Tom Petty Greatest Hits CD

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, guitars, keyboards); Benmobt Tench (vocals, keyboards); Howie Epstein (vocals, bass); Stan Lynch (vocals, drums); Mike Campbell (guitar, keyboards, bass).

Digitally remastered by Joe Gastwirt (Oceanview, Los Angeles, California).

In the 1970s and '80s, amid the rise of New Wave and synth pop, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers almost single-handedly brought old-school power-pop and garage-rock musical values into the mainstream. The roots-conscious Floridians are often regarded as "heartland rockers," and tunes like the jangling, Byrds-like "American Girl" certainly make a case for that appellation. At the same time, "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "You Got Lucky" eagerly expand that stylistic template with haunting atmospherics and neo-psychedelic touches.

GREATEST HITS offers a handy, hook-laden, single-disc summary of this great American band. It traverses the Heartbreakers' journey from raw, lean '70s enfants terribles to elder rock-&-roll statesmen. Conveniently, it also includes the two best Heartbreakers tunes never to grace one of their studio albums--"Mary Jane's Last Dance" and the Petty/Stevie Nicks duet, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."

Hailing from the state of Florida, singer-songwriter Tom Petty has come to epitomize a new rootsy style of California rock'n'roll. Rhythmically, the music harkens back to the basic crunch of the Rolling Stones and the dancing pop of the Beatles, while Petty's gravelly vocals and sing-song narrative style suggest roots in the folk-blues Americana of Bob Dylan.

Years before R.E.M. returned to the jangly, Rickenbacker-infected timbre of the Byrds, Petty's nasal delivery and bell-like mix of guitars and vocal harmonies gave new life to the atmospheric ballad style of Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and company. GREATEST HITS is evenly divided between material from Petty's mid-'70s/early '80s breakthrough and the more mature work he's been doing with producer Jeff Lynne since 1989's FULL MOON FEVER.

The craft and content of his songwriting has grown more relaxed and accomplished with each passing album, whether alone or in tandem with Lynne and long-time lead guitarist Mike Campbell. Thus we move from the hard-churning outsider's anthem of "Refugee" with Benmont Tench's pulsing Hammond organ (from 1979's DAMN THE TORPEDOES), to the moody Southern California metaphors of the transplanted rock exiles and doomed romantics who populate "Free Fallin'" and "Learning To Fly"--all examples of Petty's timeless, evocative songwriting.

Producers include: Rick Rubin, Jimmy Iovine, David A. Stewart, Mike Campbell, Jeff Lynne.

Personnel: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Mike Campbell (guitar, keyboards); Benmont Tench (keyboards, background vocals); Stan Lynch (drums, background vocals); Howie Epstein, Phil Seymour (background vocals).Spin (1/94, p.76) - Highly Recommended - "...Petty's always had a real ear for the cultural charms of new-Americana--its freeway overpasses, tattoos, and taco shops--which he brilliantly mythologized..."
Entertainment Weekly (11/19/93, p.92) - "...give Tom Petty his due...he's finally released a GREATEST HITS album that is just what it says it is..." - Rating: A-
Q (12/93, p.143) - 4 Stars - Excellent