Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Echo

By Rob Selina
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Compact Disc Stock Number: B00000IFWE

 

  I have been a passive fan of Tom Petty for a long time. I hear him at friend’s houses, on the radio, on TV, or anywhere else you could be exposed to music. Until recently however, I had never purchased one of his albums. I have a list a mile long of great musicians whose albums I would like to purchase, and it was not until recently that the Heartbreakers finally hit the top of the list. It is almost shameful sometimes when I think of all the great musicians who are not yet in my collection, but we all know how the wallet works. For now, I’ll have to be satisfied with only one of his releases.

I cannot offer an assessment of this album compared to some of his earlier releases obviously, but as a work of it’s own, I think it is fantastic. It’s just great rock and roll. I’m simplifying since a few of the songs should more appropriately be referred to as folk, or even blues in some cases. No matter how you slice it they are still great music.

Echo is a great compilation since it manages to go all over the map. It has blues inspired songs like “Counting on You” to just classic folk rock with “Swingin’” and even gets down and dirty with some angry rock and roll in “I Don’t Want to Fight.”

Tom Petty comes off as one of the great prolific musicians of the times. He reminds me of Elvis Costello in his ability to take the basic formula for a good song and without changing it in any mysterious way, create a great original tune. Not only that, but to be able to do this for such a long period of time and still have a live imagination and creative ability just amazes me.

Echo is an incredibly appealing album. It is a varied album with a great balance of songs pulling in from various genres that manage too keep you on your toes and of course always singing or taping along. If Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ other albums are anywhere near as good as Echo, I certainly will not be disappointed. Highly Recommended.

Enjoyment: 96

Sound Quality: 85