Disco de Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers: “Greatest Hits (2008)”

The first greatest hits collection by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers covering from 1977 to 1993 does omit some material, such as "Jammin' Me" from 1987's Let Me Up, but on the whole, serves to demonstrate their impact on the late 1970's through early 90's music scene. Key[]=original studio album.

Petty's first single, "American Girl" defined the sound he brought to American music. The title character was "raised on promises/she couldn't help thinking that there/was a little more to life." It also regained popularity as the song Buffalo Bill's victim was jamming to in Silence Of The Lambs. [Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers]

The downbeat "Breakdown" from the same album, is a statement of connection from a man to a woman.

"Listen To Her Heart" throws verbal punches at the wrong kind of man with designs for a girl, and that opening guitar is wonderful, especially as the drums kick in. Petty really socks it to me: "She's gonna listen to her heart/It's gonna tell her what to do/She might need a lot of loving/But she don't need you." [You're Gonna Get It]

The "is she free or isn't she free?" dilemma is explored in the rockingly engaging but poignant "I Need To Know": "I need to know(I need to know)/Because I don't know how long/I can hold on/And if your makin' me wait/If you're leadin' me on/I need to know(I need to know)." [You're Gonna Get It]

Tom Petty's signature tune, taken from Damn The Torpedoes, is hands-down my favourite. The narrator comforts a girl who's had a rough, tumble-down life and surmises "Somewhere, somehow, somebody must have/Kicked you around some/Tell me why you wanna lay there/Revel in your abandon" And the message in the chorus: "You see, you don't have to live like a Refugee."

The other three singles from that album are "Don't Do Me Like That," "Here Comes My Girl" and "Even The Losers."

Southern Accent's only big single, "Don't Come Around Here No More" which even has a snatch of sitar in the beginning is a funnily nasty song on fed-up love: "I've given up, stop. I've given up, stop./I've given up, stop. on waiting any longer/I've given up, on this love getting stronger." And the title tells the girl to well... don't come around here no more. It builds up to a raging guitar jam at the end.

The Rickenbacker guitar opening "The Waiting" and the chorus, where Petty sings "The waiting is the hardest part" after seeing all those "cards" really makes this a standout song. [Hard Promises]

The sole representative from 1982's Long After Dark, "You Got Lucky" is a dark brooding number punctuated by 80's New Wave keyboards.

There are three songs from his solo album Full Moon Fever, produced by ELO frontman Jeff Lynne and fellow Travelling Wilbury, which boosted Petty's flagging career as the 1980's were dying out. "I Won't Back Down" defines Petty's philosophy perfectly--"Well I know what's right, I got just one life/In a world that keeps on pushin' me around/But I'll stand my ground and I won't back down." And how can he, especially with backup from George Harrison's guitar? "Running Down A Dream" is the last thing Petty would do, and this rocking, cruising down the highway is a standout. The mid-paced, lazy-Sunday-afternoon feeling of "Free Fallin'" on LA life was the single that proved Petty was still radio-friendly material.

Jeff Lynne produced Into The Great Wide Open and his sound shows on the first single "Learning To Fly." The moral is told thus: "Well some say life will beat you down/Break your heart, steal your crown/So I started out for god knows where/But I guess I'll know when I get there." The title track is the story of a high-school dropout who makes it big in the music bigtime.

There are two new songs here, the slow "Mary Jane's Last Dance"--love that harmonica, and a cover of Thunderclap Newman's "Something In The Air," the song played at the end of The Magic Christian movie. As Petty revolutionized artistic control during his troubles with MCA, the song does fit him.

He's been going in and out of style, but he's guaranteed to raise a sneer...as his recent alt-rock tribute LP confirms, Tom Petty has straddled new wave attitude with classic rock heritage for nearly 25 years. He leads the Heartbreakers, one of rock's all-time best backing bands (guitarist Mike Campbell, drummer Stan Lynch and keyboardist Benmont Tench are American rock masters on their instruments) and has prolifically created some of the era's sturdiest music.

That music's first decade and a half, heard on this essential one-disc greatest hits set, was released by MCA Records after acquiring Petty's former label, ABC, in 1978. Petty's tempestous relationship with MCA was spent witholding an 1981 album to protest increasing prices, foolishly injuring himself in a studio accident, suffering bankruptsy and a damaging home fire. ("Into The Great Wide Open," is a first-rate parody of the business and still doesn't address it all.) This constant battling may have fueled the anger and desperation in classic singles like "Refugee," "I Won't Back Down," "Don't Come Around Here No More," and "You Got Lucky." These featured distinctive videos (Petty was an early MTV constant) and could as easily have played to tyrannical bosses as wayward lovers.

Many Petty songs (especially their relatively short length, all but five songs here run four minutes or less) show the influence of classic 60s rockers Petty loved and emulated: Del Shannon (for whom Petty produced an LP and invoked on the rave-up "Runnin' Down A Dream"), his adopted Traveling Wilbury brethren the Beatles (most obviously George Harrison's mid-60s work), Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison. Even during his awkward solo excursions, Petty graciously invited influences and bandmates for the ride. (Speaking of which, this is also outstanding driving music!)

"Greatest Hits" misses some key singles: 1984's "Rebels," "Woman In Love," his duets with Stevie Nicks on "Needles and Pins" and their 1981 duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." Most of these appear on "Through The Years," a 2CD set released concurrently - and ironically - with a similar best-of by ABC/MCA/Universal Music catalogue iconoclast Steely Dan. Nonetheless, "Greatest Hits" is a near-perfect introduction for new fans to Petty's workmanlike career. His music's old, strong roots outgrew waves old and New, influencing and appealing to two generations of rockers.

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."

You simply can't do much better than this collection by an all-time classic rock master. Tom Petty is one of the most innovative, prolific song writers and singers of, well, a couple of generations. This collection sums up his career through 1993 just about flawlessly with a chronological track order.

I could rave about each and every track here. I'll try to limit myself. "American Girl" is an ultimately catchy anthem that leads off the compliation and was his first big hit. "Breakdown" is a slower and kind of haunting track. "Don't Do Me Like That" was the first top 10 hit and is a classic, one of four tracks on the breakthrough album "Damn The Torpedos". For sure the inclusion of three tracks off of Tom's first album without the Heartbreakers--the undeniably classic "Full Moon Fever"--is a must. "Running Down a Dream" is one of the best tracks of the late '80s. "Into The Great Wide Open" is a really cool track from his 1991 album of the same title that pokes fun at making it in the music industry, including the need for a hit single. And for sure, "Mary Jane's Last Dance" is a new track on this collection that stands up in quality with all the others and was also a significant hit.

This album is a must-have for Tom Petty fans. It covers the meat of his career exceptionally well. Listening to this says it all about what a remarkable, unique artist he is. And for sure, his band the Heartbreakers deserve a lot of credit for the way the music is played behind him. This is a near-perfect summary of a fantastic career.

There's a disease that plagues almost every "Greatest Hits" and "Best of" collection out there. Doctors of music haven't given it a name yet, but it's out there. It's the disease in which there are hits missing from such compilation sets. Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers' Greatest Hits collection is no exception to the rule, but the roster of songs on here definitely makes up for it. Chronologically, every song on here is golden. The CD is only a skeleton of what this band had accomplished between 1976-1993. From American Girl to Mary Jane's Last Dance, this band has produced incredible songs from incredible albums (one of which is not represented here - 1987's Let Me Up I've Had Enough). My personal favorite song, Full Moon Fever's "A Face in the Crowd," is missing in action. If you want the hits, this is your CD to buy. Otherwise, I'm sure the record companies won't mind you buying the individual albums...