Music review: Petty, Cocker boxes surpass expectations
By Steve Morse
Bangor Daily News - December 8, 1995
Artists stay true to roots, offer surprises
It's boxed-set season again -- and two of the best this fall are from Tom Petty and Joe Cocker. They're both seasoned road warriors and unbridled singers whose idols date back to the dawn of rock 'n' roll. Petty's all-time favorite is Elvis Presley, while Cocker's man man is Ray Charles.
'Playback' Has Some Appealing Moments
By Robert Hilburn
The Los Angeles Times - December 8, 1995
TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS | "Playback" | MCA | ★★★½
For decades in the record business, retrospective collections were generally divided into single album "greatest hits" or, for acts that didn't have all that many Top 40 hits, "best of" packages. But things are different in the CD era, where multi-disc box sets are the rage.
Labels go way beyond mere hits and noteworthy album selections to include all sorts of rarities, from previously unreleased recordings to B-sides. Call it the "Everything You Wanted From This Artist and Then Some" syndrome.
"Playback" shows you how the game is played. Only three of the six discs contain material that once would have qualified for "greatest hits" or "best of" albums.
Review: Petty now Springsteen's peer
By Thor Christensen
Ocala Star-Banner - Friday, December 8, 1995
Back in the late '70s, if you had claimed Tom Petty would one day rival Bruce Springsteen as America's pre-eminent male rocker, people would have thought you were out of your gourd.
The Boss was rock's blue-collar bard. He was the street-wise chronicler of the American Dream, the very future of rock 'n' roll. Even the straights at Time and Newsweek knew that.
And who was Tom Petty? Some skinny, stringy-haired kid from Florida who wrote simple pop songs and sang like a second-rate Dylan imitator.
Fast-forwarding to 1995, Petty sells just as many albums as Springsteen and draws as many people to his concerts. And with "Playback," his exhaustive six-CD box set, he narrows the artistic gap between himself and the Boss.
Editor’s Note: This is a Norwegian article and my translation of it. If you actually know Norwegian and would like to improve it, please contact me.
Original Norwegian:
Absolutt Petty
By Kurt Hanssen
Dagbladet, 13. desember 1995
CD Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers «Playback 1973-1993(MCA)
Når Tom Petty først oppsummerer sin fortid, gjør han det grundig.
Seks til dels velfylte CD-er forteller historien om den erkeamerikanske rockeren, og med et innholdsrikt hefte er dette blitt et meget gjennomført dokument fra årene på selskapene Backstreet og MCA. Fjorårets «Wildflowers» var første plate i Pettys kontrakt med Warner Bros. og er derfor ikke representert her.
De tre første CD-ene tar for seg den «autoriserte» karrieren, med høydepunkter fra ti album. CD 4 byr på B-sider fra singler, mens de to siste platene er fylt av tjuesju uutgitte kutt, så langt tilbake som gruppa Mudcrutch i 1973. Der var Petty, Mike Campbell og Benmont Tench med, i et band som la grunnlaget for Heartbreaker-sounden.
MUSIC: At work on followup to 'American Recordings,' Cash teams up to record with Petty
By Bill DeYoung
Wilmington Star-News -- March 19, 1996
Johnny Cash is on a roll. After four decades of stratospheric highs, offset by lows as low as hell's root cellar, his career hit a nice stretch of road with the 1994 album American Recordings. Produced by Rick Rubin, famous for his work with rappers and rock stars, its 13 songs featured Mr. Cash alone with his guitar, that rumbling baritone voice unencumbered by drums, pedal steel or a string section.
American Recordings got great reviews, went gold and earned a Grammy nomination.
Hoping that lightning will strike twice, Mr. Cash has enlisted Mr. Rubin to oversee the followup. This time, however, they're not making an unplugged album -- playing reverentially behind the living legend are none other than Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers.
People Talk: Rocker writes score
The Southeast Missourian -- April 29, 1996
Tom Petty has turned his musical ear to the movies, writing the score for an upcoming romantic comedy.
The rocker's music will be featured in this summer's "She's the One." The movie is directed by and starts Edward Burns, who made his directorial debut last year with "The Brothers McMullen."
In addition to the score, Petty has written six songs that will be used in the movie. A Warner Bros. soundtrack album will be released early this summer, said Lindsay Law, president of Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Petty knows the score
Wilmington Star-News - May 15, 1996
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Tom Petty has turned his musical ear to the movies, writing the score for an upcoming romantic comedy.
The rocker's music will be featured in this summer's "Shes the One." The movie is directed by and stars Edward Burns, who made his directotial debut last year with "The Brothers McMullen."
In addition to the score, Petty has written six songs that will be used in the movie.
Rock tracks: Petty mix joins several big names
By Stephanie DuBois
Rome News-Tribune - June 4, 1996
Just when you think there can't be any more variations on the soundtrack/CD packaging theme, someone comes up with something new.
Tom Petty's "She's The One" disc contains six tunes used in the forthcoming feature -- starring Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, and filmmaker Edward ("The Brothers McMullen") Burns -- plus songs exclusive to the album. (Ringo Star guest drums on two tunes, by the way.) It also features part of Petty's original instrumental score.
How did such a strange mix come to be? Well, when the rock icon agreed to score and write songs for the movie, little did Petty know he'd wind up in a creative spree that would yield an entirely new Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album. The disc is serving as the movie's soundtrack, but it's not exactly a soundtrack.
Tuned In: Johnny Cash's latest album features the Heartbreakers
By Dale Martin
The Victoria Advocate - June 28, 1996
A Johnny Cash-Tom Petty collaboration is just one of the cuts on Cash's newest project, scheduled for a summer release.
Cash and Petty debuted their version of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" at House of Blues in Los Angeles. On Cash's latest album, Petty and the Heartbreakers play backup.
"Petty actually volunteered their services free of charge, saying it would be an honor to record with someone of Cash's stature," said Rick Rubin, American Recordings record company label president and Cash's latest producer.
"Johnny wrote two new tracks for the album and covers songs by Hank Snow, Jimmie Rogers, Don Gibson, Neil Young and Soundgarden ... Cash has once again proven why he is such a legend in the music world," Rubin said.