Rolling Stone remembers Tom Petty

I checked in with Rolling Stone again because of its Tom Petty memorial issue. Well, that's a little misleading. In fact, I check in every issue because I'm a cheap sonuvagun who gets it from the liberry (hence me writing about this issue 6 weeks after it came out). But if I were looking at a mag rack, the Petty cover would have caught my eye.

This issue consists of two things: A Petty tribute and "The Photo Issue." Most of the regular features, even Random Notes and Reviews, are missing, though there is a back-page interview with Annie Leibovitz (who seemingly figures in about 75% of the Photo Issue portion). So if you like pictures, you might be in luck. If you like Petty, you might be in luck. Really, though, both sections were a little disappointing.

The photo collection was nice, but not spectacular, and we've seen many if not most a lot of times, and there wasn't a ton of added insight (nor much text). It's a continuation of the sort of scaled-down but drawn-out 50th anniversary celebration the mag is doing this year.

As for the Tom Petty story, well, it feels churlish to complain about a tribute story.  David Fricke knows his stuff, and he delivers a nice piece. I can't help but think he had to rush it a  bit, though. Rather than being an in-depth musical overview or the kind of cultural legacy piece that, say, a Mikail Gilmore does, this one focuses more on the fact that his peers thought he was a good dude.

And, hey, that's a cool thing and fun to read about. I just hoped for a little more depth, especially considering the lack of words in the rest of the issue. Also, Dhani Harrison is featured heavily in the Petty profile, quoted often. He has some great things to say, but is that another indication they had to crank this out quickly?

Overall, it's a fun but all-too-quick read and another reminder that while  Rolling Stone is still worth reading, it isn't often worth the cover price anymore.