Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers CD

The band's gold-certified self-titled debut album, originally released in 1976, features such classic rock staples as 'American Girl', 'Breakdown', 'Rockin' Around (With You)' and more! Expanded & remastered. 2002.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Mike Campbell (guitar); Ron Blair (cello, bass); Benmont Tench (piano, organ); Stan Lynch (drums).
Recorded at the Shelter Studio, Hollywood, California. Originally released on Shelter (52006). Includes liner notes by Bill Flanagan.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
At the time Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' debut was released in 1976, they were fresh enough to almost be considered punk. They weren't as reckless or visionary as the Ramones, but they shared a similar love for pure '60s rock and, for the Heartbreakers, that meant embracing the Byrds as much as the Stones. And that's pretty much what this album is -- tuneful jangle balanced by a tough garage swagger. At times, the attitude and the sound override the songwriting, but that's alright, since the slight songs ("Anything That's Rock 'N' Roll," to pick a random example) are still infused with spirit and an appealing surface. Petty & the Heartbreakers feel underground on this album, at least to the extent that power pop was underground in 1976; with Dwight Twilley providing backing vocals for "Strangered in the Night," the similarities between the two bands (adherence to pop hooks and melodies, love of guitars) become apparent. Petty wound up eclipsing Twilley because he rocked harder, something that's evident throughout this record. Take the closer "American Girl" -- it's a Byrds song by any other name, but he pushed the Heartbreakers to treat it as a rock & roll song, not as something delicate. There are times where the album starts to drift, especially on the second side, but the highlights -- "Rockin' Around (With You)," "Hometown Blues," "The Wild One, Forever," the AOR staples "Breakdown" and "American Girl" -- still illustrate how refreshing Petty & the Heartbreakers sounded in 1976. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The debut of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers came at a crucial time in American rock & roll history. Punk hadn't hit yet, and bloated rock dinosaurs like Bad Company and their ilk were still making life miserable for real rock & rollers. All the first generation roots-rock bands were gone. Petty's appearance marked the return of pure, unpretentious rock & roll that wasn't afraid to wear its '60s influences on its sleeve. The band's eponymous first album is full of Byrdsian ringing guitars, Dylan/McGuinn-style drawling vocals and pure pop hooks of the kind that hadn't been heard since the first Big Star album (and how many people heard Big Star at the time?). Petty also proved himself to be a world class pop songsmith on instant classics like "American Girl" and "Breakdown."

Q (9/91) - 3 Stars - Good - "...two stand-outs ("Breakdown" & "American Girl")..."
Uncut (8/02, p.114) - 5 out of 5 - "...Innocently infusing Southern psychedelia with a shot of poppy, punkish energy, Petty's debut was one of the 1976/7's ubiquitous LPs..."