Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Hard Promises (180 Gram Vinyl)

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, piano); Mike Campbell (guitar, autoharp, accordion, harmonium, bass); Benmont Tench (organ, piano, vocals); Ron Blair (bass); Stan Lynch (drums, vocals). Additional personnel: Stevie Nicks (vocals); A. Bugs Weidel (piano); Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass); Phil Jones (percussion); Sharon Ceylani (background vocals). Recorded at Sound City, Van Nuys, California; Cherokee Studios, Hollywood, California; Goodnight, Los Angeles, California. All songs written by Tom Petty except "A Woman In Love" and "You Can Still Change Your Mind" (Tom Petty/Mike Campbell). This is where Petty's Dylan influence begins to rear its head. He made his name as an all-American, Byrds-inspired rock & roller, but on HARD PROMISES Petty began to explore a more reflective style, leaning on the softer side of his folk-rock roots. This is no NEBRASKA-there are plenty of spirited rockers and classy pop tunes-but Petty does sound like he's been spending some time with BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME. There are sharply observed character studies of hard-luck and no-luck guys ("Something Big," "Nightwatchman"), urgent power-pop declarations of romantic desperation ("A Thing About You") and even some light-hearted socio-cultural observations ("King's Road"). HARD PROMISES is Petty's first step towards the eclecticism that would mark his later work, and it's easily his most underrated album.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Pop