The Last DJ

AMG Review of The Last DJ

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

Tom Petty has always battled corporations and the music industry -- fighting for lower retail prices for Hard Promises, complaining about videos, and always fighting for old-school, artist-first '60s ock aesthetics. There's a lot to admire about this stance, especially since he's essentially right about corporations having too much of a stranglehold on pop music. Not every song on the record is about the death of ock & roll and the evils that corporations do, but it sure feels that way, since it begins with the one-two punch of "The Last DJ" and "Money Becomes King." The former is a bitter lament for the loss of free thought in pop culture, using the DJ as a truth-telling seer; the latter is a rewrite of "Into the Great Wide Open," all about a favorite artist who sells out. These front-loaded tracks obscure the lovely "Dreamville," the best song here.