Playback [Box set]

Tom Petty | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 20, 1995)
• Original Release Date: November 20, 1995
• Number of Discs: 6
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B000002OYT
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,267 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Tom Petty peaked early. In 1974, Petty's northern Florida bar band, Mudcrutch, moved to L.A., signed a deal with Shelter Records, and transformed itself into Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. By 1976, they had released their self-titled debut album, a seemingly impossible blend of the Byrds' jangly harmonies and Southern-California idealism with the Rolling Stones' bluesy punchiness and working-class grittiness. The rhythm section rocked; Mike Campbell was an effortlessly elegant guitarist, and Petty himself was a passionate singer. By the third album, 1979's Damn the Torpedoes, the band was creating such timeless rock & roll singles as "Refugee" and "Even the Losers." By 1980 their best music was behind them. The rhythms slackened; the melodies no longer grabbed; the performances lacked the same urgency. They played with admirable craft and sold millions of records, but they never again made music as powerful as their first three albums. This creates a serious imbalance in this box set, "Playback" (MCA), which fits 21 songs from the first four albums onto one overwhelming CD and then fills up another five CDs with 71 more tracks, which suffer by comparison. For the hardcore Petty fan, though, Playback is a treasure trove of obscurities. While most box sets adopt an 80/20 split between greatest hits and rarities, "Playback" is closer to 50/50, and includes B-sides never released in album form, rare Mudcrutch cuts, shelved studio tracks, and cover versions of songs by Jimmy Reed, Conway Twitty, and Elvis Presley. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

108 of 119 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A one-of-a-kind collection from a perfect American pop-rock band., November 12, 2005

By 

A Kid's Review - See all my reviews

This review is from: Playback (Audio CD)

Please note that I am not under 13, but did not feel like disclosing unvital information
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It's almost inevitable that a band with a long and successful career will release a box set. This six disc offering from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is their fulfillment of that prophecy.

Playback, released in 1995, chronicles the band's career on MCA records. Fifty songs from the Heartbreakers' 1976 self-titled debut through their 1993 Greatest hits compilation can be found here.

That's just the first three CDs. The fourth disc features fifteen B-sides of singles. The final two CDs contain previously unreleased tracks and studio outtakes, including some songs recorded by Mudcrutch- the first lineup that would become the Heartbreakers. There isn't much point in any further introduction, so I'll jump right into the music:
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Disc One - The Big Jangle

The Big Jangle covers the Heartbreakers first four albums: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (1976), You're Gonna Get It (1978), Damn the Torpedoes (1979), and Hard Promises (1981). The original lineup of the band is present, with original bassist Ron Blair and drummer Stan Lynch. Blair would leave the group following Hard Promises. Here we can find the Heartbreakers defining their sound as they clawed their way up from humble beginnings to the platinum success of Damn the Torpedoes.

Two classic rock staples, "Breakdown" and "American Girl" can be heard as the first two tracks of the box set. The slow and bluesy "Breakdown" is instantly recognizable as one of Petty's best songs, but it is the rocking "American Girl" that really shows the band doing what they do best. These are two of the best songs from an otherwise uninspired first album. "Hometown Blues" is a carryover from the Mudcrutch days. It features Duck Dunn on bass, who would later play with the Blues Brothers. "Anything That's Rock `N' Roll" is the song that landed the band on the charts in England, although I think it is a generic song. Regardless, it is an important track in Heartbreakers history.

On the band's second album, You're Gonna Get It, they found a formula that really worked for them. Abandoning the radio friendly pop sound of their debut, they open up and just plain rock on that album. You can hear damn near the whole album on this first disc of the box set. Two big FM radio hits from the album, "I Need to Know" and "Listen to Her Heart" can be found here. "I Need to Know" is one of my favorites by the Heartbreakers because of the fast guitars that give the song an almost punk rock feel. "Listen to Her Heart" is a fine song that features some great guitar interplay between Tom Petty and Mike Campbell.

