Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Make It Better (Forget About Me) (1985)

This 12" single contains two versions of the titular track, those being the Dance Mix and the Instrumental Mix, but here is the album version:

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Southern Accents (1985)

Check this out:

Occasionally, the songs work; "Rebels" and "Spike" are fine rockers, and "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Make It Better (Forget About Me)" expand the Heartbreakers' sound nicely. But too often, the record is weighed down by its own ambitions. [source]

What does the last sentence mean?

And, then there's this, referenced in Wikipedia: "In the Los Angeles Review of Books, Connor Goodwin said the album is "deeply embedded in nostalgia for the Lost Cause." [source] I have to say that this never occurred to me. Can that really be true? 

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Long After Dark (1982)

In that epic four-hour documentary about Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Runnin' Down a Dream, directed by Peter Bogdanovich), Tom referred to this record as a "tread-water album." In the same segment, Jimmy Iovine said: "After three records, your should shoot your producer." I think both statements are fair. This record is largely a step backwards, apart from You Got Lucky, and a couple of other tracks.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Hard Promises (1981)

Two years after the brilliant Damn the Torpedoes, Petty released this fabulous record. Somehow, I have two copies of this record, one with the lyrics insert and one without. This release is an "MCA Masterphile Series" which was mastered at half-speed.

Some trivia from Wikipedia:

During the recording of the album, John Lennon was scheduled to be in the same studio at the same time. Petty was looking forward to meeting him when he came in. The meeting never occurred, as Lennon was murdered before the date of his planned visit to the studio. Petty and the band paid tribute to the slain former Beatle by etching "WE LOVE YOU J.L." in the runout deadwax on early U.S. and Canadian pressings of Hard Promises. [source]

My copies do not have that dedication in the dead wax.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Here Comes My Girl (1979)

This is a 12"single from '79 with three tracks: Here Comes My Girl, Casa Dega, and Don't Bring me Down. 

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Damn the Torpedoes (1979)

If I had to make a list of top ten pure rock records (discounting new wave, goth, blues, etc.), this record would have to be on it. I think it's easy to underestimate the record today, but when it come out it was new, vibrant, dynamic, and different. The sound alone is amazing. I find it amusing that there were wome people who thought that Tom was a new wave guy.

My sister bought a copy of this record soon after it came out, and I remember sitting in her room listening to it on her crappy stereo system. Even then, I admit that it sounded good. This record had quite the impact, I have to think, even if you are sick of the tunes from so much overplay. Oddly, I disconnected with Tom after this record for ages.

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers: You're Gonna Get It! (1978)

The follow up the the debut is pretty good. Songs people might know are Too Much Ain't Enough, Listen to Her Heart, and I Need to Know. The album is deeper than that though, despite the review on Allmusic. I think this is a great record. Sure, it sounds like the first one, but it makes sense as a logical sequel. 

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (1976)

I sometimes write draft posts in advance, and this is one for which I had jotted some notes down over 4 years ago! And then, we got that awful news that Tom had died, and then that he was still alive, and, finally, that he had slipped away. That was truly devastating news.

Some who know me are often surprised to learn that I like Tom's music. I really do. I think he wrote some solid, honest, and unpretentious rock and roll songs. I could never say enough good things about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. And, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. I also admired his fight with the record label over album pricing.

Petty was another emotional death in a long line that includes Lou Reed, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Prince, Grant Hart, Walter Becker, and John Lennon, a senseless tragedy that still bothers me. I listened to Full Moon Fever after I got the news, and, yes, it made me very sad. There are so many aging rock stars, and I suppose that so many of these heroes of mine will depart over the next few years.

I recommend that everyone watch the four-hour documentary, Running Down a Dream. I would never have believed that a documentary that long would work, but it does.

What I originally wrote here in a draft post, months and months ago, was: I didn't know anything about Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers until I heard Damn the Torpedoes, a record my sister bought when it came out. I had to go backwards to find out what I had missed. I'd call it honest rock and roll, though some call it music of the heartland. I guess many would place Petty in the same crowd as Springsteen, Seeger, and maybe even John Mellencamp, although I think he is far better than Seger and Mellencamp. 

I find it interesting that the band was initially far bigger in the UK than in the US. I guess the same thing happened with Cheap Trick, who were huge in Japan before getting any recognition in the US. This record contains a bunch of great songs, like American Girl, Breakdown, Hometown Blues, Strangered in the Night, etc. It's great. I have a Canadian pressing (and a copy on CD).

Pet Shop Boys: Introspective (1988)

Yes, this is another LP I picked up for $1.99 from a thrift shop. By the way, the Opportunities 12" single, from a few days back, was also from a thrift shop. I should call the band the Thrift Shop Boys. From Wikipedia:

The album was unusual in that it reversed the typical process by which pop/dance acts released singles. Instead of releasing an album of regular-length (3–5-minute) songs, then releasing lengthy remixes of those songs on subsequent singles, Introspective was released as an LP consisting of songs that all lasted six minutes or more. Tracks released as singles like "Always on My Mind" and "Domino Dancing" had been issued as shorter, more radio-friendly mixes prior to the album. None was released as a radio single in the same form as it appeared on the album. It was also the case for the two other singles "Left to My Own Devices" and "It's Alright". [source]

The songs are all very long. This is a pretty good record. 

Pet Shop Boys: Actually (1987)

This record is entitled Actually or Pet Shop Boys, actually. I actually couldn't tell you which is right. I found this one in a thrift shop for $1.99 as well. There were some big hits from this record, like It's a Sin, What Have I Done to Deserve This?, Rent, and Heart. It's not bad, in a pop kind of way. 

Pet Shop Boys: Please (1986)

The first time I head West End Girls, I was dismayed, even horrified, especially since so many of my friends loved the song. I hated it. I thought it was disco reborn in 1986. Hadn't we had enough disco to last a lifetime by then? The answer is yes.

One day, many, many, many years later, I stopped into a thrift shop and found a minty-fresh copy of the LP sitting in the bin. I paid my $1.99 for it and left. My opinion of the track had mellowd over the years, and now I don't mind it. It's far better than I remembered. It's still not top-shelf music for me, but I can honestly say that I like the track.

Other popular tracks from album are the afore-mentioned Opportunities, plus Love Comes Quickly and Suburbia.