Disco de Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers: “Southern Accents”

I am shocked at the negative comments directed at this album. I have every Tom Petty album made and this one became my favorite after the very first time I listened to it. The album opens with "Rebels," a powerful song about Civil War feelings not yet gone. Tom then goes directly into another song about discontent, "It Ain't Nothin' to Me." Tom stays in a bitter and somber mood with "Don't Come Around Here No More," the biggest hit of the album. However, the best song on the album is next, with the classic title track, "Southern Accents." This song sounds penned from Faulkner, with vivid references to the pride Tom feels for his Southern roots. The rest of the songs are all solid, with "Dogs on the Run" balancing out the album as the last great song. Music is subjective and to each their own. But for my money, this is Tom Petty's masterpiece.

"Full Moon Fever" may have spawned bigger sales, but "Southern Accents" is Tom Petty's best album. With production help from Eurythmic Dave Stewart, Petty incorporates synthesizers into his sound as on the weird "Don't Come Around Here No More." What really shines is the songwriting, the best that he's ever done. "With "Rebels" and the title track, he finally acknowledges his Dixie roots, which is a welcome element. The song closes with two excellent songs, "Mary's New Car" and the horn-laden "The Best of Everything." This is truly Petty at his best.

Southern Accents is probably Tom Petty's most underrated album. What amazes me especially is how a song like "Don't Come Around Here No More" sounds totally different from anything else Petty has ever made, not to mention VERY freaky and haunting. On the flip side however, a song like "Rebels" is a lost gem. "Spike" is a very catchy song as well. An album that combines Petty's most memorable songwriting with his most underrated effort as far as radio exposure goes.

Southern Accents represents Tom Petty's homage to his Deep South roots. Sure, Petty is a Gainesville, FL native but that doesn't fool anyone. Gainesville is as much a part of the South as Atlanta, Montgomery and Mobile. This album is also a watershed moment for Petty and his bandmates as it embodies a burgeoning period of experimentation. It captures Petty in his rawest form when he is singing from his heart. You can hear the true-to-life lyrics of his past in "Rebels," "The Best of Everything" and especially the haunting "Southern Accents." The title track is the most personal of all of Petty's songs. In it, he speaks to his childhood and young adult years with the wisdom of a man that can acknowledge those aspects of his past. The collection of songs here is a big departure for the band. It is part country, part psychedelic (on the delicious mind candy that is "Don't Come Around Here No More"), part bluegrass rock and part funk. If you don't find something to please yourself on one track, wait a few minutes and things will change. New sounds abound as vocal distortion (It Ain't Nothin' To Me) and new instruments (big brass horn section and a sitar) make an impression. Some consider it an uneven effort but when taken in the context that it was supposed to be a double album, Southern Accents comes off as a "best of" collection of what Petty wanted to sing about. He selected these songs to give a wide palette of flavor to the listener and he succeeds as he transitions relatively flawlessly from the various styles on this excellent album.

An excellent disc, but one that is in dire need of a proper remaster to do it justice. The sound quality on this CD (which has been out for more than 20 years) sounds thin, because the technology was not available at the time to create the full, rich sound that is now standard.

If anyone is reading this who knows someone who knows someone who can get someone to get the job done, please, pass this message along: a REMASTERED version of this disc is URGENTLY NEEDED!!!