Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Solid album with two great songs and a bunch of fine ones. I always thought Damn the Torpedoes was considered Petty's best album, and yet (!) -- this is his only album in The Book. I went down the rabbit hole and listened to Torpedoes ... and even Hard Promises, which Apple Music has also declared to be an Essential Album, along with this, Torpedoes, and a couple others. When all this thoroughgoing inquiry making was done, I found waiting for me at the end of that shadowy, jangly, hummable, and at times banal road ... my longheld belief that Tom Petty albums have isolated great songs and lots of dispensable but solid filler. Damn the Torpedoes has four outstanding songs, so it's ... twice as good as this album ... ? None of these albums are amazing! The answer is to make a playlist! That has always been the answer! Damn the Torpedoes producer Jimmy Iovine had a clear understanding of how to make a successful Tom Petty album: in an interview with Apple Music, guitarist Mike Campbell said that Iovine heard Refugee and Here Comes My Girl and said, "I don't need to hear any more songs, we've got the two we need, the rest doesn't matter."

Wow, they were good out of the gate. Or at least, this is nearly as good as their best albums later on. American Girl is celebrated, but Breakdown is a better song. All of this flows by easily.

Returning to this one, and I did rather enjoy it. Rating would be 3.5 if I had the choice.

Great record, great band. I miss Tom so very much.

Petty? Sounds like my ex-wife

2.6/5

Long way from the raw flowing energy of Live at the Fillmore, but American Girl is worth an extra star

Aw, this is sadly not the album with the Alice in Wonderland music video.

I love Petty and this is a really good record. Breakdown and American Girl are standout tracks.

I really wanted to like this. thinking that maybe my tastes had matured. Alas, I can't seem to get over my dislike of Tom Petty's voice. I do appreciate that the music - with its multiple layers - is quite good.

I never had very strong feelings about Petty. Heard them a lot on WBCN growing up so I'm pretty familiar with his back catalog even though I've never owned one of his records. Overall I liked this, but wasn't wowed by anything. Some of the songs that were new to me were interesting to hear, especially "Strangered in the Night" which was kind of weird and fun. I think it would be weird to like American music (esp rock) and NOT like Tom Petty.

didn't listen to it

Tom petty can’t sing, but yet his music is surprisingly enjoyable. I liked this album, it was just simple and just interesting enough to make me walk away with a smile. I think I need more time with it to shine more

great album although somehow i never really got used to tom petty uniquely sounding voice

3.5

I’m a little surprised this is our lone Tom Petty representative on the list. While it has the great “American Girl” and “Breakdown” on it, I would have chosen “Damn the Torpedoes”, which was really his initial breakthrough album, and probably also “Full Moon Fever”, which sent his career into the stratosphere. Anyway, this album is fine. It’s basic, straight ahead rock n’ roll from the mid 70s.

I was leaning towards 3 stars for this one when the opening notes of "American Girl" entered my ear buds and immediately pushed this up to 4.

It’s fine, most of it feels a little generic…he went on and made much better records after this debut. American Girl is an iconic song from this though which bumps it up a star.

“Rockin’ Around (With You)” was a great opener. “American Girl” was a great closer. Everything in between was pretty good, except for “Luna” and “Mystery Man,” which took away from the rest of the album in my opinion. Veers a little bluesy and country but I liked the punky / rock n roll stuff better.

Very enjoyable listen

Raw and as hot as the middle north Florida sun. Glimpses of later genius.

Yeah okay

American Girl is celebrated, but Breakdown is a better song. All of this flows by easily. Still, I am more of a fan of the later Tom Petty works. 3.5⭐️

Just great

This was pretty great. I've known and really liked the song Breakdown. I'm lukewarm on American Girl but the album as a whole is really solid. I wanna listen to more Tom Petty now.

Kivaa rokkia mutta en muista albumilta yhtään biisiä.

I love Tom Petty, don’t get me wrong. I’m a fan of this guy. I remember the night he died. I was doing my radio hour at the WSYC 88.7 at Shippensburg University. I sat alone in a sound proof studio with nothing but an 11 year old computer and Spotify. My dad texted and said Tom Petty died. Then he didn’t die? Then he did. He’s dead. I play music in his honor the rest of the hour. I played his Jeff-Lynne-produced music, however. Yeah I’m not a hater of this album with American Girl and Breakdown. But Jeff Lynne really helped his music in the 80s

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers greatest hits lived in my cars cd player through a lot of high school so I thought I’d be more partial to this album. I listened with an open mind though and it comes off a little more disappointing than I’d like. Now Tom Petty is still great driving music, but not much else. He’s kind of the background soundtrack unfortunately. Other than Breakdown and American girl, no other tunes quite caught my attention. Everything else seemed half formed.

