Warren ZanesRecensioni

I find it difficult to review books by or about Bruce Springsteen because I have been a fan for 50 years now. I started this one wondering why I was reading another book about him, particularly since he so generously shared his excellent memoir with us seven years ago. Warren Zanes’s book is so much more, though. Zanes, who was the guitarist for the band, The Del Fuegos, before entering academia, brings his musician’s experience to this deep dive into Springsteen’s darkest, most unexpected (at the time) album, home-recorded on a four-track TEAC 144 at a rented house in Colts Neck, New Jersey—the album Springsteen feels “still may be” his best work. As do many musicians Zanes interviewed. The tapes were essentially demos slated for E Street Band development in the midst of the recording sessions for the Born in the USA album. Zanes interviewed artists influenced by the album, people connected to Springsteen, like manager Jon Landau, and the man himself. Landau recalls that the dark themes and spare and raw melodies of the tapes “concerned [him] on a friendship level,” as Springsteen was battling anxiety and depression during this period. The most fascinating aspect of the story of recording of the album, to me, was the monumental effort it took to preserve the stark quality of the original recording in transferring it from the four-track tape; i.e., the hours and hours of time and many people it took to keep it simple.

Admittedly, I was not a big fan of Nebraska when it was released in 1982. There, I said it; please don’t cancel my Spring-Nuts membership. I was a young mom with two sons under the age of three and desperate for another rocker on the heels of the fabulous double album, The River, that preceded it in 1980. Stark and depressing just didn’t cut it at the time; I was too sleep-deprived and isolated from adult interaction as it was. It took some years for it to grow on me. I feel somewhat validated: Zanes noted this phenomenon among fans, that Nebraska “had something of a time-release quality. It revealed its strange power over the years, a thing people found in their own way and on their own time. It was passed around like a rumor.” My favorite anecdote was from Steve Earle, who, tongue-in-cheek, attributes the success of his musical career to Springsteen:



Zanes observes that in many ways, Nebraska was a punk album; he fabulously describes it as “a cave painting in the age of photography.” He even takes a trip with Bruce to the room where it happened—that small bedroom in a rental house, “the orange wall-to-wall shag carpeting . . . most certainly intact, if a little washed out from the passage of time,” with its window overlooking a reservoir. I can see it now, when I put the album on and close my eyes, listen to those stories of outlaws and desperate people brought to life by a man with a gravelly voice and a lonesome guitar.

Tom Petty = *****
Book = ***

Pretty disappointing. Zanes writes about everything but Dusty and the album itself.

Deliever Me From Nowhere is one of the greatest books about the creative process. It focuses on Springsteen's dark masterpiece, Nebraska. Zanes dives deep into what lead up to the creation of the album and what happened after. Really, this book illuminates that Born in the USA, in many ways, is a companion piece to Nebraska. Both albums deal in nostaglia but in different ways.
This book is illuminating for creatives. And made me respect Springsteen even more. Springsteen was verging into pop stardom, and he took a severe left turn with Nebraska. The album is dark, personal, unrelentling, and a classic. And it ushered in the era of home recordings. It many ways - Nebraska is a ground breaking album. Not just for Springsteen and his legacy but for the history of recording as well.
Highly recommended.

I had to read this very slowly because it's writing about one of the most difficult musical albums out there. I cried a lot, which is how it usually goes when I listen to Nebraska. The best thing about this book is that Warren Zanes gets out of the way and lets a lot of the material do most of the heavy lifting for him, because this an album with an incredible amount of material, because the people who love this album are really thoughtful, considerate people, and the conversations with other musicians and Bruce Springsteen himself are more than enough.

Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska album isn't like any other album he's ever recorded — certainly nothing he had done up to that point (1982) in his career. Fresh off his first No. 1 album, The River, everyone including himself expected him to continue on that upward trajectory toward bigger and bigger stardom.

But recording his first five albums had been agony; months and months of studio time wasted while he wrote more songs, recorded and re-recorded with the E Street Band in an attempt to get the sound in his head onto tape. This time, Springsteen decided to do things differently: He wouldn't book studio time until he had written a set of songs for the next album and recorded solo demos for them. That would save time, money and tears of frustration.

