An All-American Hero

Rip It Up, Issue 5, 1 October 1977, Page 10

An All-American Hero

Jeremy Templer

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Shelter Rock’n’rolls real heroes are few and hard to find but Tom Petty . . . well, he just looks right. Though, as listening to this album makes immediately obvious, there’s more to this band than good looks.

It was a stroke of genius on somebody’s part to pair Petty's Heartbreakers with Nils Lofgren, giving them the opening spot on Lofgren’s recent UK tour. Lofgren is one of the few rock’n’roll heroes worthy of the title and with Petty he shares a similar stance; that of the punk (in the old sense of the word) who is doing his best, trying to make an honest stand though everything conspires to try and stop him. From all reports it seems that Lofgren was hard-pressed to equal the performances of his show-opener (though I’d like to see Petty do an open backward somersault). On their first record Petty and the Heartbreakers have found a near-perfect balance between band and vocalist, neither suffering at the expense of the other. Denny Cordell’s production is simple yet sympathetic and the band work in well with Petty's songs, playing brashly, fast and energetically without sounding too raw. But the main strength of this album lies with Petty's vocals. He bites at the words slurs them, runs them one into another: Some friends of mine and me Stayed up all through the night rockin' fairly steady till the sky went light

And didn’t go to bed, didn't go to work I picked up the telephone Told the boss he was a jerk.

The influences aren’t immediately obvious but, now and again, it’s possible to detect some similarities with the Byrds a jangled guitar line, the chorus vocals on "Hometown Blues", the lead vocal on "American Girl" a song which Roger McGuinn has recently covered. “Mystery Man" has a wonderfully fluid bass line and could almost be a Van Morrison song. But these are Tom Petty’s songs, none more than four minutes long, and while this album has more than its share of songs that I’m sure will eventually be recognised as bona-fide rock ‘n’ roll classics, it’s American Girl" that stands out. Not yet a woman, but dangerous all the same: Well, she was an American girl Raised on promises She couldn't help thinking that there Was a little more life somewhere else After all it was a great big world With lots of places to run to .. .

Petty’s tour with Nils Lofgren launched the Heartbreakers into headlining status virtually overnight. And, though I’m not sure that Bob Seger’s “Rock’n’Roll Never Forgets" isn’t just determined optimism considering the years in which Seger has had to work the pits to get where he is now, it is nice when rock’n’roll remembers.