"When the Time Comes" is one of the better songs from You're Gonna Get It. The straightforward rock beat of the song really showcases the attitude of the album. "Too Much Ain't Enough" is a great, fast rock song similar to "I Need to Know". The rhythm sounds really cool, and Mike Campbell adds one of his best guitar solos. "No Second Thoughts" is an interesting track because it is mostly acoustic guitars set to a drum loop. Tom Petty does is best Bob Dylan impression on this tune, because you can't understand a single word. Petty gives a strong vocal performance on "Baby's a Rock `N' Roller", but the poor production makes this song difficult for me to like.

Damn the Torpedoes produced four hit singles: "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl", "Even the Losers", and "Don't Do Me Like That". "Refugee" rivals "Free Fallin'" or "Mary Jane's Last Dance" as the band's most popular song. It's the in your face organ sound that really makes this song stand out and not the band's guitar playing. I've always liked "Here Comes My Girl" for its odd chord progression and the way Tom Petty speaks the lyrics over it. The song builds up to an incredible chorus and bridge section and is a testament to Petty's songwriting skills.

"Even the Losers" should be Petty's theme song. He always writes songs from the point of view of the underdog. On this song he speaks in a manner that anyone can easily understand. "Even the losers get lucky sometimes," he defiantly states in chorus as if to say that he didn't plan his career's success. One of the little known songs from Damn the Torpedoes is "Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)". This is a great song that definitely deserves a listen. The fifth song from that album that is heard on the box set is the keyboard driven "Don't Do Me Like That". This song misrepresents the attitude of the album, but is nonetheless a great song as well as being the Heartbreakers first big hit nationally.

One of my favorite Heartbreakers albums is Hard Promises. It takes the edge and feel of their previous two records and goes in a different direction. This was Petty's attempt to free himself of the formula that everyone expected him to follow. The result is an album full of music with balls. The only song that most people know from that album is the stellar "The Waiting". As the opening track on that album, it sets you up for an intense musical journey. An even better song is the heart wrenching "A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)". Petty gives one of his best vocal performances of his career, and the lyrics are some of his most honest:

"Time after time,
night after night
She would look up at me
And say she was lonely
I don't understand the world today
I don't understand what she needed
I gave her everything
She threw it all away on nothin'

She's a woman in love
And he's gonna break her heart to pieces
She don't wanna see
She's a Woman in love,
But it's not me"

Another fine song from Hard Promises is the haunting "Something Big". It is just so dark and brooding that it sounds unlike anything the band had ever tried before (but that was the whole point of the album). "A Thing About You" is much more lighthearted than the previous song. It is one of the fast pop songs that Petty is so well known for. "Insider" is an incredible song that features Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks (of Fleetwood Mac fame) doing harmony vocals. Another deeply emotional song from that album is the beautiful "You Can Still Change Your Mind". Oddly enough it was mostly written by guitarist Mike Campbell, who's best known for composing such rocking tracks as "Runnin' Down a Dream" and not one of the group's best ballads.

Song Selection:
1. Breakdown (from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)
2. American Girl (from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)
3. Hometown Blues (from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)
4. Anything That's Rock `N' Roll (from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)
5. I Need to Know (from You're Gonna Get It)
6. Listen to Her Heart (from You're Gonna Get It)
7. When the Time Comes (from You're Gonna Get It)
8. Too Much Ain't Enough (from You're Gonna Get It)
9. No Second Thoughts (from You're Gonna Get It)
10. Baby's a Rock `N' Roller (from You're Gonna Get It)
11. Refugee (from Damn the Torpedoes)
12. Here Comes My Girl (from Damn the Torpedoes)
13. Even the Losers (from Damn the Torpedoes)
14. Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid) (from Damn the Torpedoes)
15. Don't Do Me Like That (from Damn the Torpedoes)
16. The Waiting (from Hard Promises)
17. A Woman in Love (It's Not Me) (from Hard Promises)
18. Something Big (from Hard Promises)
19. A Thing About You (from Hard Promises)
20. Insider (from Hard Promises)
21. You Can Still Change Your Mind (from Hard Promises)

Top picks: I Need to Know, Even the Losers, A Woman in Love (It's Not Me), You Can Still Change Your Mind, Refugee
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Disc Two - Spoiled & Mistreated

Spoiled & Mistreated covers the band during its most experimental, but also their most problematic time of their career. Howie Epstein was hired to replace original bassist Ron Blair. Epstein's backing vocals have really added a lot to the albums that he's contributed to. There was a three year period (1983-1985) where the band was having difficulties creatively and the result was Tom Petty broke his hand during the recording of the Southern Accents album. This was also a period of time of a relative lack of commercial success for the group.

