• 1977-05-06_Glasgow-Evening-Times

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Pop Special: Heartbreak Hit From Tom's Boys
By Russell Kyle
Evening Times -- May 6, 1977

Okay, so the "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers" album has been in some ships since the beginning of February.

But I just got hold of a copy, and quite simply it is the best debut album I've ever heard by any band in many a long day.

Not a great deal is known about TP and his band apart from the fact that they are from America. They are also on the forthcoming Nils Lofgren tour as support act.

Mr Lofgren, for whom I have much respect, is in great danger of being blown off the stage if the Heartbreakers can turn in a live show that's half as good as the album. That's how good they are.

Rock Steady
The concert hits Scotland at the end of the month with a show in Edinburgh's Playhouse on May 23 and the Apollo the following night.

Tom and the boys play rock and roll the way it should be interpreted -- loud when it has to be, soft when it needs to be, and always in a superb style.

When asked what the Heartbreakers were like Tom said -- "Well, you'd probably be upset if one of them took your little sister out."

The album hasn't [left my] turntable for the best part of the last week.

If forced to pick the best tracks I'd go for "Rockin' Around (With You)," "Anything That's Rock 'N' Roll" and "Strangered In The Night."