Anthology: Through the Years

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
The most striking thing about this two-disc overview of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers is the powerful case it makes for its creators as the most consistent band of not only their era, but of all time. Think of another rocker who can claim to have created a quarter-century of recordings that, when ranked on a 10-point scale, never dip below a solid 7? Indeed, while disc 1 reflects a marginally more aggressive mindset than disc 2, it wouldn't be difficult to imagine the discs flip-flopped; maturity has yet to induce lethargy for Petty and the boys. Occupying the solid middle ground between the 18-track Greatest Hits and the six-disc Playback box, Anthology serves up 34 selections, nearly every one an FM staple. From 1976's "Breakdown" through the collection's only new offering, 2000's "Surrender," this retrospective never flags. But how could it? --Steven Stolder

Tracks:

Breakdown
American Girl
Hometown Blues
The Wild One, Forever
I Need To Know
Listen To Her Heart
Too Much Ain't Enough
Refugee
Here Comes My Girl
Don't Do Me Like That
Even The Losers
The Waiting
A Woman In Love (It's Not Me)
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
You Got Lucky
Straight Into Darkness
Change Of Heart

Tracks:

Rebels
Don't Come Around Here No More
The Best Of Everything
So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star
Jammin' Me
It'll All Work Out
Love Is A Long Road
Free Fallin'
Yer So Bad
I Won't Back Down
Runnin' Down A Dream
Learning To Fly
Into The Great Wide Open
Two Gunslingers
Mary Jane's Last Dance
Waiting For Tonight
Surrender

Amazon.com essential recording

The most striking thing about this two-disc overview of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers is the powerful case it makes for its creators as the most consistent band of not only their era, but of all time. Think of another rocker who can claim to have created a quarter-century of recordings that, when ranked on a 10-point scale, never dip below a solid 7? Indeed, while disc 1 reflects a marginally more aggressive mindset than disc 2, it wouldn't be difficult to imagine the discs flip-flopped; maturity has yet to induce lethargy for Petty and the boys. Occupying the solid middle ground between the 18-track Greatest Hits and the six-disc Playback box, Anthology serves up 34 selections, nearly every one an FM staple. From 1976's "Breakdown" through the collection's only new offering, 2000's "Surrender," this retrospective never flags. But how could it? --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews:

Great for "Casual Fans".......2007-06-30

I've been listening to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ever since they hit the radio airwaves back in the late seventies. I remember going to neighboorhood party's during the summer of 1978 (I was in Junior High) and Refugee was in the Top 40, gettin' blasted through the speakers.

Subsequently, over the years, I have purchased every one of Tom's and the Boy's cd's. I still consider myself just a casual fan. I simply like the hits off each cd, with a few extras thrown in by personal taste. Anyway, the majority of these discs are from the early '90's. Not the best sound quality. And, it takes some time and effort to load each disc in my itunes and pick just the songs that I want. The solution?

Buy this 2-disc Anthology. It's a great price. It's sounds good. And all your favorite Petty tunes are right there, conveniently in one place, uh...or two. I dropped them into my iPod, and haven't looked back since.

Now all I have to do is get The Last DJ and The Highway Companion, and I'm done.

Brings Tears To Your Eyes.......2007-06-08

Since Tom Petty is an icon of my generation, I could not help but enjoy/love this CD. All of his popular songs and even the not so popular songs make this CD an excellent choice for those rockers who want to turn it down a notch but have the great guitar licks coming at you with precision.

Buy this album.......2007-05-28

This album is an essential for any Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fan. Normally I try to stay away from albums that are compiled with songs that are considered to be the best of, but this album is definitely an exception. It's not the best of, it's Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers at their best. Trust me, this is an excellent addition to any music lovers collection.

Outstanding Petty anthology covering the MCA years.......2007-02-27

THE BAND: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Mike Campbell (lead guitar), Benmont Tench (keyboards), Howie Epstein (bass), Ron Blair (bass), Stan Lynch (drums & percussion). Guest appearances include, George Harrison, Stevie Nicks, Jeff Lynne.

THE DISCS: (2000) 34 tracks on two discs clocking in at approximately 124 minutes (disc-1 with 57:37 minutes, and disc-2 with 66:16). Included with the discs is a 10-page booklet containing song titles/credits, band photos, a 1-page intro from Cameron Crowe, what songs came from which albums and the year released. This compilation follows Petty from his debut in 1976 through this 2000 "Anthology". Digitally remastered sound. Label - UTV Records / MCA.

ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers (4 songs), You're Gonna Get It (3), Damn The Torpedoes (4), Hard Promises (2), Long After Dark (3), Southern Accents (3), Pack Up The Plantation (1), Let Me Up - I've Had Enough (2), Full Moon Fever (5), Into The Great Wide Open (3), Greatest Hits (1), Playback (1), Anthology (1), Bella Donna - Stevie Nicks 1981 solo album (1).

COMMENTS: Every music listener needs some Tom Petty in his/her collection. "Damn The Torpedoes" (1979) and "Full Moon Fever" (1989) are essential studio recordings of his. Other albums like his self titled debut, "Long After Dark", "Southern Accents" and "Into The Great Wide Open" are great albums, but I wouldn't classify them as essential Petty necessarily. Petty's "Greatest Hits" (1993) is still a fine representation on one disc, but with this more recent 2-disc "Anthology", the '93 disc is now obsolete. 17 of the 18 songs from his "Greatest Hits" album are here, minus the skippable last track "Something In The Air". THE GOOD: All the staples are here - "Breakdown", "American Girl", "I Need To Know", "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl", "Don't Do Me Like That", "Even The Losers", "You Got Lucky", "Don't Come Around Here No More", "Free Fallin'", "I Won't Back Down", "Runnin' Down A Dream", "Learning To Fly", "Mary Jane's Last Dance", etc. The minor successes absent from his '93 "Greatest Hits" are here - "Change Of Heart", "A Woman In Love (It's Not Me)", "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", "So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star", "Jammin' Me", "Love Is A Long Road", and "Yer So Bad". There are several deep album cuts (i.e. "Hometown Blues", "The Wild One, Forever", "Too Much Ain't Enough", etc) that are nice inclusions. Chronological order is a bonus here - showcasing Petty's slight changes over the decades. Song selection is top notch. The remastered sound is crisp. THE NOT SO GOOD: Only two things stick out here. First and foremost, there are no tracks from his "Wildflowers" (1994) or "Echos" (1999) albums... most likely due to these 2 albums being on the 'Warner Bros' label (and everything prior on MCA's label). This is a shame because I really feel the songs "You Wreck Me", "Cabin Down Below" and "It's Good To Be King" deserve to be on "Anthology". Perhaps this should've been titled "Anthology - Through The MCA Years". In the same vein, there are no selections from Petty's soundtrack to the movie "She's The One" (1996). Many of Petty's early songs are short (out of the first 8 tracks, the longest song is three-and-a-half minutes), and with that being said why not throw a few more songs on both discs and utilize the free space (22 unused minutes alone on disc-1). OVERALL: A ton of music and all the major hits (despite the 2 omitted albums from Warner Bros). To date, this is the best Tom Petty compilation... period (5 stars).

Great Collection!.......2007-02-12

This is a great collection that spans Mr. Petty's career so far. There is not a bad song here. I put it on and turned it up when it arrived at my house. I am familiar with most of the songs and happy to hear the ones I missed. I recommend head phones and a comfortable couch and give this a good listen. The waiting is the hardest part....

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