2010s
The Petty Archives

Rock/Pop: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | Mojo Reprise ★★★
Review by Joe Breen
The Irish Times - July 16, 2010

For their first studio album in eight years, Petty & co return to blues-based basics, with mixed results. Petty and the rest of the seasoned team must have mused over old memories for hours before coming up with this riff-laden collection; guitarist Mike Campbell even dug up his old wah-wah pedal to add authenticity to the mix. There are 15 tracks on Mojo, which as at least two too many; the turgid Lover's Touch and the ersatz reggae of Don't Pull Me Over are simply wearing. But Petty, now edging 60, is on better form letting it rip on Jefferson Jericho Blues; recalling his rakish past on The Trip's to Pirate's Cove, shuffling J.J. Cale-like on Let Yourself Go; coming over all tender on No Reason to Cry; and savouring British blues-rock on I Should Have Known It. The ghosts of past blues giants pervade, but the band's distinctive voice keeps the album well ahead of its influences.

Download tracks: The Trip to Pirate's Cove, No Reason to Cry