He got a basic four-track recorder and sat in his bedroom working on a set of songs and then recording them himself onto a regular cassette tape. He wasn't too worried about quality because they were only meant to be demos. But when he and the band finally got into the studio, something strange happened. Some of the songs — "Born in the USA" for one (which ended up on the album after this one) — sounded great with the full band treatment, and the final version was nailed on just the second take. But others lost something ineffable in the studio. It didn't matter whether they tried recording with the full band, or just Bruce and his guitar attempting to recreate the vibe of the demo tape. The studio recordings were crap.

Eventually, it was decided to release the songs from the demo tape as is, without trying to re-record or overdub additional parts. Which set up a whole other technical challenge of translating something recorded on consumer-level equipment into a studio-quality record. The final album doesn't sound like anything else — it's a little muddy and a little echoey and some of the lyrics aren't quite fully fleshed out. But it's come to be considered Springsteen's masterpiece, the album that cemented his reputation as not only a great live performer but also a great songwriter.

The author, Warren Zanes, was part of the Del Fuegos band back in the day, and when he stopped being a musician he went and got himself a Ph.D and became an academic. So he's well situated to both understand the musical process and also be able to put it into a larger context. Zanes also interviewed lots of other musicians and songwriters, both famous and less so, who talk about the impact Nebraska had on their work, which added an insider facet to the story.

I will say that I am a total sucker for "behind the scenes" logistics narratives about the magic of how music gets made, probably because I love music but have zero talent myself. So I would have enjoyed this book no matter who the artist was. But of course, the artist is Bruce Springsteen and if you've been around these parts much you know how I feel about that guy. So yeah, a five-star read for me, but I think anyone who likes to read about how the musical sausage gets made would find it interesting.

Deliver Me from Nowhere by Warren Zanes is a fascinating look at both this superb album and the creative process in general, with plenty of input from Springsteen himself.

Though not immediately embraced on a large scale, Nebraska was loved by those who did appreciate it immediately. I was one of those and it wasn't because we, any of us, were musical experts, it was because of how it spoke to us personally. That also explains why it gained in popularity as time went on, as people experienced more of the ups and, especially, downs of life the album spoke to them more and more. This book dives into both how Springsteen captured that feeling (by capturing that sound) and why, at that point in his career, it was something he needed to do. For his own wellbeing and, ultimately, for the band.

The writing here is excellent and Springsteen's comments and insights are used wonderfully to highlight Zanes' journey through the research and writing of the book. While a fair amount of the information isn't new, it is presented in a more contextualized manner than the scattered anecdotes we are familiar with.

Of the many books on Springsteen I've read, I find I tend toward the more academic (or at least the less sensationalized). Several, including a recent read on women fandom, focus on audience reception as much as music production or biographical information. This volume is an ideal mix for me, serious but accessible, about the making of the music as well as the reception, and most important a lack of sensationalism just to sell the book.

Recommended for Springsteen fans (even old ones like me that still think of Born in the USA as the later Springsteen, though now I guess I would have to change that to the middle Springsteen) as well as music fans in general. Those readers who enjoy learning more about the hows and whys of an album will particularly enjoy this.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

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.

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.

A good biography of Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers. It is more about the band and their career than it is a personal biography. Apparently Tom was very private and really didn't want to talk about himself, his family or his life. That doesn't mean he didn't talk about it, but it is a small fraction of this book. This was also written 2 years before he died, so it at times feels incomplete. I'm a fan of Tom and the band and I quite enjoyed this book. It really digs into how the band came about, how they struggled and the whole process of making albums and touring and how important the band - not the fame or tours, was to Tom Petty.

