Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Description
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Greatest Hits, originally
released in 1993, has gone on to be the best selling collection in the band’s
four decades and counting career. Over seven times platinum, this collection
now has been remastered. 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
Features:
Product Details:
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Language : English
- Product Dimensions : 4.88 x 5.63 x 0.47 inches; 5.04 Ounces
- Manufacturer : MCA
- Item model number : 1972135
- Original Release Date : 1993
- Date First Available : February 20, 2007
- Label : MCA
- Number of discs : 1