The Last DJ

The Last DJ
Studio album by
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
ReleasedOctober 8, 2002 (2002-10-08)
Recorded2001–2002
StudioCello Studios, Hollywood, California
GenreHeartland rock
Length47:36
LabelWarner Bros.
Producer
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology
Anthology: Through the Years
(2000) 		The Last DJ
(2002) 		The Live Anthology
(2009)
Tom Petty chronology
Anthology: Through the Years
(2000) 		Highway Companion
(2006)
Singles from The Last DJ
  1. "The Last DJ"
    Released: September 23, 2002
  2. "Have Love Will Travel"
    Released: 2002
  3. "You and Me"
    Released: 2002

The Last DJ is the 11th studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The title track, "Money Becomes King", "Joe" and "Can't Stop the Sun" are all critical of greed in the music industry, which led to a song boycott by some radio stations.[1]

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 number 9 on the Billboard 200, aided by the single "The Last DJ", which peaked at number 22 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 2002. As of 2010, The Last DJ had sold 353,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[2]

The album marks the return of original Heartbreaker Ron Blair on bass guitar, 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.

The title track (which was the first single) and "Dreamville" were included on the compilation The Best of Everything.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic61/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Robert ChristgauC+[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[7]
Kludge9/10[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
PopMatters[10][4]
Q[4]
Rolling Stone[11]
Stylus MagazineD−[12]
Uncut[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Tom Petty except 8 and 12, co-written by Mike Campbell

No.TitleLength
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"2:56
9."You and Me"2:58
10."The Man Who Loves Women"2:53
11."Have Love Will Travel"4:05
12."Can't Stop the Sun"4:59

Personnel

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

  • Tom Petty – guitars, vocals, piano, ukulele, bass guitar 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 guitar 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
  • Ron Blair – bass guitar on "Lost Children" and "Can't Stop the Sun"
  • Steve Ferrone – drums

Additional musicians

Production

  • Mike Campbell – producer
  • Richard Dodd – recording engineer
  • George Drakoulias – producer
  • Ryan Hewitt – assistant engineer
  • Steve McGrath – demo engineer
  • Tom Petty – producer
  • Jim Scott – recording engineer
  • Ed Thacker – additional engineer

Charts

Chart performance for The Last DJ
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 54
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 44
US Billboard 200[17] 9

References

  1. ^ "The 10 most confrontational rock songs". faroutmagazine.co.uk. November 12, 2023.
  2. ^ McKnight, Connor. "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Announce New Album, Tour". billboard.com. February 25, 2010.
  3. ^ "The Best of Everything: The Definitive Career-Spanning Hits Collection 1976-2016 - Tom Petty, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  4. ^ a b c d "Critic Reviews for The Last DJ". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  5. ^ The Last DJ at AllMusic
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (April 22, 2003). "Not Hop, Stomp". The Village Voice. New York. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  7. ^ Weingarten, Marc (11 October 2002). "The Last DJ Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  8. ^ Menocal, Peter. "Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: The Last DJ". Kludge. Archived from the original on March 4, 2003. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  9. ^ Lewis, Randy (6 October 2002). "Jurassic 5's Power Surge". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  10. ^ Limmer, Seth M. (1 November 2002). "Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers: The Last DJ". PopMatters. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  11. ^ Kot, Greg (17 October 2002). "The Last DJ". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  12. ^ Hickman, Brett (1 September 2003). "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – The Last DJ – Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – The Last DJ" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – The Last DJ" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  15. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – The Last DJ". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  16. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – The Last DJ". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  17. ^ "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-04-06.