Sometimes overlooked, but only because of the company it kept in the Heartbreakers’ catalogue up to that point, Tom Petty’s fifth album is an exercise in restrained elegance. As pared back and unencumbered as Petty himself, the songs cut right to the creative quick, not least the darkly bubbling You Got Lucky and the chiming Straight Into Darkness, both brilliant if oblique singles.
It was also the album that introduced the world to bassist Howie Epstein, whose playing and harmony vocals were so ubiquitous in their sound that it was hard to imagine a time when he wasn’t a Heartbreaker. It’s difficult to gauge how deep the Petty vaults go, but if this reissue is any indicator then Heartbreaker fans have plenty to look forward to.
