Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, percussion); Mike Campbell (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards, bass); Benmont Tench (accordion, piano); Howie Epstein (bass, background vocals); Stan Lynch (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Jeff Lynne (guitar, keyboards, bass, background vocals); Richard Tandy (synthesizer); Roger McGuinn (background vocals).
Producers: Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Jeff Lynne.
Recorded at Rumbo Recorders, Studio C, Canoga Park, California.
Petty once represented the new wave of pop in the late 70s. There was an edge of punkiness to his music and that has served him well throughout his career. Very few stars as unassuming as Petty have courted all audiences and succeeded. This is a Jeff Lynne production, which would usually have had pundits making a heretic cross with their fingers. Fortunately, it was listened to for what it was: an excellent album of Petty songs played by the best support band in the world. "Learning To Fly," for example, has a simple repeated four-chord pattern, F C Am G, and out of this Petty has woven the perfect pop song. One of many.
What the critics say...
Entertainment Weekly - "..a surprising return to form." - Rating: B+
Q (8/91) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "..poignantly exhilarating... bracing with the sensation of the top down and wind in your hair.." One of Q Magazine's 50 best albums of 1991.
New York Times (Publisher) (1/1/92) - "Simple, eloquent stories about growing up and making sense of one's youth."
