Something In The Air

You have to hear the Thunderclap Newman version to get a feel for the staccato piano in it. Also, Petty leaves out the lines, "Hand out the arms and ammo, we're going to blast our way through here." Although violent in its imagery, this lyric more accurately reflects the 60s, with Vietnam, the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK; the violence found in anti-war groups like the Weather Underground, Dewey Canyon III, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and the Black Panthers.

I love this song. I first heard in the movie Kingpin and had no idea who sang, but a stumbled upon it later while listening to random Tom Petty songs.

This isnt a Tom Petty song...this was Thunderclap Newman...nice song nonetheless.

It is a Tom Petty song. That is a lie.

No, it's a Thunderclap Newman song. Petty did a cover of it years after its original release. I prefer the Thunderclap Newman version, personally, but Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers are far better all around.

Yeah Thnderclap Newman's original version was good, and Tom Petty made an equal match! Great cover

I dig this song, seems really Beatles-inspired both lyrically and musically. I've yet to hear the original version, but Tom's cover is dandy.

Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman was a friend of Pete Townshend's from art school, and it was Townshend who put the band Thunderclap Newman together to record songs by John 'Speedy' Keen, the Who's roadie. (Did all these people have nicknames?) Their version of Something In The Air was number one in the UK for three weeks in 1969 - I remember seeing them do it on Top of The Pops.