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Square One: An Acoustic Tribute to Tom Petty

by Nick Swan

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Linda Bryant
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sheriann
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1.
You Don't Know How it Feels 04:26
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2.
Down South 03:24
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3.
Yer So Bad 03:02
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4.
Free Fallin 04:41
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5.
Walls 03:16
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6.
Wildflowers 03:12
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7.
Learning to Fly 04:14
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8.
Square One 03:38
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9.
The Waiting 03:53
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10.
Southern Accents 04:22
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11.
Trailer 03:40
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12.
Face in the Crowd 03:39
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13.
Won't Back Down 03:07
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14.
Mary Jane's Last Dance 05:05
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15.
American Girl 03:32
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about

I’ve been known to say - prior to his passing - that Tom Petty is my spirit animal. He’s long been one of my biggest influences, and that influence has only grown over time. In the past year, however, it seems like I’ve been getting compared to him more often as the country emerged from pandemic quarantine. I’ve had a few drunk tourists swear that I’m him, reincarnated. Math aside, I understand the point. While I by no means consider myself a carbon copy of the man, we do share plenty of similarities, especially vocally. It’s also been suggested that I do a tribute to him, which is exactly what I set out to do here.

What I present to you here is an acoustic tribute to Thomas Earl Petty, featuring 15 of my favorite songs he wrote over the course of his fruitful life. He wrote so many great songs that narrowing it down to 15 was no easy task. In fact, it quickly became clear that this would likely have to be a two-part tribute. I recorded 21 songs in all, saving 6 to be used on a second volume. What I tried to do with this first volume was strike a nice balance between Petty’s greatest hits and deeper cuts that are personal favorites of mine. The songs that didn’t make the cut aren’t inferior to what’s here. But I didn’t want to overwhelm anyone all at once, so cuts had to be made.

Some of these songs - Mary Jane, Free Fallin, Learning to Fly, etc. - I’ve been performing in bands and on my own since my teens. They are well-worn classics that can’t not be here. Others, like Walls and Trailer, are some of my personal favorites that simply had to be included. But there’s a lot of those, and hence why I’m already looking forward to recording the rest next year. I decided to call the album, “Square One,” in part because it’s a great acoustic song by him, but also because I find myself back at square one, as well, trying to rebuild my music career in my hometown after a major pandemic.

One small point - this is a tribute to Tom Petty, not Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. While I am a major Heartbreakers fan, I noticed that there are several tribute acts performing as the entire band. However, to my knowledge there is no singular acoustic tribute to Tom Petty, the artist and songwriter. This is something I feel that I’m uniquely qualified to do, and in addition to these recordings I would like to play live shows as an acoustic tribute to Petty, whether solo or with a small group.

This recording, of course, is all me. Normally, I like to put my own spin on covers. But with most of these songs, I didn’t stray too far from the original arrangement and production. Why mess with perfection? It felt like the most natural thing in the world to sing these songs, and indeed this entire album was recorded fairly quickly with minimal overdubs. Petty’s style fits me like a glove, and it was really a joy to explore these songs on a deeper level. I still listen to his SiriusXM station often, including his own program, Buried Treasure. Hearing his voice is like listening to an old friend who has always been here. His passing left a gaping hole in the world of music, and perhaps not coincidentally the world hasn’t really felt right since he left it. This is a small effort on my part to try to put some of that soul back into the world, and hopefully make some of his fans happy in the process. ‘Cause if you keep a little soul, it doesn’t really matter anymore…

credits

released November 5, 2021

Nick Swan - all guitars and vocals, mixing and mastering

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Nick Swan Knoxville, Tennessee

Tennessee Troubadour. Playing a mix of America's best roots music, from blues & folk to classic rock & 90s grunge.

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