TP is another one of those American Classics I haven't spent much time with. That said, funny how it felt like I'd heard most of these songs before. Happy to be forced to live in his world for a while! Anthemic like The Boss Swagger like Jagger Dylan's literary bend A pinch of punk It's not pretty enough to get a <3 from me, but "American Girl" is, always has been, and always will be AWESOME.

Tom ei petä! No sellasta hyvää tiettyä rokkia Blues sekä rautalanka meiningillä. Kuuntelee!

3.5 - pretty good

oh gosh. i don’t really care for this so far at all. i’m on the coach at 19:29 on my way to Ilminster and i’ll listen to it cause i guess i have to. i thought free fallin was coming on and i got excited but it wasn’t so the disappointment was palpable. fooled again is surely a joke? he’s talking like a spaz. wth. and yet, i enjoy his stupid sounding voice on Mystery man. what a good song! Luna was also a pretty good song and then American girl, it is a banger! and the Strokes blatantly used it as inspiration lmao. so the last 3 songs made it soooo much better. ok Tom, i look forward to seeing you again at some point, you may surprise me with a better catalogue overall, i really hope!

I like Tom petty but this is very middle of the road

I like this better than later Tom Petty. Surprisingly "fresh" sound.

Sehr gut

Tom Petty is the first last classic rock musician and there's a lot to say about this album, how Tom Petty signifies the "classic," how he embraces the "new wave," and how he was able to develop his own kind of authentic rocker image. But, above all that, he wrote some kick ass songs.

вообще не задело

definetively a tom petty record

The real issue here is frankly Tom petty. The music is pretty good, but petty himself is just annoying.

A good solid listen and famous for a reason. 4/5

старый, попсовый, "крутой" рок это очень скучно и капля в море в этом жанре и стиле по звучанию ничего интересного и выдающегося я зачем-то целиком прослушал, можно было с силой нажать на скип 2

I got more into it after I gave it some more time and a few listens. There are a few tracks aside from the classics that I put on my return to list. It sounds like Petty but maybe not full Petty quite yet but still with that unique take and style. It's close to a 4.

So the first song was ok; it made me think that it could be a good record for a road trip where you’re trying to stay awake and hopefully can get to the next rest stop and get another cup of coffee before you get too stupid. Oh but no: then the second song is “Breakdown,” which I’ve never really enjoyed; my experience here was a combination of having heard it too many times and being annoyed by his voice, which grates. And the rest of it doesn’t improve much on that, unfortunately. Summary: Robert Dimery, why are you making me listen to American midwestern homeland teenage music. I like some of this later stuff, but this isn’t interesting.

I like her voice and some of the arrangements but it’s not for me

Very unique for a 1976 rock album. I see why there are only two memorable songs off the album though. The songwriting is quite lacking and the vocals and production haven't quite reached what listeners want.

Fun stuff, but nothing remarkable

Really enjoyed this one. Can definitely hear some Strokes influences here!

American Girl remains an absolute banger. The rest of the album is wet popcorn and stale beer...boring as fuck. Sounds like a band with nothing to say, trying to knock out an album to accompany its one hit. If you told me that chatgpt wrote most of this album, I wouldn't bat an eye.

it was actually a good pop-rock album. i faound some songs a bit repetitive but i loved the vibe. i cant believe i havent heard of tom petty before

none of this really did anything for me except ‘american girl’ bc that was on the silence of the lambs soundtrack

fine

Tom Petty didn't sound like Tom Petty when Tom Petty was starting out. I like this album as it sounds less cheesey then some of the 80s songs. breakdown is a jam.

i like you tom petty. 3.5

Liked American Girl, but the rest was a bit 'meh'

Great record. I should listen more to Tom Petty

this is fun rock! it's nice listening to pop rock every now and then. it's exactly what i imagined 70s rock would've been when i was younger and i can't help but enjoy that sound.

Moments of greatness and moments of dross; I liked Fooled Again and Strangered in the night, but nowhere near the brilliance of his later work (Full Moon Fever). The opening of American Girl sounds exactly like the Strokes - and when I googled it, I wasn't surprised to see they openly admitted to pinching the idea from Tom.

That was some good '70s dad Rock

Шлак

This is what my step dad would call roller skating music. Made me feel like a teenager in the 80s.

Tom Petty has always been an artist that I enjoy, but has never amazed me. I like all of his hits, and he's had many, but I've never felt inspired to tackle one of his albums. Well, after having the chance to do so here, it's pretty good. Nothing here is bad, with some great known hits, a few good deep cuts, and a couple of just okay ones. A solid 4.

