The secret message Tom Petty saved for CD listeners
Tom Petty always claimed to be a child of old school of rock and roll. As much as he may have been younger than his friends like George Harrison and Bob Dylan, Petty was an old soul who happened to get his break a little later than most of his contemporaries. With the advent of the CD, though, Petty decided to have some fun when working in the new medium for the first time.
Whenever Petty put out any product, he would do it on his terms. From the first time he released a record, Petty was looking to make something a lot more thoughtful than the traditional throwaway rock that he heard on the radio, only to get caught up in legal disputes when he went to put out his magnum opus Damn the Torpedoes.
Not looking to see the copyright to his songs stolen from under his nose, Petty decided to go to war against his record company. After winning a lawsuit that got the rights to his songs back, Petty would go to bat for his fans once again when he found out that his label was trying to jack up the price of a record outside the reach of his fans.
While most artists would back down from such challenges, Petty walked away looking like a true rock and roll outlaw, never willing to back down from anyone who stood in the way of his music and his fans. After years of different legal headaches and personal trauma, though, Petty finally found himself in the headspace of his life when making his solo debut, Full Moon Fever.
Working alongside fellow Traveling Wilbury, Jeff Lynne, Petty assembled the most organic collection of songs he had ever released. Although most of his audience would get the new album on vinyl, Petty was fascinated with what could happen with the new invention of compact discs.
Since the medium could hold more music, Petty thought it would be a good idea to make little tweaks to how the record would flow. To simulate the sound of a vinyl record, Petty would eventually include a piece of dead air right in the middle of the album to capture the silence when fans flip the record over on a turntable.
As the ending of ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’ fades into the background, Petty can speak dryly as various barnyard noises play out, saying, “Hello CD listeners. We have come to the point in this album where those listening on cassettes or records will have to stand – up or sit down – and turn over the record or tape. In fairness to those listeners, we will now take a few seconds before we begin side 2”.
While the track’s ending was meant to be a gimmick during recording, it wouldn’t be the last time Petty flirted with the idea. On the next album, Into The Great Wide Open, Petty saved his interruption for further down the record, including a gap where Petty is heard saying, “What’s in here?” before transitioning into the song ‘You and I Will Meet Again’.
Even though Petty would have a cheeky relationship with the CD format, he would take full advantage of it in his 1990s material, creating masterpieces that stretched beyond the vinyl limitations on Wildflowers. These strange artefacts may not have that much artistic value, but it’s worth it to see the more laid-back side of what Petty and Lynne were up to in the recording studio.
