los Angeles' Wiltern Theater, the video is in some ways superior to the record, since its single source provides a continuity missing on the LP, but the real distinction are the songs that aren't featured on the record. "Little Bit o' Soul," "Make It Better (Forget About Me)," "Route 66," "You Got Lucky," "Don't Do Me Like That," "I Need to Know," "Don't Come Around Here No More," and "Spike" are all on the video, not on the CD, which makes it necessary for collectors, especially since all the performances are quite good. Nevertheless, Pack Up the Plantation suffers from the same problem as its vinyl companion -- it isn't quite the stunning performance that the Heartbreakers are capable of delivering -- but it's still thoroughly entertaining. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Considering that Southern Accents took so much time and money to complete, finally hitting the stores two and a half years after Long After Dark, it wasn't surprising that Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers decided to release a double live album, Pack Up the Plantation: Live!, a mere eight months after its release. After all, Southern Accents was criticized from many corners for being too slick, too much in Dave Stewart's corner instead of the Heartbreakers', so it made sense to quickly return the focus to the band, showcasing the group as the rockers they are. Pack Up the Plantation does do that, even if it isn't quite the barnburner it should have been. Part of the problem is that the song selection isn't quite as good as it could have been, relying heavily on Southern Accents material, including the weak "It Ain't Nothin' to Me." Then again, the weaker songs and dubious choices are outweighed by a strong performance and neat surprises like a tough "Insider" and covers of "So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star," "Needles and Pins," and "Don't Bring Me Down." That alone makes it worth investigating for dedicated fans, even if it doesn't quite deliver the knockout punch many listeners might have wanted. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Captured in concert in their mid-'80s "eclectic" phase, backed by horns and female vocalists, Petty and the Heartbreakers get to show more sides of their personality than the confines of a studio recording generally permit. That's most obvious in the preponderance of spirited cover tunes that lay the band's roots squarely on their collective sleeve. Listening to their version of the