He duetted with Stevie Nicks. He’s pioneered stoner animation videos. He’s run the gamut of styles from pop to country rock to, well, just about everything. And he was a Wilbury. But, how well do we know the guy who wrote Mary Jane’s Last Dance, Refugee, American Girl, and countless other classic rock staples? Well, I don’t know him nearly at all. Hence the latest Listening Post. Let’s dive in.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers -1976 (Buy It)
From the opening skiffly, McCartney-esque “Rockin’ Around with You” all the way to the closer, American Girl, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers is the kind of debut that wears its influences on it’s sleeve. There’s easy Doobie Brothers groove (Breakdown), the aforemetioned Beatles Pop (Rockin’), there’s a touch of Springsteen (Hometown Blues, The Wild One;Forever) and more. Is Tom Petty the American Elvis Costello? From this album one might think so.
The album starts off strong and, to be honest, could be the soundtrack for any weekend, parents’ basement, lights out makeout session. It’s got that Freaks and Geeks timelessness without ever sounding dated.
And American Girl? I gotta be honest. I forgot that song was over 30 years old. I really could have pegged that song as a latter day entry. Shows what I know. Even though it has been in numerous soundtracks, like Fast Times, it still sounds fresh and timeless.
Anything That’s Rock and Roll was a minor hit in England. And why not? It’s like an Americanized Bay City Rollers or The Sweet.
And I’ve gotta say, that little backup on American Girl “Make it last all night” has Cheap Trick written all over it.
The record gets a little too Power Poppy for my taste around the middle, and really grinds down to a crawl around Mystery Men & Luna, but at 30 minutes, it really doesn’t over stay it’s welcome.
Grade A-
A Side: Breakdown, American Girl
BlindSide: Rockin’ Around with You,
DownSide: Fooled Again (I Don’t Like It) ed.note: I’ll say.
Yes, that album was really well done, and "American Girl" is by far my favorite of his work ("Rockin' Around with You" is close). Just not a fan of the man or the rest of his work after this album, generally. I was the third person ever to interview him back in 1976, and saw him play both CBGB and the Bottom Line (opening for Roger McGuinn). The whole sordid interview is here: ffanzeen.blogspot.com.
If you read the rest of the Listening Posts you'll see that I'm not the biggest Petty fan, either. I was open to it. But he just isn't that interesting. I'm reading your interview now. What's so intriguing is that, when Damn the Torpedos came out he sort of fell into the new wave category for a short while. Giving him credibility as cutting edge when he's really no more than a roots rocker.
I'll be checking out the rest of your blog. It's hard to find bloggers that write about rock instead of just Indie/twee/modern folk/alt country.