Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits: Review

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is an American band, whose rock music has produced unrivaled success, and critical acclaim for almost four decades. This articles looks into the band, which has received no less than 18 Grammy award nominations ,and reviews for their best-selling album, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits.

The band

Description of the band Formed in Gainesville, Florida in 1976, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is a band, that belongs to a special breed of artists. It is a breed, that has stayed true to its roots, regardless of the relentless style changes of music's fans. Popularity trend Boasting the Dylanesque lyrics of Tom Petty at the helm, the Heartbreakers shot to fame in the late 70s, with their fusion of American garage-rock and influences from the British punk/new wave movement. Initially dismissed by American audiences, the Heartbreakers' first success came in the UK, with their self-titled album. The singles Breakdown and American Girl As word drifted back across the Atlantic, the singles Breakdown and American Girl were re-released in the US and popularity soon increased. Although, encountering the odd mishap with record companies, from then on, the band never looked back, and to-date have recorded no less than 15 albums.

The album

In 1993, the band released a Greatest Hits album, which to-date is the biggest selling of all Tom Petty albums, so far amassing over 10 million sales. The album truly describes who’s Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and includes the best of the bands songs recorded from 1976-1993. Pre-releases
The 18 song album includes 17 pre-releases, such as American Girl, Refugee, I Won't Back Down and Learning To Fly, plus the first release of Mary Jane's Last Dance, which would go on to be one of Petty's most revered songs.
Talent and introduction of the band For the casual fan, or newcomer to the band, this album is both a great reminder of the talents of the Heartbreakers, and a fine introduction to a legendary rock-band. Nevertheless, hardened fans of Tom Petty have been known to favour the Anthology: Through The Years (2001), which includes the bands hits, up until the year 2000.

Final word

Since its release in 1993, there have been two other versions of the album, that will be of interest to collectors. Firstly, the UK-released album includes the song Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll as an additional track. Secondly, in 2008, the album was re-mastered and re-released. This album included the track Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, a duet by Petty and Stevie Nicks, as a replacement for Something In The Air. For more on the music of Tom Petty, you can check out his website at Tompetty.com.