4 ½ stars: Super, couldn’t put it down

From the back cover: Born in Gainesville, Florida, with more than a little hillbilly in his blood, Tom Petty was a Southern shitkicker, a kid without a whole lot of promise. Rock and roll made it otherwise. From meeting Elvis, to seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, to producing Del Shannon; backing Bob Dylan; putting together a band with George Harrison, Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne; making records with Johnny Cash; and sending well more than a dozen of his own celebrated recordings high onto the charts, Tom Petty’s story has all the drama of a rock n roll epic. Now in his mid 60s [alas, this was completed 2 years before his tragic death] still making records and still touring, Petty, known for his reclusive style, has shared with Warren Zanes his insights and arguments, his regrets and lasting ambitions, and the details of his life on and offstage.
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After I watched the fabulous documentary “Running Down a Dream”, I went searching for a biography. This one had literally thousands of high reviews, and I can see why. The description above doesn’t begin to cover the details of Petty’s life (or even the most interesting parts). He was physically abused by his father. His mother and girlfriend pressured him to marry two days before he left for Los Angeles. He knocked on record label doors and got a contract. He took his role as the band leader extremely seriously, yet took years to finally cut ties with both his first wife and with drummer Stan Lynch, who was undermining him at every turn. His lyricism cuts to the chase and tells a story very quickly. (I liked Mike Campbell’s quote about the Heartbreakers mantra: “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus.” A reaction from bloated 7-10 minute mid 70s songs. Petty says his lyrics are never consciously about a given person, yet they subconsciously tell the story of his life. I have seen Tom Petty twice, and just devoured this book. I considered going to his 2017 LA show, and am saddened that I chose not to – he was dead a week later. This book had Petty’s full support, though he did not ask to see the manuscript before publishing. This leads to an insightful bio that goes deep into the ups and downs of his life. The music was first, over his family and ultimately over the bandmates. Overall, a quiet, kind, reclusive man who allowed his songs to speak for him. And boy, did they.

Some quotes and parts I liked:

“It took me years to get past what [my father] did to me to understand his situation. I only saw the outer stuff, the bravado, the machismo, the anger. We know so little about the world he came from, because he kept it behind a wall he’d built himself...I didn’t understand there could *be* a relationship. I thought a father just put shit on the table, made a living, and we owed him respect because he put a roof over our head, because for some reason our mother married him. I didn’t realize there were kids who had really genuine relationships with their fathers. ” -TP

[In Hollywood, trying to get a record contract]. Someone else at A&R listened but turned the tape off within 30 seconds. I thought “Shit, this isn’t going to be easy.” Petty recalls “But the fact is, we could just walk into these places, and a lot of the time, someone would listen. It certainly doesn’t happen like that anymore. A van from Florida rolls into town, and the guys driving it get meetings? That was another time.”

Stan Lynch could be the band member most ready to go out there and kill it, or the most divisive, or the most enthusiastic supporter of what Tom Petty was trying to pull off, or the most bitter. The problem for Petty came in figuring out when Lynch was going to be which of these things. And what Lynch was saying to whom.

{LA Times reviewer Robert Hilburn ] framed his thinking about this period in music in his theory of active and passive bands:
“Passive bands can do enticing work (Boston’s “More than a Feeling”) but the artistic heartbeat of rock rests with the more challenging active outfits: Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Talking Heads, Patti Smith the Cars, Devo and The Clash. While they welcome sales, the primary intent of Active rockers is to say something, and to say it with the individuality that is the base of all worthwhile art. The trouble with most Active bands from a commercial standpoint is that you have to pay attention to the music to fully appreciate what’s going on. The surfaces can be noisy and intense. You may even have to strain to understand the words. And there isn’t always just one interpretation. The aim is to make you feel and consider: Get involved.”

[Talking about going to a Gainesville Hospital, where his mother was dying]. “Someone had laid out all these magazines with pictures of me on my mother” remembers Petty. “On her chest and across her body. She was just lying there, beneath these clippings from magazines and newspapers. I walk in and… it was the strangest thing. I thought ‘ Even in this moment, *even this* someone had to corrupt with some reaction to fame, or whatever this was… I was just beginning to see that there’s just nobody that couldn’t be affected by fame in some way… I was starting to see that that’s just part of the job. But I wasn’t prepared for that in my mother’s hospital room, you know? I needed to clear the room of that… Then some months later, she died. And I didn’t go to the funeral. My brother told me ‘You come here and its going to be a zoo. The whole town’s already geared up for when you’re going to arrive.’ So I said ‘Well then, I’m not going. I’m not going to let this be about me. I can’t deal with that.”

[After an arsonist torched the Petty home, with them inside]. Two years of touring, with the Pettys’ Encino home burned down by an arsonist in the middle of it all. The bandleader went from being ready, at last, to leave his marriage to feeling like he had to do all he could to protect his family.

[Harrison, Orbison, and Petty family] went to Denny’s on Sunset that night after the show. There were some Goths hanging out and it was all we could do to keep George from jumping in that car with them. They looked like they were having fun. That’s where ‘Zombie Zoo’ came from.”

