Amazon.com: He's sold millions of albums, filled arenas, and hobnobbed with George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison, but Tom Petty's driving heartland rock has often been taken for granted by the same critics who hail John Mellencamp as a genius. Greatest Hits is an airtight argument for Petty's own greatness. Starting with "American Girl," the rollicking, Byrds-inspired single from Petty's first album in 1976, this compilation presents a chronological overview of the guitarist-vocalist's career with and without the Heartbreakers, also chronically underrated as one of today's best bands. Every one of the 16 older tracks is a well-crafted gem, full of solid guitar hooks ("Here Comes My Girl"), arresting images ("Don't Come Around Here No More") and simple but poetic lyrics ("The Waiting").
Petty isn't an innovator; he's a talented craftsman with impeccable taste and a strong sense of rock history, internalizing influences ranging from the Beatles' psychedelic masterpiece, Revolver, to the best of '70s punk. (It's interesting to remember that early efforts such as "Refugee" and "Don't Do Me Like That" first won Petty attention as a New Wave artist). With his Dylanesque vocals and chiming 12-string guitars, Petty is more often linked these days with the sounds of the '60s. But recent tunes such as "Learning to Fly" and "Into the Great Wide Open" are as smart, relevant and (dare I say) alternative as anything in MTV's Buzz Bin. --Jim DeRogatis
madaboutgoodmusic Tom Petty is a great artist. The Heartbreakers are a fantastic group. Together with their greatest hits...utterly the best CD for the devoted Fan!!!
Petty's Greats This cd includes the best of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.If you love his music then this is a "must have",for sure!
Go here for "Something In The Air" Tom Petty is the embodiment of a classic rocker. He and his band, The Heartbreakers, are in the same league as Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band or Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band. The personify a certain working class ethos and stuck to their roots, all while codifying their influences to a sound that became singularly theirs. In Petty's case, that was a love of sixties rock that revolved around The Byrds and The Rolling Stones, with the Heartbreakers adding inspired backing.
When the leather jacketed face of Tom Petty first smiled from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakersin 1977, his look and sparse, muscular backing had many prematurely lumping him into the punk camp. But discerning listeners caught on quick, with the chiming "American Girl" and the bluesy "Breakdown" becoming favorites. When You're Gonna Get It! arrived soon after, both the rocking "I Need To Know" and the hook-laden "Listen To Her Heart" flirted with the Top 40 and more eyes came to Petty's talent. "Listen" is an amazing confection, both chiming Byrds-ish guitar and muscular hook.
Even with these signs of greatness, it was Petty's third album that delivered the goods. Damn the Torpedoes remains a classic, the moment when Petty hit his stride as a songwriter and The Heartbreakers became more than the sum of their influences. Four songs from that album are here, the blistering "Refugee," the pleading "Don't Do Me Like That," along with the stellar "Here Comes My Girl" and "Even The Losers."
What followed his turn to super-stardom was the legendary price war with MCA, with the suits wanting to make Hard Promises a premium price release, and Petty demanding it be kept lower...to the point that he threatened to title the album 8.98. Petty won the battle and delivered and album that was stellar, and had a great single in "The Waiting." The real curiosity was that Petty gave up one of his best songs to Stevie Nicks, and their duet on "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" catapulted her solo "Bella Donna" album to number one.
Petty continued to make strong albums, but none in the classic range of "Torpedoes." Long After Dark was one of the most straight ahead rock albums he'd released, yet "You Got Lucky" one of the most new-wavey singles. There was the arty Southern Accents, which found the sitar-accented single "Don't Come Around Here No More" playing out in a deliciously psychedelic fashion (and the "Alice In Wonderland" inspired video). Then there was the rollicking and under-rated Let Me Up (I've Had Enough), with the Bob Dylan co-composition "Jamming Me."
Still, things were starting to feel like diminishing returns. That is, until Petty decided to try a solo album. The stripped down and back-to-basics Full Moon Fever re-certified Petty's greatness as a songwriter, and was as solid from start to finish as "Torpedoes." "Running Down a Dream" is as good a rocker as he's ever done, "I Won't Back Down" is an anthem that threw down a gauntlet (and became a post 9/11 rallying cry) and "Free Falling" could be Petty's best song ever. It was more acoustically based than his Heartbreakers albums, and set the tone for future solo albums like Wildflowers.
That success brought cloning when the band got back for Into the Great Wide Open, which is an OK album that followed a perfect one. Regardless, the creative juices still were flowing for "Learning To Fly" and the title track, which are more fully produced than the "Full Moon Fever" songs. It also brought Petty and the Heartbreakers to the end of their MCA tenure (roughly 2/3's of their history so far). This "Greatest Hits" is basically the same as one issues in 2008, the difference is that a remake of Thunderclap Newman's "Something In The Air" was replaced by "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" (and the great "Last Dance With Mary Jane" is still here). Given that this Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits is no longer listed as 'new,' this is a great place to get Tom Petty's singles in one solid swoop and get "Something."
Classic I've gotten into a bit of a classic rock phase and was looking for one CD to satisfy me. This was it. It has some of Petty's greatest hits and I love jammin' to it going down the road.
Nice greatest hits collection Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' music has been with us for a long time. Their first album came out in 1976, featuring songs such as "American Girl" and "Breakdown." Over time, the group's body of work expanded and included some classic songs. This CD, including many of their greatest hits, chronicles the career of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers nicely.
Some illustrative cuts:
"American Girl": Recorded in 1976. Petty's inimitable voice is in good form here. The band plays with a tight sound and a hard edge.
"Breakdown": This represents a softer sound, and the song is filled with poignant lyrics. One line comes to mind:
"It's alright if you love me; It's alright if you don't."
"Refugee": This is one of Tom Petty's iconic songs. The music is hard driving, Petty's voice is in good form, and he captures emotions as he sings.
"Don't Do Me Like That": Another signature song of Petty and the group. . . . Keyboards add a nice touch to the song. Signature lyrics:
"Someone's gonna tell you lies, Cut you down to size. Don't do me like that . . . . Well I love you, baby, Don't do me like that."
All in all, a nice slice of the greatest hits of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. I'm not someone deeply immersed in the music of this body of work, I concede, but, to twist what Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said of pornography: "I can't define great music, but I know it when I hear it."
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