Shea's Blog

By Shea Stewart

Tom underappreciated?

Posted May 1, 2007

So Rolling Stone magazine just came out with its list of the Top 25 Underappreciated Artists. It's the proverbial who's who of cool bands and artists — Tom Waits, Cheap Trick, Warren Zevon, The Cars, Wilco — but coming in at No. 24 is Tom Petty.

Now, I like Tom Petty, respect him as an artist of integrity, but I would never say he is underappreciated. I appreciate the heck out of him. From "Breakdown" to "I Need To Know" to "A Woman in Love" to "Yer So Bad" to "Walls (Circus)," Petty has consistently pumped out quality songs on even better quality albums.

He's been a vocal critic of the music industry and has never allowed himself to become a slave to the machine, but underappreciated? I don't get it. Plus, he is a member of one of the greatest rock 'n' roll supergroups of all-time, the Traveling Wilburys.

He's been nominated for 17 Grammys and is an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. No way the great Tom Petty is underappreciated. No, if you don't appreciate Petty then you don't appreciate good music.

Now, Cheap Trick? Totally underappreciated. "Dream Police" is a rocking song but they are remembered as soft rockers because of "The Flame." Listen to "Surrender" for more evidence of their ability to rock.

Warren Zevon? Ditto. "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" rules. So do "Play It All Night Long," "Desperados Under the Eaves," "Carmelita" and many more. His last album is a lasting testament to his genius.

The Cars? The greatest new-wave group ever. Evah. Too many good songs to list here, but the tip of the iceberg is "My Best Friend's Girl," "You're All I've Got Tonight," "Dangerous Type," "Since You're Gone" and "Tonight She Comes."

Tom Waits? Along with Bob Dylan, a unique voice in the rock 'n' roll world. "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard," "Ol' '55," and "(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night" are a good start.

Others on the list — The Replacements, The New York Dolls, Dinosaur Jr. and even Alice Cooper — are definitely underappreciated and deserve a new audience to discover them — especially in this era of American Idol.

Of course, along with Petty, the lists contains several other "underappreciated" bands that I don't believe are terribly underappreciated. Bands such as The Band. Or Talking Heads. Or Sonic Youth. And Bob Seger. Seger? He falls into that most overrated group along with The Eagles and others, but that is another blog for another day.