HeadphoneHarry's Full Review: Echo by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Past history has shown that when Tom Petty has had to go through some kind of turmoil (in this case, divorce), it results in some very strong material and songwriting, and "Echo" is no exception. Just as the jets leave their exhaust streams lining the sky after they're gone in the inner sleeve photo, so do Petty's life experiences, but he seems to know that slowly but surely these after-effects will dissipate and drift away, you just have to stand up to it and face it.
"Room At the Top" and "One More Day, One More Night" bookend this album and set the tone with their slower pace, although there are certainly some rockers here too. "Free Girl Now", the first single, is in fact the most 'pop' song on the album and the most radio friendly, hence its choice as the pre-release single. Benmont Tench's electric piano on "Counting On You" gives the song a very warm sound, and the Byrdsy "This One's For Me" also shakes the dust off some of the old tambourine and maracas. "Won't Last Long" and "About To Give Out" sound like they could have come right off of 1991's "Into the Great Wide Open" LP, while "Accused Of Love" can't help but make you think that it was tailor-made to be sung as a duet with Stevie Nicks. The verse that starts "When I see that sun go down.." in the song "No More" seems exactly like the bridge in the Rolling Stones "Salt Of The Earth", it's different of course, but the similarity at first is uncanny. The biggest surprise on the album to longtime TP&THBs fans comes courtesy of the straight-ahead basher "I Don't Wanna Fight", in which the lead vocal is sung by (gulp!) Mike Campbell, who normally doesn't even do background vocals (attaway Mike!). "Swingin" is a great number with a dark groove, whose character "went down swingin'..", a theme repeated often in Tom Petty's songs and which no doubt endears him to many of his fans. Even so, his sense of humor couldn't resist references to 'swingers' Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Sammy Davis, and a "swinger" of another sort, boxer Sonny Liston. The title-track's lilting pace is augmented by Mike Campbell's subtle and spectacular guitar-work, a MC trademark.
"Echo" is a fine album which I think, even with some Petty fans might have to grow on one over time. Few bands can hang onto their longtime followers and yet gain younger fans too with each successive release like Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and this release proves why they are in that elite category.
Released in 1999, Echo features Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers at their finest, with the songs Room at the Top, Counting on You, and the superb title t...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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