Tom Petty Echo CD

1999 album, certified gold, featuring 15 tracks including the hit 'Room At The Top'. Warner Bros.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Mike Campbell (vocals, guitar, bass); Benmont Tench (piano, electric pianos, organ, Chamberlin, Clavinet); Howie Epstein (bass, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Scott Thurston (acoustic & electric guitars); Steve Ferrone (drums); Lenny Castro (percussion).
Producers: Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Rick Rubin.
Engineers: Mike Campbell, Richard Dodd, Dave Schiffman.
ECHO was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. "Room At The Top" was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.
Personnel: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar).
Although the stripped-down, immediate production of She's the One was reminiscent of Wildflowers, Tom Petty's forays into Lindsey Buckingham-inspired pop turned out to be a passing thing, since Echo, his first full-fledged record with the Heartbreakers since 1991's Into the Great Wide Open, is an extension of Wildflowers, at least in terms of sound and feel. The weird thing is, Echo sounds like a sinewy band recording, but its sentiment makes it feel like a solo record. To be blunt, much of Echo feels like a by-product of Petty's divorce from his wife of over 20 years; even the intoxicating hard rock of "Free Girl Now" has a layer of sorrow and regret. That weary melancholy is the bond that keeps Echo together, bridging the gap between the ballads and the rockers, providing an emotional touchstone that makes the record more than just another Petty record. Then again, the music on Echo manages to sound like every other Petty album, yet it stays fresh. Petty, Mike Campbell, and Rick Rubin (along with some help from George Drakoulias) keep the spirit of Wildflowers alive by keeping the production uncluttered, direct, and muscular -- which just reveals what a strong, versatile band the Heartbreakers are. And while there are no surprises, Petty once again delivers an album that works as a whole while having several clear highlights -- which is a pretty neat trick, actually. At times, the disc feels a little long, but all the pieces work individually and illustrate that Petty is the rare rocker who knows how to mature gracefully. Although the album is spiked with sadness and regret, nothing on the album feels forced or self-conscious, either lyrically or musically -- and he is one of the few rockers of his generation that can make such a claim. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
In his 24th year of recording, Tom Petty shows you can age gracefully in a medium known for its rampant ageism. ECHO finds Petty putting together a veiled confessional that refers indirectly to a recent separation from his wife. As always, Heartbreakers Mike Campbell (who helped out with production), Howie Epstein, and Ben Tench provide a solid musical bed for songs largely populated by female protagonists. "Free Girl Now" sounds an insistent message of liberation, "Lonesome" finds Petty using a forlorn twang to bid a heartfelt farewell to a lover who then goes on the road in search of adventure in "Swingin'" as harmonica and guitar steadily wail away.
In dealing with his interpersonal roadblocks, Petty remains a sturdy optimist. He picks himself up off the floor amidst a flurry of Campbell's sitar-flavored leads during "Won't Last Long," and bounces back from taking it on the chin on "Billy The Kid," which Tench peppers with swirling Clavinet and organ. Elsewhere, the native Floridian and his Heartbreakers go from impersonating the Byrds on "This One's For Me" to conjuring up pure rock & roll alchemy on the rollicking "About To Give Out" before wrapping things up with the bittersweet "One More Day, One More Night."

Rolling Stone (4/29/99, pp.65-66) - 1/2 Stars (out of 5) - "...ECHO puts the Heartbreakers back where they belong; in the garage and in front of the amplifier stacks....It's Petty and the Heartbreakers standing their ground with wise-ass grins and loud guitars..."
Entertainment Weekly (4/16/99, p.58) - "...Petty's patented formula reverberates on every solidly crafted tune with the comforting predictability we've come to expect....the predominant roots-pop aesthetic heer is of a piece with Petty and the Heartbreakers' best work..." - Rating: A-
New Music Monthly (7/99, p.54) - "...File ECHO somewhere between GREAT WIDE OPEN and 1985's SOUTHERN ACCENTS - a fine addition to the catalog....Petty's lyrics, wry as ever, celebrate the losers with empathy..."
Mojo (Publisher) (5/99, p.96) - "...Petty's music is its lurching adolescent cockiness, its continued thing for strange girls who just blew in from the valley, the seamlessness of its mating Old South and Plantation with sports utility vehicle and cell-phone..."