It all made for what was possibly the best album of his career [Wildflowers]. But, for the family at home, it could have been seen as a betrayal. What Petty could do in the songs, he couldn’t do in his life. No one called it a betrayal, of course. The family learned to live with it, found a way to see it as something else. They just called it [Songs like “To find a friend”] songwriting. But all his openness was reserved for the art, and it left little if anything for his family. IT would have made no difference, anyway. But the discrepancy between the world of songs, where things were talked about, addressed, and explored, and the world at home would wear on Petty. Would break him. And a few of those around him.

“The human condition is the same for everyone” says Olivia Harrison. “But once you’re isolated, its even worse. When those big life events happen, you can’t see your way out of them. When you’re in the world, you have outreach. When you’re in a bubble, how do you see outside of that? How do people get in? and then you feel like you really don’t want people to see what your troubles are, you’re so private at that point. It’s really easy to not get help.”

My therapist said something to me that, in that moment, cut through all the clutter. ‘People with your level of depression don’t live. They kill themselves or someone else..’ I said “you’re kidding me.’ “No’ he tells me. ‘With this level of depression, people can’t live.’ Maybe that was when I realized that in fact, I wasn’t living, that I was heading in the other direction.

[Petty’s daughter Adria} My mother, who loved him for such a long time, had started to abuse him. But I think he felt responsible for the failure of the family, and it kept him from leaving, for far too long. By the time he did leave, he didn’t have enough left in him to handle it. He was up against something that took precedence over parenting [heroin]. But I don’t think it ever took precedence over the amount of love he has for us.

[After getting clean]. There remains a frailty in Petty that wasn’t there before. And it wasn’t just the effects of drug use. It was a long trail that went back to that small house in Florida. It may be that lifelong depression, masked by years of activity, found its moment to come toward the surface and came…. It’s a relationship with the pain of the past that doesn’t preclude joy.

Petty has a mind that pulls toward the darkness. It still moves in on him sometimes. Who knows how much of that is born of what he went through as a child, or what he repeated from that childhood in his first marriage. But there’s little question that songwriting has been the thing that has made it all more livable. The songs have been his safe house. IN them you can hear a man wanting a little more freedom and a little more peace. IT’s something people can connect with.

Probably the most complete written picture of Tom Petty and his band. From the hardscrabble days in Gainesville, where Petty was "really good at getting people to quit school and join his band" and onward, Warren Zanes has dug deep, mainly through interviews with Tom, the Heartbreakers, and others with meaningful access.

One thing that emerges is that Tom was not the guy that people back home would have pegged for success, and certainly not the stratospheric level he attained. Another is that Tom made it happen through hard work, a talent for writing songs that connect, steely ambition and a determination to make music his way, music that mattered to him, and would matter to millions.

There is a strong case to be made that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were the greatest rock-and-roll band to ever exist. They did not have the iconic cultural impact of the Beatles, or the contrariness of the Stones, or the ornate hedonism of Led Zeppelin, but on every other metric – particularly those concerned solely with the music – the Heartbreakers are up there.

Maybe they're ignored because it's so overwhelming to consider their achievement. This is an outfit that, for an unprecedented forty years, turned out all killer, no filler. Damn the Torpedoes, Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers are all acknowledged masterpieces, and can stand with the likes of Revolver and Exile on Main St., but even their 'lesser' albums would be any other band's crowning achievement. (Yes, I know Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers are solo albums.) When, in 2007, Peter Bogdanovich cut Runnin' Down a Dream, a feature-length documentary film about the band, it was eight hours long. A tough editing process got it down to four hours. When I sat down to watch the DVD as a sceptical teenager in 2008, having rapidly become a fan of the Heartbreakers' music, I expected I would watch it in instalments over a number of days. I ended up watching it all in one sitting, plus the bonus live DVD. The story is a fascinating one, even if you can't exactly pinpoint why. And the even more remarkable thing is that when I picked up Warren Zanes' biography of Petty, I found there was even more to the story than I thought.

The book would be an essential read even if its only selling point was that it covered previously untouched or under-represented areas, such as the Mudcrutch years, Petty's heroin addiction, or the perspectives of Stan Lynch and Bugs Weidel. But what Zanes' book also does is re-orient the story: this is very much a biography of Tom Petty, rather than the entity of 'Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'. With Zanes' guiding hand, we get into what drove the man: his desires and ambitions, his anxieties and isolation. If the Runnin' Down a Dream documentary was a celebration, this is an exploration.

