Customer Reviews

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It took about a year from this album's November, 1976 release for it to reach me, but when it did, it brought joy. At the time, very little sounded like it, and I loved it.

From the moody "Luna" to the flat-out, percolating "Rockin' Around (With You)" to the menacing "Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)" to the magnificent, chugging "Strangered In The Night" to the clipped, all-amped-up-with-nowhere-to-go energy that pervades "Anything That's Rock 'N' Roll", this album was almost too good, too developed, too fully-realized to be a debut. But it was.

And twenty-five years on, it still sounds fresh. Potent. Invigorating. And thankfully, it remains (with the possible exception of "American Girl" or "Breakdown") untouched by classic rock radio.

As Bill Flanagan notes in his wonderful essay, "The band went on to make lots of records, some better than this." But very few. Front to back, Tom Petty eclipsed this album perhaps two or three times in his Hall of Fame career.

I'm happy to report that the remastering is a vast improvement over the original's wooden sound, which was done on the cheap for a dying record company.

But, given that 'Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers' is barely thirty minutes long, I would've liked a demo or two, or some early live tracks added to this remastered edition. If memory serves, ABC/Shelter released an "official" bootleg of an early Petty show from the Paradise in Boston about this time, and it was hot stuff. Where are those tracks?

But the sheer joy of the music contained herein render those complaints minor at best. This album has lost nothing in the quarter-century since its release.

I only hope I age this well.

T.P. and the Heartbreakers have had a turbulent career to say the least, from struggles with pricing to internal conflict and most recently Petty's separation from his wife. At the end of the day, however, these Floridians gone L.A. know that it's about the music. Just listen to this album, their debut. Your classic rock collection is a disgrace without "American Girl", not to mention "Breakdown". But Petty's famous Byrds sound and blues tinged rock isn't all that the Heratbreakers offer. Everything from punk ("Anything That's Rock n' Roll") to country ("Mystery Man") shines. The Heartbreakers not only have an affinity for any type of music, but everything seems so well-placed on this album. You could hardly accuse them of a diffuse album. It's coherent and from the first drum rythms of "Rockin' Around" (garage rock if there ever was such a thing) to the Byrdisms of "American Girl", Petty and the Heartbreakers deliver a classic and an opening to a career that still flourishes today.

Tom Petty has always always been classified as a fun rocker. While his later material would suggest otherwise, after listening to this album over 50 times its easy to see why Petty gets classified that way. Running just over 30 minutes, this debut album has it all. The ten tracks are all so catchy that it is irresistible, but they have enough depth that you feel this lightweight album has personal impact. Every song is great, simple, and straight to the point. At first listen you think that you could write them, but after each subsequent play you begin to see otherwise. The only weak song is "Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)" because the content doesn't flow with what the other nine tracks are about. But the classics "American Girl" and "Breakdown" are featured here, along with great tunes like "The Wild One, Forever", "Anything That's Rock 'n Roll", and my personal favorite - "Mystery Man". Not the first Tom Petty album to buy, but definitely one to own.

Tom Petty would never again sound as "new wave" as he did on his first album. The songs are relatively short and have an unpolished feel that he and the Heartbreakers would loose as they matured. He would also never again aspire so hard to be Bruce Springsteen as he does especially on "The Wild One, Forever." "American Girl" is the best and most well known song, but there's a lot of other fine songs in the mix. Overall, a fine debut album.

Tom Petty's debut album shoots him and his Heartbreakers out of the gate with a bang. The album produced several songs, including "Breakdown", "American Girl", and "Anything That's Rock & Roll", which became FM standards, and also includes the undiscovered gems "Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)" and "The Wild One, Forever." The music sounds like a bridge between the Eagles-Allmans-Steve Miller mainstream and the punk/new wave of Graham Parker and Elvis Costello. Petty's advocacy of sanctions against Indonesia in retaliation for that country's trumped-up 2005 drug-smuggling conviction of a young Australian tourist makes this CD an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

I can't Stop thinkin' about how I HEY! Dig, rockin' around with this album. Start to friggin' finish. If there are songs on here you haven't heard, I'm talking to YOU. Petty's trailer park punk is perpetually fresh, worth your bucks, and all the stars Amazon will let me throw up.

This album is hard to find. I was excited when i saw it and since it's my favorite band of course I bought it. I was blown away. I knew a few of the songs before I bought it but the rest of the CD was what shocked me. The first track, Rocking Around With You, has a strong punk sound to it. For a second I thought I had bought the wrong CD. It is very simple and catchy with an amazing baseline and a great beat.
Anything That's Rock and Roll's great acoustic sound blew me away. The opening riff (reminiscent of the Kinks) grabbed my attention. This song is rebellious, loud and truly fun to listen to (key components to any great rock and/or punk song!). It it perfectly captures the noncomformist attitude of the late seventies. Unlike many songs of the same ideal, it is unpretentious and completely void of complex and unnecessary instrumental interludes. It gets right to the point without offending or dissappointing.
Hometown Blues is one of my absolute favorites. I LOVED this song. Everything from the beat, the guitar, the melody and the lyrics is, again, so simple and classic that you can't help but love it. This song lacks nothing, except radio play. I found that Mystery Man stood out slightly from the other songs on the album, with it's slow southern style. The melody is beautiful and is delivered so effortlessly. This album also features two of his best and most popular songs, American Girl and Breakdown.
American Girl is simply great. It's like it was written for and about every girl who dreamed of somthing bigger and better. You simply can't hate this song. It is a truly great rock song, not over the top, top excessive, not lacking anything (this one gets played on the radio regularly).
Breakdown. The guitar riff at the beginning masterfully sets a dark and slightly mysterious tone. It is soulful and full of emotion without being soft or weak. This can also be said for Luna, which carries the same dark but soulful mood.
The only song that falls behind the others is Strangered In The Night. This is similar in sound to Luna and Breakdown, but doesn't have the same tone. It is about violence and fear. It is still powerful, but it is the only song of that nature on the album and seems misplaced. It's still good but not as good as the rest of the album.
This is an amazing album. It is awesome to see how one of the greatest groups of the last quarter century started with such a simple and classic album. I have many of Tom's albums but this one is far and away my favorite. This is a great place to start your collection (from the very beginning... why not?) or makes an excellent addition. Either way you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED! (Oh and if you aren't familiar with the Kinks I highly suggest that you check them out!)

You knew Tom Petty was going to stay true to rock and roll from the very beginning. While not as sophisticated as his later work; TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS gives the listener every indication that this band was in it for the long haul. When you hear the first few notes of "Breakdown," you know there is a darkness here, along with the skill to grab a listener immediately. Sure there are two songs with "rock" in the title, (always a concern)and the band's sound is far from consistent, but you can't hide the energy. A fine debut recording for one of America's great bands.

This album gives an unadulterated taste of Petty's music and ambition in his younger years. One can clearly see his (and the Heartbreakers) strong talent and love of the music. A classic.

Back in '76 when this was released, "Breakdown" and "American Girl" were the tunes that made me take notice and want this LP. Upon first listen I discovered an LP full of good tunes. Particular favorites of mine--"Strangered in the Night", "Luna", "Fooled Again(I Don't Like It) and "The Wild One, Forever". Tom Petty has released some fine albums over a long and distinguished career but I really don't think he's ever topped this one.