Pickin' On Tom Petty

A kid learning to play guitar in a Florida. Rehearsing with his band in California studios. Making his name in the lager-soaked clubs of England. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers logged some hard miles before finding success. But rock’n’roll is an international language and few are as eloquent as Petty. His guitar chimes like the Byrds, his lyrics cut to bare emotion like Dylan and the Heartbreakers strut like the Stones. Petty’s catalog of songs celebrates and contemplates life’s complexities. No wonder his music continues to sound fresh year after year.

The Byrds influence comes full circle on Heartbreaker: Pickin’ on Tom Petty. Former Byrd Chris Hillman picks his mandolin with a group of equally talented bluegrass musicians. Fiddle two-steps with banjo while guitar calls out the quick rhythm. “I Need to Know” gallops like a bandit’s horse. “American Girl” sounds like daybreak across an infinite field of wheat. Petty says it best: “We got somethin', we both know it.”