The Last DJ

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are America's band. Durable, resourceful, hard-working. likable and unpretentious, they rank among the most capable and classic rock bands of the last quarter century. They've mastered the idiom's fundamentals and digested its history while stretching themselves creatively and contributing to rock's legacy. (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame).

The first album in more than three years from Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, The Last DJ follows their 2002 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and marks the latest chapter in the never-ending story of one of rock's greatest bands.

Tom Petty is angry and disgusted with the music business and modern pop culture in general. The title track here tells of "the last human voice" that still holds integrity on the airwaves. "Money Becomes King" is the story of the rise and corruption of a rock star, which becomes a metaphor for the form itself. "Joe" is about a music CEO whose creed is: "You'll get to be famous / I get to be rich." Meanwhile, "When a Kid Goes Bad" and "Lost Children" are self-explanatory titles, describing the result of all this 21st-century ennui. There are great lyrics here, hitting everything from Britney to corporate sponsorship ("All the music gave me was a craving for lite beer"), but, musically, Petty and his band aren't quite up to their old standards. You can still hear classic rock references: "Money Becomes King" nicks the opening of the Turtles' "You Showed Me"; "When a Kid Goes Bad" is a pop variation on the Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." And the piano-driven "Like a Diamond"--the best track--is almost a Name That Tune fest. Elsewhere, it gets a little plodding at times, but as a document of a middle-aged rocker who's mad as hell, it's very entertaining. --Bill Holdship