Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Playback [6CD] (1995) [FLAC]

Released: November 20, 1995

Genre: Rock

Label: MCA



Tom Petty peaked early. In 1974, Petty's northern Florida bar band, Mudcrutch, moved to L.A., signed a deal with Shelter Records, and transformed itself into Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. By 1976, they had released their self-titled debut album, a seemingly impossible blend of the Byrds' jangly harmonies and Southern-California idealism with the Rolling Stones' bluesy punchiness and working-class grittiness. The rhythm section rocked; Mike Campbell was an effortlessly elegant guitarist, and Petty himself was a passionate singer. By the third album, 1979's Damn the Torpedoes, the band was creating such timeless rock & roll singles as "Refugee" and "Even the Losers." By 1980 their best music was behind them. The rhythms slackened; the melodies no longer grabbed; the performances lacked the same urgency. They played with admirable craft and sold millions of records, but they never again made music as powerful as their first three albums. This creates a serious imbalance in this box set, "Playback" (MCA), which fits 21 songs from the first four albums onto one overwhelming CD and then fills up another five CDs with 71 more tracks, which suffer by comparison. For the hardcore Petty fan, though, Playback is a treasure trove of obscurities. While most box sets adopt an 80/20 split between greatest hits and rarities, "Playback" is closer to 50/50, and includes B-sides never released in album form, rare Mudcrutch cuts, shelved studio tracks, and cover versions of songs by Jimmy Reed, Conway Twitty, and Elvis Presley. --Geoffrey Himes





Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar); Mike Campbell (guitar); Benmont Tench (keyboards); Howie Epstein (bass); Stan Lynch (drums, background vocals).

Additional personnel includes: Lenny Kravitz (vocals, bass, drums); Stevie Nicks (vocals); Jimmy Iovine (spoken vocals); George Harrison (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Jeff Lynne (guitar, synthesizer, bass); Tom Leadon, David A. Stewart (guitar); Scott Thurston (slide guitar); Charlie Sousa, Marty Jourard (saxophone); Lee Thornburg (trumpet); Al Kooper (piano); Ron Blair, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Emory Gordy (bass); Randall Marsh, Jim Gordon (drums); Phil Jones, Chris Trujillo, George Drakoulias (percussion); The Bangles, Marilyn Martin [background vocals).

Packed with more than 90 songs PLAYBACK is the definitive Petty document.



Recorded between 1973 & 1993.



Disc one: The Big Jangle



Tracklist:

01. "Breakdown"

02. "American Girl"

03. "Hometown Blues"

04. "Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll"

05. "I Need to Know"

06. "Listen to Her Heart"

07. "When the Time Comes"

08. "Too Much Ain't Enough"

09. "No Second Thoughts"

10. "Baby's a Rock 'n' Roller"

11. "Refugee"

12. "Here Comes My Girl"

13. "Even the Losers"

14. "Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)"

15. "Don't Do Me Like That"

16. "The Waiting"

17. "A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)"

18. "Something Big"

19. "A Thing About You"

20. "Insider"

21. "You Can Still Change Your Mind"





Disc two: Spoiled and Mistreated



Tracklist:

01. "You Got Lucky"

02. "Change of Heart"

03. "Straight into Darkness"

04. "Same Old You"

05. "Rebels"

06. "Don't Come Around Here No More"

07. "Southern Accents"

08. "Make It Better (Forget About Me)"

09. "The Best of Everything"

10. "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star"

11. "Don't Bring Me Down"

12. "Jammin' Me"

13. "It'll All Work Out"

14. "Mike's Life/Mike's World"

15. "Think About Me"

16. "A Self-Made Man"





Disc three: Good Booty



Tracklist:

01. "Free Fallin'"

02. "I Won't Back Down"

03. "Love is a Long Road"

04. "Runnin' Down a Dream"

05. "Yer So Bad"

06. "Alright for Now"

07. "Learning to Fly"

08. "Into the Great Wide Open"

09. "All or Nothin'"

10. "Out in the Cold"

11. "Built to Last"

12. "Mary Jane's Last Dance"

13. "Christmas All Over Again"



Disc four: The Other Sides



Tracklist:

01. "Casa Dega" (Petty, Campbell) – 3:37

02. "Heartbreakers Beach Party" (Petty) – 1:57

03. "Trailer" (Petty) – 3:15

04. "Cracking Up" (Nick Lowe) – 3:34

05. "Psychotic Reaction" (Live) (Ken Ellner, Roy Chaney, Craig Atkinson, John Byrne, John Michalski) – 4:49

06. "I'm Tired Joey Boy" (Live) (Van Morrison) – 3:42

07. "Lonely Weekends" (Live) (Charlie Rich) – 2:47

08. "Gator on the Lawn" (Petty) – 1:35

09. "Make That Connection" (Petty, Campbell) – 5:04

10. "Down the Line" (Petty, Lynne, Campbell) – 2:53

11. "Peace in L.A." (Peace Mix) (Petty) – 4:43

12. "It's Rainin' Again" (Petty) – 1:32

13. "Somethin' Else" (Live) (Sharon Sheeley, Bob Cochran) – 2:05

14. "I Don't Know What to Say to You" (Petty) – 2:28

15. "Kings Highway" (Live) (Petty) – 3:30



Disc five: Through the Cracks



Tracklist:

01. "On the Street" (Benmont Tench) – 2:10

02. "Depot Street" (Petty) – 3:26

03. "Cry to Me" (Bert Russell) – 3:06

04. "Don't Do Me Like That" (Mudcrutch Version) (Petty) – 2:47

05. "I Can't Fight It" (Petty) – 3:00

06. "Since You Said You Loved Me" (Petty) – 4:40

07. "Louisiana Rain" (Original Version) (Petty) – 4:22

08. "Keeping Me Alive" (Petty) – 2:59

09. "Turning Point" (Petty) – 2:52

10. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (Demo Version) (Petty, Campbell) – 4:11

11. "The Apartment Song" (Demo Version) (Petty) – 2:37

12. "Big Boss Man" (Al Smith, Luther Dixon) – 2:41

13. "The Image of Me" (Wayne Kemp) – 2:33

14. "Moon Pie" (Petty) – 1:05

15. "The Damage You've Done" (Country Version) (Petty) – 3:16



Disc six: Nobody's Children



Tracklist:

01. "Got My Mind Made Up" (Original Version) (Petty) – 2:51

02. "Ways to Be Wicked" (Petty, Campbell) – 3:27

03. "Can't Get Her Out" (Petty) – 3:11

04. "Waiting for Tonight" (Petty) – 3:30

05. "Travelin'" (Petty) – 3:15

06. "Baby, Let's Play House" (Arthur Gunter) – 2:33

07. "Wooden Heart" (Bert Kaempfert, Kay Twomey, Fred Wise, Ben Weisman) – 2:09

08. "God's Gift to Man" (Petty) – 4:18

09. "You Get Me High" (Petty) – 2:48

10. "Come on Down to My House" (Petty) – 3:05

11. "You Come Through" (Petty, Campbell) – 5:15

12. "Up in Mississippi Tonight" (Petty) – 3:28