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Holistic Guidance - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits
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List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $9.77
Your Save: $ 4.21 ( 30% )
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Mca
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
Brand: PETTY,TOM
EAN: 0008811081324
Label: Mca
Manufacturer: Mca
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Mca
Release Date: 1993-11-16
Studio: Mca
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Petty's Greats
Comment: This cd includes the best of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.If you love his music then this is a "must have",for sure!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Go here for "Something In The Air"
Comment: Tom Petty is the embodiment of a classic rocker. He and his band, The Heartbreakers, are in the same league as Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band or Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band. The personify a certain working class ethos and stuck to their roots, all while codifying their influences to a sound that became singularly theirs. In Petty's case, that was a love of sixties rock that revolved around The Byrds and The Rolling Stones, with the Heartbreakers adding inspired backing.
When the leather jacketed face of Tom Petty first smiled from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakersin 1977, his look and sparse, muscular backing had many prematurely lumping him into the punk camp. But discerning listeners caught on quick, with the chiming "American Girl" and the bluesy "Breakdown" becoming favorites. When You're Gonna Get It! arrived soon after, both the rocking "I Need To Know" and the hook-laden "Listen To Her Heart" flirted with the Top 40 and more eyes came to Petty's talent. "Listen" is an amazing confection, both chiming Byrds-ish guitar and muscular hook.
Even with these signs of greatness, it was Petty's third album that delivered the goods. Damn the Torpedoes remains a classic, the moment when Petty hit his stride as a songwriter and The Heartbreakers became more than the sum of their influences. Four songs from that album are here, the blistering "Refugee," the pleading "Don't Do Me Like That," along with the stellar "Here Comes My Girl" and "Even The Losers."
What followed his turn to super-stardom was the legendary price war with MCA, with the suits wanting to make Hard Promises a premium price release, and Petty demanding it be kept lower...to the point that he threatened to title the album 8.98. Petty won the battle and delivered and album that was stellar, and had a great single in "The Waiting." The real curiosity was that Petty gave up one of his best songs to Stevie Nicks, and their duet on "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" catapulted her solo "Bella Donna" album to number one.
Petty continued to make strong albums, but none in the classic range of "Torpedoes." Long After Dark was one of the most straight ahead rock albums he'd released, yet "You Got Lucky" one of the most new-wavey singles. There was the arty Southern Accents, which found the sitar-accented single "Don't Come Around Here No More" playing out in a deliciously psychedelic fashion (and the "Alice In Wonderland" inspired video). Then there was the rollicking and under-rated Let Me Up (I've Had Enough), with the Bob Dylan co-composition "Jamming Me."
Still, things were starting to feel like diminishing returns. That is, until Petty decided to try a solo album. The stripped down and back-to-basics Full Moon Fever re-certified Petty's greatness as a songwriter, and was as solid from start to finish as "Torpedoes." "Running Down a Dream" is as good a rocker as he's ever done, "I Won't Back Down" is an anthem that threw down a gauntlet (and became a post 9/11 rallying cry) and "Free Falling" could be Petty's best song ever. It was more acoustically based than his Heartbreakers albums, and set the tone for future solo albums like Wildflowers.
That success brought cloning when the band got back for Into the Great Wide Open, which is an OK album that followed a perfect one. Regardless, the creative juices still were flowing for "Learning To Fly" and the title track, which are more fully produced than the "Full Moon Fever" songs. It also brought Petty and the Heartbreakers to the end of their MCA tenure (roughly 2/3's of their history so far). This "Greatest Hits" is basically the same as one issues in 2008, the difference is that a remake of Thunderclap Newman's "Something In The Air" was replaced by "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" (and the great "Last Dance With Mary Jane" is still here). Given that this Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits is no longer listed as 'new,' this is a great place to get Tom Petty's singles in one solid swoop and get "Something."
Customer Rating:
Summary: Classic
Comment: I've gotten into a bit of a classic rock phase and was looking for one CD to satisfy me. This was it. It has some of Petty's greatest hits and I love jammin' to it going down the road.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice greatest hits collection
Comment: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' music has been with us for a long time. Their first album came out in 1976, featuring songs such as "American Girl" and "Breakdown." Over time, the group's body of work expanded and included some classic songs. This CD, including many of their greatest hits, chronicles the career of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers nicely.
