Book Review: Conversations With Tom Petty by Paul Zollo

"This, to be sure, is not an autobiography," Petty advises us in the foreword to Conversations With Tom Petty.  It is an important distinction.  This book compiles conversations, not interviews.  Paul Zollo, in this book, is not a journalist.  He is a music fan and he is a Tom Petty fan.  The questions he asks tell us a lot about both men and reveal a lot about this project.  Zollo often drops compliments in his questions.  Conversations with Tom Petty is not written by an objective journalist making informed, independent observations.  This is not a sordid tale of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.  This is Petty answering the questions he wants to answer in a friendly environment.

This is not about Tom Petty, the man.  Conversations is a listening companion intended for the devoted fans who are more interested in the songs Petty sang with Stevie Nicks than whether or not they did blow (or anything else) together.  It is an easy read because of the setting and the Q&A structure of the book.  This is two guys sitting around, talking about music.  There are no startling revelations, yet there are plenty of interesting facts and details to be learned. 

That does not render the book useless or boring.  Nearly every song in Tom Petty's 30-year career is mentioned and discussed.  The book is divided into two halves.  The first is a narrative that covers his childhood (briefly) through the present.  The second is an in-depth discussion of each of his albums and most of the songs on them.  Zollo admits this approach might seem strange, as there is some repetition between the two halves, but it does make for an easy read.  Readers will know more about the man by listening to him talk about his music because the two are inexorably linked.  It is when he is talking about his music that you get to peer inside his mind.  For example, when he tries to explain his misunderstood The Last DJ album: "I wasn't talking specifically about music or radio stations.  I was talking about the state of the world, where our moral head has gone.  How the world has gotten meaner and meaner and meaner, and almost applauds evil.  That was what I was trying to say."

Petty is often described in interviews as being wary of the press.  He might not have said those same things in a traditional interview if asked for his thoughts on the state of the world.  By allowing Petty to remain in his comfort zone, Zollo gets Petty to reveal plenty.

Article Author: Josh Hathaway

Josh Hathaway began with Blogcritics in August 2004 and served as writer, editor, and also hosted the beloved but short-lived BC Radio podcast. He also founded the music web site BlindedBySound.com. Follow me on Twitter …

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