Long After Dark was a fairly successful album, although it is one that Petty himself is not fond of. I rather like it, myself. It manages to be dark and moody like Hard Promises, but the band managed to regain some of their pop roots. The melodic synthesizer driven fanfare of "You Got Lucky" was the only hit single from the album. One of the better guitar parts of that album can be heard on "Change of Heart". The band doesn't really hit their stride on Long After Dark until "Straight Into Darkness". Everything about this tune is great from Petty's vocals to the jangly guitars. "The Same Old You" is a fairly standard Heartbreakers tune similar to the vibe of their first two albums. This group of songs isn't quite a fair representation of the album, as two of the best songs from Long After Dark, "Deliver Me" and "Wasted Life", aren't included.

Tom Petty had originally planned for Southern Accents to be a solo album. It was also meant to be a two LP set. However, he was unable to get the sounds in his head to appear on the tape the way they were supposed to. Unable to get a satisfactory mix on "Rebels" is what pushed him over the edge and made him punch the wall. He went back to what made the original demo of the song so good, and the simpler approach to playing is what makes this song... Read more ›

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instant Tom Petty collection!, August 5, 2000

By 

Rob Damm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Playback (Audio CD)

For most people, I'm guessing these 92 tracks are all the Tom Petty you are going to need. The first three discs are really faultless-- some of the best pop music ever committed to tape. The rest of the box is aimed squarely at folks who already own much of his catalog-- it's chockfull of rareities, alternate takes, remixes and so forth.

Buying this set is really a no-brainer. If you don't have much Petty: i.e. greatest hits, and maybe and album or two, you NEED this. And odds are, it's all you'll need. If you have all the standard issue Petty discs, you can still look foward to 40% worth of the box dedicated to stuff you probably haven't heard. The most compelling reason,though, to own this set, for the hardcore fan is the sound quality. The regular issue Petty discs are fairly terrible: especially the older stuff... the 20-bit HDCD mastering on these new discs KILLS the standard versions and sounds *almost* as good as the out-of-print (and very pricey) Mobile Fidelity pressings. This box is incredibly cheap and provides many hours of listening, enjoy.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything and the kitchen sink, too!, March 8, 2000

By 

"joenumber2" (The Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Playback (Audio CD)

Playback is a tour de force for any rock fan. You don't have to be a fan of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to appreciate this six-disc set. In fact, it may help convert you to believing that Petty and his bandmates are one of the major pioneers in rock and roll and an enduring act that is hard to replicate or resist. This boxed set is chock-full of goodies. Most boxed sets include the artist's major hits and then some throwaway cuts or barely passable "hits." No such filler exists here. Discs One through Three are packed with all of the hits and concert favorites that are as fresh and infectious as when the band burst on the scene in 1976. Where you really get your money's worth and hear the band air it out is in Discs Four through Six. The collection of songs on these three discs are mostly unreleased (especially in stellar compact disc sound). Sprinkled judiciously over these discs are some live tracks, unreleased gems, retooled or remixed versions of songs that became classics later, a few cover tunes and a handful of funny, lighthearted melodies. Standing out in the group are Stan Lynch's searing vocal rendition of "Psychotic Reaction" (originally by The Count Five), the fantastic "Trailer" (left off of Southern Accents), a wacky country version of "Damage You've Done" (released in a more rock-friendly format on Let Me Up I've Had Enough), the trippy "You Get Me High" and a great driving-in-the-car rocker titled "Travelin'". This is just the tip of the iceberg, folks! Included is a large booklet of musings by Petty and the band on each track in the set. In the booklet, the origins of some of the songs are revealed, studio anecdotes are revisited and the backstory of the band is explored. This isn't just some fluffy picture book, it has a bevy of information that any fan cannot live without. For under fifty dollars, you get the definitive collection of Petty material up to 1992. Do not pass this up!