So I love the song breakdown but honestly on most of the other tracks I found myself getting a little irritated with tom petty’s vocal tone or sort of affectation. American girl is a classic of course, but I’m not gonna come back to this album to give it a listen through again (just gonna come back to breakdown lol) so this gets a solid 3 stars

I love Tom Petty. This album has some timeless hits. Really all time great music. But also some songs that are pretty mid.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ self-titled debut is pretty enjoyable, but for the most part, it feels like fairly typical ’70s rock with a Southern flair. You can definitely hear Tom Petty starting to find his voice, but especially on some of the deeper tracks, it’s pretty obvious he hasn’t quite found it yet. A lot of these songs remind me heavily of Bruce Springsteen or Van Morrison, and while that’s certainly not a bad thing, there isn’t much here that really blows me away. That being said, there aren’t really any weak tracks either. It’s a consistently enjoyable album, and you can hear the beginnings of what Tom Petty would eventually become. I just wish the 1001 Albums list gave me a little more of him, because seriously, this is the only Tom Petty album on the entire list? Not even Full Moon Fever? Come on. We couldn’t have taken out one obscure ’80s new wave album I’ve never heard of? Maybe I’m just bitter. Oh well. It’s a decent debut, an enjoyable listen, and a solid three out of five.

Ok, not bad, not great

The exact moment Rick music stopped being cool was when this album was released… tom petty is your Nan’s idea of a bad boy, while punk was just starting to take hold, tom petty was stuck doing bad impressions of better musicians… an album full of songs that luck any substance, just sugar coated nonsense that’s only saving grace is that the album is just 30 minutes long

around a 9 for me

A very well-known band name with positive associations, and an album that really rocks.

One of my favorite rock artists of all time. The crazy part is, I’m honestly not sure if Tom ever had a perfect record. I’d say wildflowers is the closest thing to that, and that was towards the end of the line (commercially) Let’s be honest, Tom knows how to make hits. He’s one of the GOATS for a reason. This record however, has always been one of my least favorite of his. It’s not bad, it’s just very meh. It’s good music to throw on in the background while you’re hanging with friends, nobody is gonna comment on it. It’s just there. I get it, debuts. But man, there’s so many better choices. Favs: Anything that’s rock n roll, strangered in the night

Tom Petty created an amazing rock and roll blend with their self titled. Rocking around truly feels like a dance and a detour from everything else that sounded like it. Taking what the Beatles created and expanding it with more upbeat and rnr sound. The lyrics are also incredibly poignant and heartfelt. You can tell when people are singing about things they actually care about. I can feel the edge and listen to a song like American Girls and tell me you don’t hear the strokes in there. I really enjoyed this as a album and I like this version of rock and roll where it feels less pervasive and edgy and more I’ll say it heartfelt

Was expecting more. Quite bland dad-rock. Last song - American Girl - best track.

Just drifted through this....

Album is okay, again I can't quite understand why or how it made the list

Dull, even the “one track” you are waiting for, that’s dull too.

3/5 - It was decent, had a few listens. Rock album, nothing too catchy.

Ikke så veldig fan, 2 av 5

Aangenaam

I love me some Tom Petty! Great early record of his, and has one of my favorite songs Breakdown!

Average Tom Petty Album. Never a huge fan but a fairly easy listen.

bastard only ever wrote hits.

He’s ok. I knew Breakdown from the radio. I really like his Mary Jane’s Last Dance song which comes much later in years.

Its ok

Maybe a 4 with repeated listens?

7.0/10

Rock solid debut. Highly recommended. (Listened to it on Apple Music)

Second Tom Petty album I’ve listened to this year and fair fucks he is awfully good. Should’ve joined a supergroup or something… Top bops: Anything that’s rock’n’roll Fooled again (don’t like it) Mystery man American girl

Fun

Great, I like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, contains some real classics.

One classic, which is a true classic. The rest is forgettable.

There are definitely better TP&TH albums. Kind of a head scratcher

A fairly average album elevated by that still-timeless closing track.

eh

6.5/10 - Breakdown and American Girl are clearly the standout songs here. Album kind of meanders in the middle but you can see where the band is going.

Non-offensive and there are some good tunes but nothing that's too interesting. 6/10

Tom Petty is just fine. I don't love it, don't hate it. This is a pretty good classic rock record in my mind.

nice

Somehow Tom Petty is too American for me. Typical American. Like Bob Seeger.

I have not heard this before. I’ve never been a big fan of tom petty, but he's got some great songs I love. I only know Breakdown and American Girl off of here, I’ve never been a fan of Breakdown but I’ve always loved American Girl. There are 2 more singles on here that were apparently released in Europe but not the US, so maybe classic rock radio decided they shouldn’t get any airplay but they’re both great. There are one or two tracks that have the same feel as Breakdown but most of the deep cuts are great, too.

We used to be a proper country, with straight forward rock bands everywhere.

30 minutes, perfect commute listen. OK, some of it is a little honky tonk vibes but loved Breakdown, Fooled Again, Luna and of course American Girl. Have never listened to a full Tom Petty album (either solo or with hearbreakers) but enjoyed more than expected. It did make me want to change the channel to Heart though.