I love the way Stan Lynch plays drums on Tom Petty albums, and when Howie Epstein came in to play bass on Long After Dark they really learned how to play off each other well, giving the songs a stronger base than on previous records.
Lynch gave a little more to Tom Petty's songs than he gets credit for. Petty is an incredible songwriter, but Lynch really gave the songs their drive, keeping momentum rolling. Even songs that weren't really single-worthy still play well even today because Lynch and Epstein really kept things pushing forward. Finding Out is one of the best songs on this record, and it has little to do with Petty's vocals and a lot to do with the band just killing it for four minutes.
Lynch seemed to have a good ear for when to throw himself around the kit and when to hold back. Hell, the beat on You Got Lucky never strays for the whole song, but some well timed crash hits bring in all the dynamic that was needed.
For a guy who, at the time, looked like a pretty big cheeseball he sure played the drums like a champion.
Mullets aside, the albums Stan Lynch did with Tom Petty will probably be listened to for hundreds of years. Sure Tom Petty's songs were great, but his music wouldn't last if he hadn't put together such a shit hot band. Every element was taken care of, and when you don't have to worry about your backing band you can really focus on the songs a lot better.
If you're reading this and thinking Tom Petty was a lame-o just remember that when Stan Lynch left Tom Petty's band the first guy to cover for him was Dave Grohl, and not post-Nirvana-Kurts-gone-I-can-be-free Dave Grohl, but 1993 era, long haired, I-need-to-make-sure-everything-I-do-is-cool Dave Grohl, which was a much harder Dave Grohl to convince. Here is video proof.
And here is some video of Stan Lynch rockin' the shit.
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