With the Fourth of July holiday fast approaching here in the States, and with tons of folks hitting the highway for summer road-trips and the like, it seems like a good time to spotlight a true American legend who penned a plethora of road-trip anthems in his heyday: the late great Tom Petty.
Indeed, there is no shortage of classic-rock bands whose music seems tailor-made for the open road, but did any of them deliver as many gems that capture that vibe better than Tom Petty? Granted, there’s a lot of competition out there in that category, but we are talking about a guy who made an entire album titled “Highway Companion”. There was always something kind of magical about Petty’s classic sweeping anthems that just exuded the freedom of the open road, of exploring new horizons, and all the adventure and possibilities that staking out on your own can present. That said, it’s probably fair to say most everybody already knows those classic anthems of his, so this week we’ll be focusing on some of his relatively deeper cuts that you might have perhaps overlooked or forgotten about entirely from his long and illustrious career.
Case in point, check out this punchy performance of “Too Much Ain’t Enough” off The Heartbreakers’ somewhat underrated second album You’re Gonna Get It!, live from 1980:
