The Last DJ

The Last DJ
Studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Released	October 8, 2002
Recorded	2001–02 at Cello Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre	Heartland rock
Length	47:36
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, George Drakoulias
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology
Anthology: Through the Years (2000) The Last DJ (2002) The Live Anthology (2009)

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	61/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	C+[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A–[4]
Kludge	9/10[5]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
PopMatters	[7][1]
Q	[1]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Stylus Magazine	D–[9]
Uncut	[1]

The Last DJ is the eleventh studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The tracks "The Last DJ", "Money Becomes King", "Joe", and "Can't Stop the Sun" are attacks on the greediness of the music industry.

Although he first claimed that the album and title track were both works of fiction, Petty later admitted that both were inspired by Los Angeles DJ Jim Ladd,^[10] although he had already claimed this on Ladd's radio show, prior to the album's release.

A "limited edition" digipack version of the album was also released, including a DVD of music videos and other footage shot during the album's production.

The album reached #9 on the Billboard 200 aided by the single "The Last DJ" which hit #22 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks in 2002. As of 2010, The Last DJ has sold 353,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[11]

In an episode of The Simpsons titled "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation", Homer receives song-writing lessons from Tom Petty, and in the original airing the track "The Last DJ" can be heard playing over the radio in the final scene. The song was changed for syndication.

The song "Dreamville" is played at the end of the DVD that was released to commemorate the 2002 Anaheim Angels' World Series win.

The album also marks the return of original Heartbreaker Ron Blair on bass, replacing his own replacement, the ailing Howie Epstein. His return was late in the recording process however, and Petty and Campbell contribute most of the bass work themselves.

Track listing

All songs written by Tom Petty except where noted.

1. "The Last DJ" – 3:48
2. "Money Becomes King" – 5:10
3. "Dreamville" – 3:46
4. "Joe" – 3:15
5. "When a Kid Goes Bad" – 4:56
6. "Like a Diamond" – 4:32
7. "Lost Children" – 4:28
8. "Blue Sunday" (Petty, Mike Campbell) – 2:56
9. "You and Me" – 3:10
10. "The Man Who Loves Women" – 2:53
11. "Have Love Will Travel" – 4:05
12. "Can't Stop the Sun" (Petty, Campbell) – 4:59

Personnel

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

• Tom Petty – guitars, vocals, piano, ukulele, bass on "The Last DJ", "Money Becomes King", "Joe", "Like a Diamond", "Blue Sunday", "You and Me", and "Have Love Will Travel"
• Mike Campbell – guitars, bass on "Dreamville", "When A Kid Goes Bad", and "The Man Who Loves Women"
• Benmont Tench – piano, organ, various keyboards
• Scott Thurston – guitar, lap steel guitar, ukulele, background vocals
• Steve Ferrone – drums
• Ron Blair – bass on "Lost Children" and "Can't Stop The Sun"

Additional personnel

• Lenny Castro – percussion
• Lindsey Buckingham – background vocals on "The Man Who Loves Women"
• Jon Brion – orchestration, conductor

References

1. "Critic Reviews for The Last DJ". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
2. The Last DJ at AllMusic
3. Christgau, Robert (April 22, 2003). "Not Hop, Stomp". The Village Voice (New York). Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
4. Weingarten, Marc (11 October 2002). "The Last DJ Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
5. Menocal, Peter. "Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: The Last DJ". Kludge. Archived from the original on March 4, 2003. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
6. Lewis, Randy (6 October 2002). "Jurassic 5's Power Surge". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
7. Limmer, Seth M. (1 November 2002). "Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers: The Last DJ". PopMatters. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
8. Kot, Greg (17 October 2002). "The Last DJ". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
9. Hickman, Brett (1 September 2003). "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - The Last DJ - Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
10. "Songwriter Jim Wagner Calls Tom Petty A Liar - Undercover.fm News". Undercover.com.au. 2007-01-30. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
11. McKnight, Connor. "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Announce New Album, Tour". billboard.com. February 25, 2010.

External links

• The Last DJ at Metacritic