Tom Petty Playback CD

PLAYBACK is a career retrospective spanning Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' stay at MCA Records. It includes a collection of Petty's best-known material, as well as tracks recorded by his first band, Mudcrutch, solo demos, 27 previously unreleased songs, B-sides and live cuts.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar); Mike Campbell (guitar); Benmont Tench (keyboards); Howie Epstein (bass); Stan Lynch (drums, background vocals).
Additional personnel includes: Lenny Kravitz (vocals, bass, drums); Stevie Nicks (vocals); Jimmy Iovine (spoken vocals); George Harrison (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Jeff Lynne (guitar, synthesizer, bass); Tom Leadon, David A. Stewart (guitar); Scott Thurston (slide guitar); Charlie Sousa, Marty Jourard (saxophone); Lee Thornburg (trumpet); Al Kooper (piano); Ron Blair, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Emory Gordy (bass); Randall Marsh, Jim Gordon (drums); Phil Jones, Chris Trujillo, George Drakoulias (percussion); The Bangles, Marilyn Martin (background vocals).
Producers include: Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Rick Rubin, Jeff Lynne, Jimmy Iovine.
Engineers include: Shelly Yakus, Don Smith, Richard Dodd.
Recorded between 1976 & 1993. Includes liner notes by Bill Flanagan.
All tracks have been digitally remastered using HDCD technology.
Personnel: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, harmonica, electric piano, bass guitar, cymbals, background vocals); Dave Stewart (vocals, guitar, sitar, synthesizer); Lenny Kravitz (vocals, bass guitar, drums); Stan Lynch (vocals, drums, percussion, waterphone, background vocals); Jeff Lynne (guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, electric piano, synthesizer, bass guitar, timpani, bells, background vocals); Scott Thurston (guitar, 6-string bass); Jeff Jourard, Tom Leadon (guitar); Ron Blair (acoustic guitar, bass guitar); George Harrison (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Jimmy Ripp, Robbie Blunt, Kevin Dukes (acoustic guitar); Tim Pierce (electric guitar); Gayle Levant (harp); Daniel Rothmuller (cello); Charlie Sousa (saxophone, bass guitar); Mike Turre, Harold Todd, Molly Duncan, Phil Kenzie (saxophone); Dave Plews, Lee Thornburg, Michael Hunter (trumpet); Jim Coile, William Bergman, Dick Braun, Kurt McGettrick, John Berry, Jr. (horns); Benmont Tench (piano, electric piano, harmonium, organ, synthesizer, hand claps, background vocals); Al Kooper (piano, organ); Alan Weidel (piano); Mitchell Froom (harpsichord); Garth Hudson (organ); Gary Chang, Scott Humphrey (synthesizer); Howie Epstein (bass guitar, background vocals); Donald "Duck" Dunn, Emory Gordy (bass guitar); Jim Keltner (drums, maracas, tambourine, percussion); Randall Marsh (drums, hand claps); Steve Ferrone (drums); Noah Shark (maracas); Bobbye Hall (tambourine); Chris Trujillo, George Drakoulias, Brad Dutz (percussion); Clydene Jackson, Sharon Celani, Debbi Peterson, Julia Waters, Marilyn Martin, Maxine Willard Waters, Michael Steele, Phil Seymour, Richard Dodd, Stevie Nicks, Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Don Smith ; Noah Shark; George Drakoulias; Max Reese ; Jim Scott; Mark Linett; Mike Shipley; Richard Dodd; Roger Linn; Shelly Yakus; Bill Bottrell.
Liner Note Author: Bill Flanagan.
Recording information: Cherokee Studios, Hollywoo; Leon Russell's Home, Encino, CA; Shelter Studios, Hollywood, CA; Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.
Photographers: Lynn Goldsmith; Annie Leibovitz; Robert Matheu; Martyn Atkins; Robert Sebree; Joel Bernstein.
Arranger: Jerry Hey.
Coming along in 1976, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were part of a movement back to basic, pop-oriented rock & roll that has proven to be the most lasting legacy of a decade otherwise given over to such stylistic flameouts as disco and punk. Never getting too mellow to be mistaken for a sensitive singer/songwriter or rocking too hard to be thought of as a heavy metallurgist, Petty spun out a series of mid-tempo hits patterned on Bob Dylan's classic BlSpin (2/96, pp.85-86) - 8 - Very Good - "...Petty's pure rock is always there as an option, shining up your backyard when you're sick and tired of trends and experiments....It's the voice of a rock pack-rat into everything from Elvis to Nirvana..."
Q (1/96, p.148) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...One of the most intuitively coherent of American heartland rock'n'roll groups....The Heartbreakers' back catalogue has strength, depth and longevity..."
Village Voice (2/20/96) - Tied for #7 on the Reissues list of Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.