The ninth Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers studio album is also billed as "Songs and Music from the Motion Picture She's the One," written and directed by Edward Burns (The Brothers McMullen). While modern pop soundtracks rarely jibe with the onscreen action, Petty and the boys have come up with a companion piece truly in sync with Burns's romantic comedy about rocky relationships. But most of these tunes are no laughing matter. In one song a chronic loser gripes about being "overdue for a dream come true," while another poor sap throws a former girlfriend a seriously bitter parting punch: "I hope you never fall in love with somebody like you."
Sure, Petty has crossed this terrain before, but pouty—and just plain old bitchy on "Zero from Outer Space"—becomes him. And for the first time since the 1989 release Full Moon Fever, he and the Heartbreakers rough up their pastoral rock, giving that stately southern accent a sloppier, more rootsy twang. (Now if he'd only give those clichéd harmonica solos a rest.)
Listening to "Walls (Circus)" and "Climb That Hill," the scrappiest tunes of the bunch, gives one the tipsy thrill of holing up in some honky-tonk where Jack Daniel's is king, country and western rocks the jukebox, and misery loves company. (Warner Bros.)
Finn Brothers
The musical bloodlines of New Zealander brothers Neil and Tim Finn are as pure as the infectious pop they've produced in their previous bands Split Enz and Crowded House. The Finns once surfed new-wave charts with airy alternative hits such as "I Got You" (Split Enz) and "Don't Dream It's Over" (Crowded House). Three years after the release of their 1991 Crowded House collaboration, Woodface, Neil and his elder sibling spent six weeks in Polynesia, where they began writing Finn Brothers' 11 songs. The relaxed tracks sound as if they were performed on an Auckland back porch. And the Finns' low-fi recording technique creates an intimacy that suits introspective songs like "Only Talking Sense" and "Eyes of the World."
On "Last Day of June," a lament about a lost paradise, Neil sounds as if he's channeling John Lennon. And "Mood Swinging Man" is a touching tough-love tribute to the Finn brothers' father.
Missing here are the high-gloss production values that helped give the Finns' Crowded House and Split Enz albums their brilliance. But by opting for passion, the brothers have achieved a lazy elegance that reminds us pop doesn't have to be polished to shine. (Discovery)
Mickey Hart
On his first record following the death of Jerry Garcia, the ex-Grateful Dead drummer follows up his Grammy-winning 1991 Planet Drum release with this cacophonous celebration of world-beat music, stirring percussive interplay and dulcet vocals. Before going into the studio, Hart provided Dead lyricist Robert Hunter with raw rhythm tracks and, aided by a computer, gave the songs their sonic structure. But it's a female British a cappella group, the Mint Juleps, that gives the global funkfest "Where Love Goes (Sito)" and the jaunty, playful "The Sandman" (with Bob Weir on guitar) depth and resonance. Hart does a spoken-word rap to the sweetly naive "Down the Road," in which he lumps Jack Kennedy and Garcia together in a touching song about the spiritual presence of those long gone. It's a mite corny, but Hart's message is clear: There are no sad endings in the realm of the Dead, just life-affirming new beginnings. (Rykodisc)
CHAOS AND DISORDER
Like Charles and Diana, the pop royal known by the strange glyph above is officially ending a long, unhappy union. In his case, the artist many of his fans will always insist on calling Prince is bowing out of an 18-year relationship with Warner Bros. Records. In lieu of leaking divorce papers, Prince, who has claimed that the label was lax in promoting his career and appeared in public with the word Slave scrawled across his face in protest, delivers this maddening swan song of original material for Warner. And in doing so he makes no bones about his raid-the-vaults strategy. ("Originally intended 4 private use only," he writes in the CD liner notes.) But much of this effort is clearly not intended for public consumption.
During his purple reign, the Symbol Man made some of the most blindingly brilliant (see 1999 and Sign "o" the Times) records of the '80s. But his output in the '90s has produced more misses than hits, which may or may not be related to his ongoing disputes with his record label.
Unquestionably there are flashes of greatness here, including the sinewy 12-bar romp "Zannalee," wherein the artist coaxes the same kind of unbridled passion from his guitar that Hendrix did. And "I Rock, Therefore I Am" conjures the hyped-up funk from the singer's early days. But the disc fades into half-baked, gauzy pretentiousness not befitting the Prince of old. Fans can only hope that his newfound contractual freedom will rekindle his artistic fire and, dare we hope, signal a return to a pronounceable name. (Warner Bros.)
>Lyle Lovett
THE LONE STAR LIKES IT THAT WAY
Lyle Lovett had it good: a growing reputation as one of the finest singer-songwriters around and a string of albums on which he'd gradually broadened his musical palette to include country, R & B, gospel and big band. Then came Julia Roberts. And all the well-honed talent, wit and style were eclipsed: Now he was seen as the geek that the beautiful movie star had unaccountably married in 1993.
"All that stuff was extraordinary and very hard for me to process," the performer says of the attention paid to the whirlwind relationship, which ended when the couple separated more than a year ago. But Lovett—a courtly Texas gentleman with a strong sense of who he is—survived. He's back now with a new, critically lauded release, The Road to Ensenada (Curb/MCA), and seems happy with his music, his life, even the state of his relationship with Roberts.
Do you and Julia stay in touch?
We are friends. We really are. We see each other occasionally, when we can.
One of the songs on your new album is titled "Fiona," which is Julia's middle name. Are any of the tunes about her?
I just liked the sound of the name. I'll just say that I've always written songs about relationships. My last album featured all songs written before 1986, and there was speculation that those were about her too. But that's fine. I'm not offended by that. If anybody knew the real story, they'd probably be disappointed.
While married to Julia, you took a lot of flak for your looks. Did that bother you?
There was a piece in Newsweek a while back, and they used a picture of Denzel Washington as an example of what people find attractive, and they used my picture as an example of what people find unattractive. I thought, "My God, this is like having your picture next to the definition of 'ugly' in the dictionary!" They rearranged my face with a computer, and I have to say, the new me wasn't bad.
Is the old adage that misery is good for art true in your case?
I agree it's easier to write about being unhappy than it is to write about being happy. And I'm happy right now. And I'm not writing a thing.
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