Neither book nor film is a hagiography. One impression that the reader gets is that Petty took the world on his shoulders, but the book doesn't make him a saint. One telling passage comes from – of all places – the Acknowledgements page:

"There were times I knew I was writing things that would be hard for Tom to see in print. But he always insisted that this was my book, and he wasn't there to say what went in and what didn't. He was there to work with me, but he didn't want it to be a whitewashed account." (pg. 313)

Alongside the fascinating story of the band – Zanes is excellent on band dynamics – it is perhaps this passage which hints at what draws people to Petty. His authenticity. The man could write songs and plant them in your head in such a way that it feels like they not only belong there, but like you had been waiting for them. You could ask a hundred die-hard fans for their favourite Petty song and they'd come up with a hundred different answers – and all of them would have a good case. He loved the music more than the fame, the girls, the money. Battle-hardened veterans of the industry like Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Johnny Cash – men who saw the need for strong defences – not only opened up to him but in many cases sought him out. The man had soul. And perhaps this is why Petty's death – two years after Zanes' book was published – still feels like a gut-punch. Because this was one of the genuine ones. One of the very few.

Reading Zanes' book in light of Petty's death, some of that gut-punch can be absorbed and healed. It was such a massive shock at the time, and that shock incorporated (undirected) anger and heartbreak when the circumstances were revealed: at the age of sixty-six, Tom Petty had been going up on stage night after night with a fractured hip, which had graduated to a full-on break, and had overdosed on the pain medication he was taking to get through the tour. He didn't want to let the fans down, he didn't want to let the crew down, and he didn't want to leave a job unfinished. He had planned to make it his last tour, so that he could focus on the studio and on spending time with his grand-daughter, only to die a week after the final night.

In some ways, the book's revelations make this harder: he had clearly found some inner peace in his later years, and one anecdote about his grand-daughter (a simple moment which Petty calls "one of the great moments of my life" (pg. 305)) is bittersweet in retrospect. At the same time, you also begin to understand why Petty felt he had to carry on, and why no one around him in the band or their entourage made him stop. Lines from the book, going back in some cases to the 1970s, make even more sense in light of the final tragedy: "his job, he felt, was to keep it all together" (pg. 166); "the Heartbreakers didn't do that kind of intimacy" (pg. 157); "with a record on the charts and a lot of people looking to him for their livelihoods, Petty didn't make his nerves anyone else's problem" (pg. 156); "there was tension, and no one – true to Heartbreakers style – was addressing it directly" (pg. 261). There's no need to assign blame, either to Tom or anyone (nor do we have the right to), but it's frustrating to know that if Petty had let the extent of his hip problems be known, the love and regard his fans had for him would have almost certainly seen an immediate disappointment regarding ticket refunds swept away by a demand that he take a rest.

Ultimately, Zanes' biography is an excellent, intimate insight past the "tinted windows" that Tom Petty kept on his soul (pg. 217). It is measured, mercurial and carefully crafted, hitting both the high and low notes with authority and sincerity: in short, a fitting reflection of the principles that guided its subject matter. Though the book can be heartbreaking to read, the story is ultimately one of ascendancy and triumph, even in light of the subsequent tragic end. As Bugs Weidel remarks on page 305, "as an artist, as a husband, as a father, as a friend… this guy has spent his life trying to improve. In every single way." And he did it. This was a Southern shitkicker born in a swamp, who became one of the greatest rock stars in history, constructing and collaborating with an incredible band with an incredible sound, one that captured the essence of rock-and-roll, of American freedom. He was the guy who united the states: in the argument over which acts were the best, "Petty was the guy most everybody agreed on" (pg. 7). He grew up listening to the Beatles and Dylan and Cash and Carl Perkins and Del Shannon, and later worked with them as equals. He wrote hundreds of songs that, taken individually, can stand alongside the very best of any songwriter, but taken collectively over a forty-plus-year career, are a measure of quality and consistency that is, to my mind, unparalleled. His death was a raw moment for millions who had never even met him. Books like Zanes' help you understand him, and this helps level the playing field somewhat. Because listen to him for three minutes of a song and you feel like he knows you.

