The World’s Best Covers Band: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at the Fillmore
by Greg Brodsky
Tom Petty at the Fillmore, 1997
“We’re the house band here at the Fillmore,” Tom Petty says during one of the Heartbreakers’ shows during the band’s legendary, extended residency that spanned from Jan. 10 to Feb. 7 in 1997.
This 2022 entry from Petty’s extensive studio and concert archives is a crowd-pleaser, culled from the 20 shows that the Heartbreakers played during their lengthy run at the Fillmore in San Francisco. The 4-CD collection’s 58 tracks offers plenty of the band’s familiar songs, including such classic rock favorites as “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” “Even the Losers,” “Free Fallin’,” “American Girl” and “I Won’t Back Down.” But it’s the broad selection of 35 covers—some more familiar (the Rolling Stones’ “[I Can’t Get No] Satisfaction,” the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” and Ray Charles’ “I Got a Woman”) than others (J.J. Cale’s “Call Me the Breeze,” the Zombies’ “I Want You Back Again” and Bo Diddley’s “Diddy Wah Diddy”)—that made the residency so memorable.
Fans of Petty’s entertaining and informative “Buried Treasure” show on SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Channel are well aware of the star’s deep affinity and knowledge of his musical predecessors and peers. But hearing the Heartbreakers’ great versions of this classic material night after night at the Fillmore was clearly a treat. We now know that six of the performances were professionally recorded.
Mike Campbell and Tom Petty at the Fillmore, 1997
As lead guitarist Mike Campbell (who produced the box set with Ryan Ulyate) says, “Playing the Fillmore in 1997 for a month was one of my favorite experiences as a musician. The band was on fire and we changed the set list every night. The room and the crowd was spiritual… AND… we got to play with some amazing guests. I will always remember those nights with joy and inspiration.”
Those guests included Carl Perkins, John Lee Hooker and Roger McGuinn. As Campbell notes, the set lists were so varied that a second box set could be created without duplicating any of the songs.
“Oh, baby doll,” says TP as the band takes the stage before jumping right into a spirited version of “Around and Around” with those great Chuck Berry lyrics, a Mike Campbell guitar solo and Benmont Tench’s boogie piano.
The Heartbreakers were long-time fans of the late singer J.J. Cale and frequently played his songs in their sets. “Call Me the Breeze” is one of several Cale covers on Live at the Fillmore.
Watch the animated video for their cover of J.J. Cale’s “Call Me the Breeze”
The great web resource, setlist.fm, notes that the Heartbreakers performed Bill Withers’ 1971 breakthrough single, “Ain’t No Sunshine,” just nine times. Petty adds just the right touch of pathos as he sings the repeated “I know” refrain on one of the closing, somber numbers to Disc One.
Disc Two opens with the lively “Rip It Up,” popularized by Little Richard in 1956. The Heartbreakers’ version clocks in at 1:48, just enough to get the party started. (Four years after this performance, Little Richard officiated Petty’s wedding to Dana York.)
As Disc Three begins, Petty says, “We’re having so much fun here at the Fillmore; it’s ridiculous. Part of the reason the gig is so good is we get to play with so many great people.” He then introduces “my mentor, Roger McGuinn” before playing four songs written by or popularized by the Byrds, including “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” and “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man.”
“Everybody knows him, everybody loves him, Mr. Benmont Tench…”
Listen to the keyboardist’s showcase on Booker T. & the M.G.’s’ 1962 classic
And to close Disc Three, Petty stretches out the word, “Well…” and sings the opening line of Ray Charles’ first hit, “I Got a Woman,” before the band stretches out on the playful number.
Before the band’s 20th and final performance of the residency on Feb. 7, Petty says, “We all feel that this is the high point of our whole time together as a group,” at the start of Disc Four. It’s time for a Bob Dylan cover.
This final disc in the collection features mostly uptempo numbers, including such TPATH favorites as “You Wreck Me” and “Free Fallin’.” Then, following an extended version of “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” comes another of the set’s many highlights, a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” with Campbell’s stinging guitar and Tench’s rollicking piano.
At the time of the residency, the band also included Scott Thurston, Howie Epstein and Steve Ferrone.
Next up is a faithful version of the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” one of many British Invasion tracks that they performed that month.
Tom Petty at the Fillmore, 1997
Soon, it’s time for some more of rock’s great party numbers. Any short list of staples for an aspiring rock ‘n’ roll band would include “Louie Louie” and “Gloria.” While the Heartbreakers were, of course, no ordinary band, it’s easy to see why they would still enjoy playing these classics.
Though “Louie Louie” was written by and first recorded by Richard Berry in 1956, it wasn’t until seven years later that its definitive version was cut by the Kingsmen (although the Delta house’s drunken sing-along led by John Belushi in National Lampoon’s Animal House is a close second. In Richard Berry’s obituary, The New York Times aptly called the song “a cornerstone of rock.”)
The song is said to be the most recorded rock song of all time, with estimates ranging from 1600 to 2000+. Though the Kingsmen’s 1963 single runs at a modest 2:42, the version on Live at the Fillmore clocks in at a more robust 3:52, thanks to the repeated phrase “we gotta go now.”
As for “G-L-O-R-I-A,” in his feature story on the song in which he calls it “one of the greatest garage-rock anthems of the 1960s,” Best Classic Bands’ editor Jeff Tamarkin notes that it was written by 18-year-old George Ivan Morrison. Before he became Van the Man, Morrison recorded it with the Irish band Them in 1964.
And while that studio version runs a tidy 2:38, the box set’s triumphant version runs for over nine minutes, due in large part to Petty’s narration.
Watch a brief clip of that performance
G – L – O – R – I – A
Live at the Fillmore, 1997 out tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/yofJzWUy5g— Tom Petty (@tompetty) November 24, 2022
“We thank you so much, we thank you so much, for giving us such a good time,” says Petty. No, Tom; thank you.
The Live at the Fillmore collection is available to order here in a variety of editions.
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3 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationGoing to miss Tom and this band forever. They were just incredible live!
Fabulous recap of this set plus all the audio! Many thanks. The Heartbreakers were very good students and one hell of a great live band.
Went to the show when Carl Perkins was the opener. The backing band was the Heartbreakers. Perkins played his 50’s hits and the rest of the evening had a rockabilly vibe. Still have the Fillmore poster handed out at end of the night.