Listening Post: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Hard Promises

He's duetted with Stevie Nicks. He's pioneered stoner animation videos. He's run the gamut of styles from pop to country rock to, well, just about everything. And he was a Wilbury. But, how well do we know the guy who wrote Mary Jane's Last Dance, Refugee, American Girl, and countless other classic rock staples? Well, I don't know him nearly at all. Hence the latest Listening Post. Let's dive in.



Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Hard Promises - 1981 (Buy it)

Here's what I remember about Hard Promises.
At the time the record companies were selling most records for $8.98. They wanted to charge $9.98 for Petty's new one and he wasn't having any of it. He held fast, I think even delaying the release, until the label caved. And now, 28 years later, they can't get more than $10 for a record. In the meantime, Petty and the label kept the fans waiting.
And The Waiting is the hardest part.....
(See what I did there?)

Hard Promises opens with a flourish. As if to say, yeah, the 80s are here and, guess what, we're gonna bring the rock. No compromises and no Damn the Torpedoes part 2.

But there's not much more to say about it than that. It's a great coupling with Damn, but it stands well on its own. By this time, four albums in, Petty and Campbell and crew know what they're doing. Yeah, they're sort of sliding into alt-country more and more, but heartland music is like that. And everyone eventually goes there. Country is more forgiving and easier to sound earnest about (Bon Jovi, Bruce, etc) while at the same time you can really play the hell out of it while you are drunk or, better, stoned. So it's no surprise that these guys all end up on the plains.
That laconic sound definitely padded this album. It's the first to clock in over 40 minutes and that's really just because the sound is more laid back in places than on previous albums. That's the way it is when you are young, I guess, you shoot fast. Gotta get to the point and move on. As you get older you find it's a little more difficult to say what you want to. You're a wee more conscious of your point and want to make sure you've gotten there.
Petty gets you there. Even if, by The Criminal Mind and You Can Still Change Your Mind, the album's closers, he does seem to run out of steam.

Grade A-
A Side: The Waiting, The Nightwatchman, A Thing About You
BlindSide: A Woman in Love, King's Road, Insider
Downside: The Criminal Kind, You can still Change Your Mind