Tag Archives: Tom Petty

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Song of the Day #1,193: ‘Breakdown’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

I’m not a big enough fan of Tom Petty. I own seven of his solo and Heartbreakers albums, plus two he recorded with other bands, but somehow that doesn’t feel like enough.

He has released eight albums that I don’t own. I’m familiar with his early work mostly through the hits, and no doubt those records contain lots of material just as worthy as the radio staples I love.

I wouldn’t dream of owning a handful of Elvis Costello albums and just the “hits” from the rest (in whatever sense Costello has actually had hits). I’m not equating Tom Petty with Elvis Costello, but they aren’t so far apart that the analogy is baseless.

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Song of the Day #966: ‘Yer So Bad’ – Tom Petty

Tom Petty’s 1989 Full Moon Fever was his first solo album and remains his one truly flawless effort. He has put out wonderful albums both on his own and with The Heartbreakers (Wildflowers and Southern Accents are particular favorites) but nothing quite as consistent and immediate as this one.

Full Moon Fever is like the Thriller of southern rock. It’s packed with hits (five of its singles reached the top five of Billboard’s rock chart, including three straight number ones), one hook-laden track flowing into the next for 43 minutes of pure bliss. Not only doesn’t it have a weak song, it doesn’t have a weak moment.

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Song of the Day #958: ‘Not Alone Anymore’ – Traveling Wilburys

In 1988, five musical legends (and good friends) joined forces to create what remains the finest “supergroup” ever formed.

That band was the Traveling Wilburys, comprised of Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and George Harrison. Their self-titled debut album, the only one they recorded with the full lineup, outshines much of the solo work released by the individual members.

The album is a mix of countrified folk rock that manages to play to the strengths of each Wilbury without lapsing into a series of solo performances. They sound throughout the record like a true band, supporting and enhancing each other’s turn at center stage.

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Song of the Day #907: ‘Running Man’s Bible’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Best Songs of 2010 – #10

OK, with the honorable mentions out of the way I now move on to my official top ten songs of 2010. I’ll count down ten through six this week and five through one next week, with an Elvis Costello weekend in between.

This list usually proves controversial so I’ll lay down the ground rules up front in hopes of preventing complaints down the road.

This is not a list of the best singles of the year… many of these songs were never released apart from the albums that contain them. This is not a list of songs that made a huge impact on radio or captured the cultural zeitgeist in 2010… I featured many of those tracks during my summer song series and that will have to do.

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Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Mojo

Some artists bounce back and forth between solo albums and albums with “the band,” and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. You can usually, but not always, tell when Bruce Springsteen is on his own or backed with the E-Street Band. Elvis Costello’s albums sound pretty much the same whether or not he credits The Attractions (or The Impostors) or headlines his albums himself.

Tom Petty with or without The Heartbreakers has always struck me as pretty much the same thing. Quick, Into the Great Wide Open… solo or Heartbreakers? Southern Accents? Full Moon Fever? Highway Companion? Wildflowers? The first two were Heartbreakers albums, the rest solo. But the style on all of them is pretty much interchangeable (not least because Petty tends to use the same musicians even when he goes “solo”).

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