Petty: The Biography by Warren Zanes is a 2015 Henry Holt and Co. Publication.

Think of me what you will, I’ve got a little space to fill…

I’ve shared with you my love/hate relationship with rock bios. I decided early on not to read this one because Tom Petty was so special to me. I did NOT want to read a botched biography of TP.

I had forgotten about it until recently, when I checked out the new autobiography of Stevie Nicks. This book was on one of those 'also recommended for you' listings, so decided to check out the ratings and read a few reviews of the book. I also did a little research on the author, and decided this one might really be on the up and up.

Yet, I still hesitated. I’ve been a fan of many rock groups over the years, gone through trends like most other people, but one constant, since high school, was Tom Petty. The older I got, the more we connected and the more I appreciated his style. Often his anger, his angst, and his humor matched my own.

Tom and I had some long conversations lasting deep into the night sometimes. His music resonated with me in a way no other band has ever been able to. As my kids grew older, they too became big fans, if that tells you anything, and I am so pleased we were able to take them to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers back in 2005.

But, as I was reeling from the horrifying mass shooting in Vegas, Tom went into cardiac arrest and never regained consciousness. In a year when I’ve suffered from one of the deepest, darkest depressions I’ve ever experienced, losing my best rock and roll buddy, left me feeling utterly bereft. I really took it hard. I couldn't even listen to his music there for a while.

So, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for this intimate look at his life. The loss is still too raw. But, on second thought, I felt that maybe it would be cathartic.

I think reading this book now, as opposed to reading it while he was still alive, made it a more poignant journey, but ultimately, I’m glad I tucked away my misgivings. This might be the most honest, in depth, and realistic look at a rock artist that I’ve read. Warren was a friend of Tom’s and Tom was involved in the writing of this book to some degree, so I’m comfortable with the authenticity of the shared information.

While this book follows the logical chronological format, beginning with the family tree, Tom’s upbringing, musical beginnings, and so on until he became a full-fledged rock star, working with the likes of Bob Dylan and George Harrison.

But, it’s also a very in depth and personal look at the man behind the rock star persona. It’s raw, pulls no punches, exposes insecurities, flaws, and demons. His private life and professional life was separate, but not equal. He was often under intense pressures, no one, not even those who were close to him, could have guessed at, and it took its toll.

Sometimes he fell into the stereotypical traps of stardom, sometimes he rebelled hard against the system. But, in the end, he was his own man, foibles and all.

I think he found a balance in the latter years of his life, in his second marriage, which seemed to stabilize him after years of internal hardships.

His music was always solid rock and roll, whether it was with the Heartbreakers or The Wilburys, or in his solo material. He had moments of deep reflections, of acidic criticisms, and angsty heartbreak, but he often showed a light, humorous side, too. His songwriting skills were incredible, his insights invaluable.

Most rock bios, the authorized or not, have a really hard time capturing that all too elusive glimpse into the kind person the subject really is. They can relate the various ups and downs, achievements and disappointments, and spell out the nature of all the relationships they’ve had, professional and personal, but rarely do I feel as though I could see through all the smoke and mirrors, behind the barrier and security measures. In this case, I think I did see into Tom’s soul to some extent. He was much more complicated and complex than I would have thought, and struggled with issues I wouldn’t have associated with him, but he also worked to deal with his problems, and I respected his ability to admit his shortcomings.

‘People come, people go
Some grow young, some grow cold

Tom was a rock star in every sense of the word, and he took full advantage of that privilege, he occasionally exhibited a great deal of moodiness, triteness, arrogance, and entitled outbursts, but, he had principles, and a depth to him, you rarely see from someone in that business, especially after all those years, when he could have become a hardened, jaded, jerk. In fact, I think he was moving towards a good place, where he beginning to win the battle over the demons that plagued him. I do want to believe that, and I hope that was the case.

There have been some casual fans or those who just didn’t listen to Tom Petty’s music, but I’ve never heard anyone say they didn’t like him. He was the coolest rock star ever. I still can’t believe he’s gone. He was only 66, with so much left to give. But, his talent and music will always have a very special place in my heart-

And Tom if you are watching- I promise-

I'll stand my ground
Won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground
AND I WON'T BACK DOWN

I always say the best Rock and Roll biographies send you back to the turntable to drop the needle and re-listen to the music of the life being directed. Petty: The Biography does that in spades. Throughout the reading of the book I found myself listening to not only the well known Petty output but some of his more obscure music as well. Petty was definitely one of kind and in this biography Zanes paints as complete a picture of the man as possible while tying his life into the culture of the times. No small feat. I strongly recommend this one for all of you folks out there who want a deeper understanding of what it means to be a rock and roll star and get a deeper understanding of the cultural power of the music.

