Tag Archives: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

by

Song of the Day #1,208: ‘Jammin’ Me’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty followed Southern Accents two years later with 1987’s Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough), an album that has been eclipsed by the records that preceded and followed it.

It’s funny how Tom Petty has recorded four or five records I count among my very favorites but four or five others that I don’t know at all. Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) is a complete mystery to me. That’s not surprising, considering it’s the one album in Petty’s early catalog that isn’t represented on his greatest hits record. I guess Petty doesn’t find it very memorable himself.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #1,207: ‘Rebels’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Jumping back into the Tom Petty theme weeks, we arrive at 1985’s Southern Accents. This is the second Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers album I consider a classic (the first being Damn the Torpedoes).

It’s not as well-regarded by Petty or the band, who disagreed about the direction of the record. It was intended to be a concept album about the south but the inclusion of several songs (including the hit ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More’) diluted the theme. Tempers rose during the recording and production process to the point that Petty shattered his hand punching a wall during the mixing of one track (today’s SOTD, in fact).

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #1,197: ‘You Got Lucky’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty was really churning out albums in the late 70s and early 80s. His next album came out just a year after Hard Promises.

1982’s Long After Dark is the fifth straight Petty album to tread the same ground — short, muscular songs in what had become the Heartbreakers’ signature sound (I’ll borrow AllMusic.com’s The Byrds-meet-The Stones description again).

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #1,196: ‘The Waiting’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty followed up his breakthrough, Damn the Torpedoes, two years later with 1981’s Hard Promises.

This album is best known for its role in a feud Petty waged against the recording industry. MCA Records wanted to charge $9.98 for the record, a dollar more than the usual price thanks to Petty’s star status. Petty fought the increase and delayed the album’s release. Eventually the studio relented and skipped the price hike.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #1,195: ‘Refugee’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

1979’s Damn the Torpedoes was Tom Petty’s first bona fide classic (but not his last).

Its nine songs show Petty at the top of his game — from the spoken-word verses of the pleading, Byrds-like ‘Here Comes My Girl’ to the Eagles-esque (but better!) balladry of ‘Lousiana Rain.’ The album doesn’t contain a weak moment and it’s hard to pick a favorite.

I love the blistering kiss-off ‘What Are You Doing In My Life?’ as much as the anthemic ‘Even the Losers,’ the jaunty ‘Don’t Do Me Like the That’ as much as the rave-up ‘Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid).’ This is a greatest hits record masquerading as a studio album.

Continue reading →