Some illustrative cuts:
"American Girl": Recorded in 1976. Petty's inimitable voice is in good form here. The band plays with a tight sound and a hard edge.
"Breakdown": This represents a softer sound, and the song is filled with poignant lyrics. One line comes to mind:
"It's alright if you love me;
It's alright if you don't."
"Refugee": This is one of Tom Petty's iconic songs. The music is hard driving, Petty's voice is in good form, and he captures emotions as he sings.
"Don't Do Me Like That": Another signature song of Petty and the group. . . . Keyboards add a nice touch to the song. Signature lyrics:
"Someone's gonna tell you lies,
Cut you down to size.
Don't do me like that
. . . .
Well I love you, baby,
Don't do me like that."
All in all, a nice slice of the greatest hits of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. I'm not someone deeply immersed in the music of this body of work, I concede, but, to twist what Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said of pornography: "I can't define great music, but I know it when I hear it."
Customer Rating:
Summary: Forever "Runnin' Down a Dream"
Comment: I don't think enough folks my age recognize how great Tom Petty really is, but if they owned "Greatest Hits," they'd have a hard time not doing so. Released in 1993, it spans the years between 1976 and 1993. Always mellower than his hard-rocking contemporaries, Petty's irresistable heartland roots-rock has progressed over the years, and he's proved quite versatile as he experimented with pop, blues, new wave, and alt-rock. But what never changes is the charm and appeal of his music, and this is evident through the chronologically-tracklisted "Greatest Hits." Petty is one of the greatest songwriters of our generation. His lyrics are simple but quaint, and he creates perfect hook-heavy song structures that sound beautiful upon first and millionth listen. His music is inspiring and motivational, but he has a great ear for a catchy tune. Credit must also go to the criminally underrated Heartbreakers, who created their own instantly recognizable sound through their talented instrumentation. At least ten of these songs have become rock-radio staples and will be coveted by anyone with access to a radio over the last thirty years. As with any Greatest Hits package, somebody will nitpick about the tracklist (personally I might have given "Yer Bad" the nod), but there's not a single song on this disc ever worth skipping, and I wouldn't describe any as less than excellent. As it was released in 1993, music from Wildflowers and subsequent releases are not represented, so 2000's Anthology: Through the Years is updated. However, "Greatest Hits" is a perfect one-disc glimpse at one of the best rock acts of this era.
Beginning with the sunny Beatles-influenced "American Girl" and the soulful, moody blues of "Breakdown," the listener is treated to the phenomenal singles from 1976's Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers that made him a household name. The fun "Listen to Her Heart" and "I Need to Know" from 1978's You're Gonna Get It! bridge the gap to the legendary "Refugee," a driving, bluesy rocker that became a classic upon its release. Also from 1979's Damn the Torpedoes are the Springsteen-esque "Don't Do Me Like That," the optimistic "Even the Losers," and the awesome "Here Comes My Girl"; each is phenomenal and suggests what a great album Petty had. "The Waiting," from 1981's Hard Promises, is a deep, motivational song that never grows old, while the stingy "You Got Lucky" from 1982's Long After Dark is heavy with the electronic instrumentation of New Age pop. The irresistable mourning of "Don't Come Around Here No More" from 1985's Southern Accents precedes the selections from Petty's 1989 solo blockbuster Full Moon Fever. Perhaps my favorite song of his, "I Won't Back Down" is an inspiring, melodic tune with George Harrison on guitar. "Runnin' Down a Dream" is a gratifying rocker, and his most well known song, the tremendous "Free Fallin'," is an ingenious coming-of-age ballad. "Learning to Fly" and "Into the Great Wide Open" from 1991's Into the Great Wide Open find Petty at his most introspective and philosophical, and both are among his finest material. The album closes with two previously unreleased songs, the heavy alt-rockers "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and "Something in the Air."
"Greatest Hits" is an impeccable selection from one of rock's greatest acts. Any type of music fan will immediately be wowed by Petty's hooky genius, and anyone who has enjoyed rock radio over the past three decades already knows the quality of this music. I can't recommend "Greatest Hits" any more.
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