Record Review
By Paul Kowtiuk
The Leamington Post - Wednesday, May 13, 1981

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS, "Hard Promises" (Backstreet)
Last year, Petty walked the fence between traditional rock and new wave quite successfully. His vocal style went uncloned. To this day, the only major recording artist to even approach Petty's mood is Elvis Costello.

After the opening cut, it becomes apparent that this album will not depart significantly from his debut, musically, or lyrically. Again, I'd like to stress that this is not necessarily bad; "Hard Promises" is likely to please those who enjoyed Petty's last effort.

A couple of notes; a lyric sheet is included and the album has been mastered at half-speed, supposedly increasing the fidelity. I could notice no difference between this album and other recently-released albums. Maybe you can.