![]() ![]() ![]() This sad little number from 1994’s Wildflowers carries some of the same loose-limbed musical vibe found on the Full Moon Fever track “Yer So Bad.” Both songs are built on acoustic guitars and rapid chord changes, and both feature Petty telling touching little short stories in the shortest of strokes. But it’s hard to argue against the results of this majestic track about shattered American dreams and dreamers, with Roger McGuinn on backing vocals. Lynne produced 1991’s Into The Great Wide Open and chafed some of the band members with his insistence on multi-tracking and overdubbing in favor of a live-band approach. Still, the band knocks this weeper out of the park, with Petty writing typically lived-in lyrics about love and loss, and Mike Campbell providing just the right instrumental touch with the Japanese koto in the intro.Īfter Petty scored the biggest album of his career by collaborating with Jeff Lynne on Full Moon Fever, he decided to bring Lynne into the Heartbreakers mix. ![]() The title of the 1987 album Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) may have hit a bit too close to home to the Heartbreakers intra-band relationships at that time it’s no surprise that Petty’s next record would be his first solo release. Petty was running in stellar company at this point, which is why it’s not that surprising that three members of The Band contribute here: Robbie Robertson as producer, Garth Hudson on keyboards, and Richard Manuel on backing vocals. Hence the album is a bit disjointed, but the highs - including the title track, “Rebels,” and this benevolent closing slow song - are staggeringly great. Petty originally intended Southern Accents to be a kind of concept album, but it didn’t quite come to fruition, in part because the single “Don’t Come Around Here,” an outlier from the geographical theme, was too good to leave out. Nicks did come aboard to provide supporting vocals on Hard Promises, and the pair do a beautiful job bringing all of the hurt and wounded pride out of the lyrics. What many don’t know is that Petty was going to contribute this heart-tugging ballad to Nicks, but he thought too much of it and kept it for his own. Producer Jimmy Iovine hijacked the unreleased Heartbreakers track “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” for Stevie Nicks, turning it into a Number Three hit duet. As a result, this energetic strutter which is emblematic of Petty’s early efforts to squeeze the word “rock” into as many songs as possible, is a pretty important song in the band’s history, even if it rarely gets stateside radio play. This was the second single that Petty and the Heartbreakers released off their debut album, and it actually charted higher in Britain than warhorses “Breakdown” and “American Girl.” The band’s success in England gave them a much-needed boost when their home country was slow to come around. See Related Post: “5 More Reasons to Miss Tom Petty”ġ. Here are ten Tom Petty songs to know (on the chance you don’t know them already). ![]() But you can also find plentiful examples of his artistry buried as album cuts. At least we have his peerless catalog of music by which to remember him, whether he was fronting the Heartbreakers, doing solo work, or connecting with old buddies (Mudcrutch and The Traveling Wilburys.) Petty was the rare rocker who could cross over to the pop charts (sixteen Top 40 singles) without seeming to sell out. He was an amazingly consistent presence on the music scene, one who always seemed to be in the mix whether releasing new music or staging massively successful tours. Most rock and roll fans are likely still trying to wrap their heads around the death of Tom Petty. ![]()
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