After a few stale years, seventies rock started getting
interesting again in 1976 as punk blew in like a fresh, filthy breeze from the
future. At the same time, a brand new band also provided hope for the future
even as they unabashedly drew on sounds of the past with their Byrds jangle and
Stones toughness. Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers was one of the most invigorating debuts from a year that also
brought us firsts from The Ramones, Blondie, and The Damned, which is saying a
hell of a lot.
Yet while the other new bands of 1976 I mentioned would get
caught up in trends at times (eighties metal and disco, for example), Tom Petty
never did. He never lost sight of his singular goal to make tuneful, tough, terse,
truthful rock and roll. If you need proof of that, check out two discs worth of
The Best of Everything, a new
compilation that dips through most facets of Petty’s career as a leader of
Heartbreakers, member of Mudcrutch, solo artist, and Stevie Nicks collaborator
(only his days as a Traveling Wilbury are unrepresented, and I doubt anyone
will cry too much about that). While there are variations in the slickness of
the production, there is little variation in the quality of the music from
1976’s “American Girl” to 2016’s “Trailer”. The fact that there wasn’t room for
such essentials as “Change of Heart” and “Woman in Love” also speaks for the
strength of career, since there isn’t too much included that I’d swap with them
(“Southern Accents” and “American Dream Plan B” are a couple of candidates). There’s
also a nice unreleased Heartbreakers track from 2000 called “For Real”.
The one down side to this set—and way too many contemporary
releases—is the absurdly brickwalled mastering. Message to masterers: stop
doing this. Thanks.