Warts and all biography of Tom Petty, and by extension, the Heartbreakers. Zanes makes it clear how Petty's drive and desire for control have helped the group succeed, while bruising lots of egos along the way. But he also makes it clear that others, Mike Campbell in particular, have had a big hand in Petty's success. Petty's family relationships are a big part of the story--with his beloved mother, his abusive father, and his first wife. Petty himself sinks into heroin addiction, and even Stevie Nicks (who emerges as some sort of saint) can't snap him out of it. Along the way, he meets lots of great producers, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Dave Stewart, and so on. This book's interest never flags, and it makes a great case for Petty's place as one of the great songwriters and performers. Compared to a recent book I read about the Replacements (READ THAT ONE NEXT!!), the Heartbreakers are a pretty steady harmonious bunch, but there are still some strong personalities, i.e., Stan Lynch, and lasting bad feelings. Unlike the Replacements, however, Tom Petty just keeps going. After reading this, you'll have some idea how he does it. You won't end up loving the guy, but you'll have to respect him and appreciate the results.

I moved to central Florida in 1977 when I was eight years old. Having lived in Florida since then and attending the University of Florida, I've heard tons of Petty and even been to his shows. However, I never "knew" Petty like I feel I do now.

Zanes' book did a terrific job of letting us peek into Petty's mind and his life. Zanes takes us from Petty's humble beginnings in Florida to becoming a living legend in the music industry. He apparently had access to people and records that allows him to share the development of Petty as a musician and bandleader.

More fascinating, though, is Zanes' insight into what it takes to be a bandleader and what goes into making records. His descriptions of the process and analysis of the creativity was really eye opening.

I unreservedly recommend this book to Petty fans or anyone interested in the music business.

Love Tom. Learned a lot about him. What a truly horrible childhood. Seems to have overcome that quite well. The author doesn't fawn on the star. Which was good. Just tells a good story, and introduces us to a lot of key players. The heroin use was a big shocker. The fact that it was kept out of the news is even more amazing. An enjoyable read about the man.½

Wow. What an interesting backstory of one of the greatest Rock n' Roll artists in American history. Having been a fan of Tom Petty, both as a solo artist and as a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, I was stunned at what a long and colorful history there was here. I enjoyed hearing about all of the partnerships/friendships Tom made along the way (at times hard to keep track of all of the names!). It was extremely sad to hear about his childhood and some of the other struggles he went through. I definitely recommend this book to all of his fans :)

I have been a fan of Tom Petty's music for years. However, I have always been some what skeptical of biographies. I found Zanes book to be informative and entertaining. I felt sorry about Petty's childhood in Florida and his abusive father. Some areas of his life seem to have been covered more than others which makes me wonder how much of an "authorized" biography this was. Even so I believe any Petty fan would probably enjoy this book.

Petty- the Biography is a book written for the true fan of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It delves into not only Tom Petty’s story, but the background of the band and the individuals who have been in it. As a casual fan I was lost in the beginning of the book, not knowing much of the band members. But as I continued reading I learned who and how they became the group they are to this day. I have developed a new appreciation for this group, and what they have accomplished over 40+ years of rock and roll.

How do you write an unauthorized biography of a notoriously reclusive rock star and capture anything more than what could be found easily on the Internet? Warren Zanes seems to have accomplished that feat with PETTY: THE BIOGRAPHY. Zanes has the unusual background of having been in a rock band, familiar with the music industry, while also being an academic. He admits only a distant acquaintance with Tom Petty, who was not interested in what he considered to be the BS associated with authorized biographies of celebrities. “He said, ‘I want it to be yours. And I can’t tell you what you can and can’t write.’” His only stipulation was that he be given the chance to read what Zanes wrote and add (but not detract) when he thought his perspective might clarify something. The final product sheds some light on the complex psychology of one of the great musicians of our time while providing a first-hand look at the world of the album cycle: write songs, recorded them, make a record, released it, and then go out on the road to support it. Petty has been continuously and compulsively immersed in this cycle for his entire career. Music was his way of coping with the pain he experienced in the rest of his life and Zanes’ readers can derive a lot of pleasure from re-listening to many of Petty’s songs from that perspective.

