The perfect Song Series Part II

I will start all my blogs in the Perfect Song Series with this disclaimer. 

• This post aims to share ten songs with you. This is just the second song, as my list is yet to be completed. Let me be clear. The chosen songs may not be my favorite songs, but they are perfect. Whether you or I like the band or not. 

The Perfect song I chose was: "I Won't back down," which is on 

"Tom Petty's" first solo album, Full moon fever. 

 Since most of the band played on "Full Moon Fever," I will also talk about The Heartbreakers. Because without the Heartbreakers, there would have been no Tom Petty Solo Album. So I will start from the beginning. 

The band was initially lumped in with the New Wave movement.    

This made sense at the time because any band doing something new and different was considered "New Wave," But the truth was they were a roots rock band.  

  Tom Petty channeled Roger McGuinn of "The Byrds" and

 "Neil Young," as well as many other classic Singer-Songwriters, and since"Tom Petty" was a fantastic songwriter, I believe he should be spoken of in the same sentences as "Bruce Springsteen," "Neil Young," and "Bob Dylan" and many more that's why I believe many of his songs are classics and will stand the test of time. I will now go through the many reasons why I think that this is a perfect pop song.

• The length of the song: is 3:58. Why does the length matter, you may ask. Well. Here is my answer. For any song longer than 4 minutes, the listener may lose interest but more importantly. The song's length shows that there are no wasted words in the song. What do I mean by that? Some pieces are longer, and although they may tell a complete story, They need more time to get to the point. Great songwriters give you a beginning, middle, and end but get straight to the point.

• The opening line is the most crucial part of the song, this 5-10 seconds is either where you grab the listener or lose the listener, think about a conversation you've had with someone. You're thinking to yourself, when is this person going to get to the point. Well, Tom Petty does that by the song's eight-second mark. He also starts the song with the Chorus line, " I Won't Back Down." Which is a strong message and attention-grabbing

•   Power and Perseverance:  This song says what so many feel or want to feel, and that is, I don't care what life throws at me; that's not gonna stop me. I will persevere no matter what. That is why it makes my perfect song list; as I type this, all I can think of is how excited, and strong I feel to do my thing, whatever that may be, in this case, writing this blog.
• The Guitar Sound: "Tom Petty" Channels the sound of Roger McGuinn and The Byrds by playing a 12-string Rickenbacker Guitar ( I mention the Rickenbacker guitar specifically because they were made famous by "The Beatles"). He is one of the few guitar players who have taken the 12-string guitar and made it their own.  

• The Guitar Solo: One of the things I love most about Tom Petty's lead Guitarist Mike Campbell is that he doesn't overplay a solo. He uses it as an opportunity to build upon the song. What do I mean by that? He's not Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page. He doesn't play like a guitar hero who must let everyone know how great he is. He plays just the right notes, making him an amazing guitar player; every note he plays is in service of the song. Which makes him a guitar hero to me

•  The Producer: "Jeff Lynne" of "The Electric light Orchestra" AKA "ELO."

He is one of the most famous producers and songwriters of our time: He is not a household name, but he is one of the few producers that choose to build a song from the ground up. 

 What does that mean? He doesn't bring the band in and lets them play. He starts with the drum Track, then the bass track, then the guitar tracks, then the solo, then the vocals. He records in a particular style, which is as close to perfection as a song can be recorded, even though I find it very tedious. But as they say, "the proof is in the Pudding."

• Honorable mentions: George Harrison of The Beatles sang all the harmonies on the record, which is Pretty cool. This shows how respected he was amongst his peers, which spans many From The 1950's all the way up till today. "Sam Smith's" song "Stay With Me" was so similar to a Tom Petty song that they share a co-writing credit. They say the great music of the future comes from the past. I agree with that statement that is why I am sharing it with you. But a perfect song like this one is timeless.

Do you think this is a perfect song?