In between, Petty had an apprenticeship of sorts with Cordell’s Shelter partner Leon Russell and spent time with idols like Brian Wilson and future bandmate George Harrison.

Shelter kept Petty on as a solo artist but he brought along Mudcrutch’s guitarist Mike Campbell-Petty’s closest collaborator for the entirety of his career-and keyboardist Benmont Tench, and added fellow Gainesville transplants, bassist Ron Blair and drummer Stan Lynch to start from scratch under the new name. In 1974, Tom Petty moved from Gainesville, Florida, to Hollywood with his new wife Jane and his band Mudcrutch, who were signed to esteemed British producer Denny Cordell’s Shelter Records and then dropped before an album was even made. The punchy drum beat and bassline of opener “Rockin’ Around (With You)” quickly gave way to the great wide open of “Breakdown,” a change of pace that hardly seems jarring now but may have been just a left enough turn to defy easy categorization at a moment when easy categorization was essential for launching a career. Petty’s cover pose, heavy-lidded smirking while sporting a black leather jacket and bandolier in front of a cloud of smoke and a logo with a flying-v, promised something snottier than the music delivered, trademark adenoidal whelp notwithstanding. There was nothing particularly weird or inaccessible about the album’s 10 tracks in 30 brisk minutes if anything, arriving in the heyday of punk and glam and new wave, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers weren’t weird enough to grab immediate attention. 'Everything's open-ended enough to make you want more,' wrote Tom Carson on September 7, 1978.Eclectic might be a better word than eccentric. As Rolling Stone put it at the time, 'On You're Gonna Get It!, Petty has shed some-but not all-of his cloaks.' But the magazine also admitted the album maintained the close-to-the-vest romanticism of his debut. YOU'RE GONNA GET IT! (1978)Īfter the 'Mystery Man' air Petty cultivated on the Heartbreakers' debut album, his sophomore effort You're Gonna Get It! was a bit more straightforward. After Damn the Torpedoes brought Petty into the mainstream for good, fans learned incredible tracks, including 'American Girl' and 'Breakdown,' were on the band's first album waiting to be discovered. A whirlwind tour followed, which provided the damage control Petty and his group needed, but widespread success was still three years away.

But unfortunately what that meant for a Byrds-inspired bit of all- American rock was a lukewarm reception. Rod Stewart's 'Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)' topped the singles chart and Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder was the top album. In retrospect, the week Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' eponymous album hit shelves was a rather prestigious one. Shelter TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS (1976)

Tom petty discography torrent