Mojo

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers never disappoint us. They keep cranking out awesome music, without regard to the trendy pop radio. This album in unique and each song holds you, nice flow to the tracks too. Perfection.

I'm not a Tom Petty fan. I have a few of the CDs he's put out throughout his career but most of his mid career music I have found to be unoriginal and overly simplistic (Running Down a Dream). But I still like a few songs, particular his music that features minor keys and organs. When he has ventured into blues ("It's Good to Be King"), he's had some interesting outcomes. The MTV years were most definitely his least creative in terms of music with the Heartbreakers (Traveling Wilbouries is a different story... ).

So I see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on SNL this Spring and I'm absolutely floored. Where did that guitar come from??? That outrageous Jimmy Page sounding Gibson Les Paul??? And the organs. It sounded like there were ten Hammond B3s playing. Slide guitar, deep organs, contrasting melodies. Oh, and Petty's vocals... pure blues rock and roll. I couldn't believe it. Both songs (Jericho and I Should Have Known It). If I closed my eyes, I could swear I was listening to Jimmy Page on I Should Have Known It. Wow.

I downloaded this album, and it is unquestionably the best work he and his band have ever done. Petty has said that they are playing for themselves. Keep doing that... don't play for us anymore!

The mood of this album is late 70's stoner. I can't think of another way to describe it. Several songs discuss marijuana and pot growing (Trip to Pirate's Cove, Let Yourself Go, High in the Morning, Don't Pull Me Over... get it?). And there is a slow, bluesy stoner groove to this whole disc. Lots of competing melodies and improvisation. This album reminds me of some of the later work by the Grateful Dead (West LA Fadeaway) and The Allman Brothers (everything). There are a few songs that have the Led Zeppelin/Page sound too. One that has a break that sounds like Heartbreaker revisited.

Most songs on this album are excellent. One or two weak or questionable tracks, but this is an album - buy the whole thing. I have found myself listening to it as a playlist for a two months, and I'm still discovering new things.

I would love to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing an unscripted show with ABB or the Dead. They sound like a jam band. They sound pure. They sound sincere.

This was not the album the hype led me to expect. I had heard this was going to be primarily a rocking blues album that would capture the electricity of Petty and the Heartbreakers' live performance jams. I'm a huge Mike Campbell fan, so was really looking forward to this release with the Heartbreakers at full tilt. Too bad. There are a couple of great kick-ass rockers on it, but if you saw TPH's recent SNL gig, you've already heard the best of the album. Most of the other cuts are pretty dull folk-rock. Breaks my heart but not in a good way.

Best Petty in years, inspired in more of a rock and blues way. He needed to change as
his recent formula was getting stale and this is a good direction. Most songs are interesting from the first play.

After several listens I like each of the tracks. Unlike some of the other reviewers who only like the first track I think the first one is one of the the weaker ones.