[Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers play Milwaukee's Summerfest this week on Friday and Saturday]
By Joshua Miller
When it comes to making an impact or statement, rock and roll legends Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers would do just fine as the poster band of how to run a band and keep things interesting. With a track record of 34 years full of Petty and company’s irresistible charm for catchy rock and roll anthems and emotional ballads, the band has faired considerably well and managed to steamroll any obstacles that came along.
That kind of attitude might lead a band of that age to eventually coast into their golden years, staying safe with hits they wrote when they were in their 20s or 30s. But for Tom Petty, the will to play (and continue to make songs that end up as paperweights or afterthoughts to a great career) has driven the band forward on a furious pace. With each decade the band’s found a way to stay relevant and 2010 might continue that.
If you need an example of that, just check out the band’s latest release “Mojo.” Rather than make another “Damn the Torpedoes,
” the band threw a new curveball into their sound – the blues. Inspired by the live on the floor sessions of Petty’s former band Mudcrutch, the new album features a diverse collection of American and British blues, rock and roll, and country songs cut right on the spot, many in first takes. There’s hints here and there of the what the band’s been into lately – J.J. Cale, Grateful Dead, Muddy Waters, Led Zeppelin, Allman Brothers, just to name a few – but they never really feel as note for note rehashes of these influences. Instead they blend old and new into something fresh and distinctly their own.
While the 15 songs on the album sometimes stray away from their time-tested formula that made them famous – instantly catchy, short anthems and the like – in favor of more of Allman Brothers-like blues jam lengths, the album certainly shows the whole band flexing its muscle and brings out everyone’s strengths.
Petty shines as usual, or maybe even more so, with some great lyrics – full of hope, mystery, joy, humor and wit – and sung passionately with his unmistakable southern drawl. His frequent sideman on his journeys, Mike Campbell, a usually tasteful guitar player, gets to let loose and, while I never thought my appreciation for him could get any higher this record shows that he still has some tricks up his sleeves. Scott Thurston and Benmont Tench also shine, as they get to show the full capability of their flashy harmonica and piano/organ playing, respectively, something that might get lost or not featured as much on past albums.
“Mojo” begins aptly with the blues jangle of “Jefferson Jericho Blues,” a song that features an overdose of Thurston’s sublimely harmonica, dueling blues guitars and a humorous story about Thomas Jefferson’s love affair with Sally Hemings. Only Petty, with his southern wit and humor, could have crafted a song that worked so well.
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