Using a narrative style that easily moves back and forth between speakers, Zanes focuses on Petty’s family, his band, his producers and collaborators to tell his story. His family was clearly dysfunctional. His mother tried to keep the family together but succumbed to illness and cancer in midlife. His father was physically abusive, but never failed to show up to leach off of his son’s celebrity. His aunt hounded him for autographs, even at his father’s funeral and his visit to his mother in her last days. It is not surprising that these experiences lead Petty to become weary of people who sought him out after he became famous. His first wife, Jane, became mentally ill and chemically dependent, forcing Petty to leave his family. Obviously, this precipitated extreme feelings of guilt, especially about leaving his two young daughters. The children are not treated extensively in the biography, but both seem to have suffered damage. The older sibling, Adria, comes across as a person who is much like her father—intelligent, insightful, driven to succeed and protective of her sister. Petty coped with the pain associated with his private life by immersing himself in his work, but even this failed him at one point leaving him addicted to hard drugs.

His band served as a surrogate family and, much like his mother did with his family, he would do anything to keep the band together. Zanes’ portrayal of how Petty interacted with his band was detailed and intimate. These relationships were not always easy. The Heartbreakers are essentially a group of musicians Petty met and played with as a young man in Gainesville. Zanes notes that they, including Petty himself, were extremely talented introverts, with the exception of the drummer, Stan Lynch. Stan was a misfit in this group because he was clearly an extrovert. Zanes handles the tension between Petty and Lynch with subtlety and fairness. Lynch has been notably silent about his departure from the Heartbreakers, but Zanes did manage to spend eight hours interviewing him and was able to present a balanced perspective. Another extreme trial for the band was the drug addiction and eventual death of bassist, Howie Epstein. The band tried everything to get him off drugs but ultimately failed.

Petty’s producers and collaborators play a major role in the biography. They were mentors, sounding boards, and good friends for a man who was driven to succeed but was essentially an “emotional recluse.” The loneliness came not only from his being a workaholic and perfectionist, but also from an intense distrust of people who seemed to want to get things from him. It is particularly noteworthy that, in addition to his band—especially Mike Campbell, the people Petty felt most comfortable with were other celebrities, who would have little need to use him (e.g., Stevie Nicks, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen). Instead they were attracted to him for his obvious talent and work ethic, but also liked him as a person.

As a longtime resident of Gainesville, who arrived just after Petty left for LA, I have been aware of his music, but knew little about his personal life. Certainly, there are things about Petty that only he knows and probably will never reveal to anyone, but Zane’s analysis of a damaged, but extremely talented and driven man comes about as close as we probably ever will to understand Tom Petty and his music.½

"Petty" goes miles beyond the usual rock biography to present a deeply intelligent picture of a recognizable human being who is nonetheless at a rare pinnacle of fame and accomplishment. Most great rock biographies are by journalists and fans—this one's by a man who has been a working rock musician. Warren Zanes combines a fine talent for writing with first-hand knowledge of the nature of a musician's life from the inside, which makes all the difference, because the subject of this book can't be understood any other way.

I knew next to nothing about Tom Petty when I started. I liked "Damn the Torpedoes," which came along at an important point in my life, but some of the later hits didn't connect with me, and I never wondered enough about Petty and the band to learn more about them. But this book held my interest all the way through. It's not about name-dropping, scandal, and excess; it's about one young guy who knew what he wanted to be, worked like hell until he arrived there, and has remained driven for the rest of his life, never satisfied except for the few weeks of accomplishment at the end of every project. His voice comes through strongly throughout the book, because this is largely Petty's story to tell. But when there's ugliness to discuss or responsibility to assign, Zanes doesn't shy away. The subtlety and fairness with which he approaches Petty's occasional lapses into rage, his late-life addiction to hard drugs, and the painful break with longtime drummer Stan Lynch are impressive and convincing.

I recommend "Petty" not just to fans, but to anybody to whom rock music has ever been important. It's vivid, but it's adult, never over the top. I learned so much from it that I'm tempted to read it over again.