At the time
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
' debut was released in 1976, they were fresh enough to almost be considered
punk
. They weren't as reckless or visionary as
the Ramones
, but they shared a similar love for pure '60s
rock
and, for
the Heartbreakers
, that meant embracing
the Byrds
as much as
the Stones
. And that's pretty much what this album is -- tuneful jangle balanced by a tough garage swagger. At times, the attitude and the sound override the songwriting, but that's alright, since the slight songs (
"Anything That's Rock 'N' Roll,"
to pick a random example) are still infused with spirit and an appealing surface.
Petty & the Heartbreakers
feel underground on this album, at least to the extent that
power pop
was underground in 1976; with
Dwight Twilley
providing backing vocals for
"Strangered in the Night,"
the similarities between the two bands (adherence to
pop
hooks and melodies, love of guitars) become apparent.
Petty
wound up eclipsing
Twilley
because he rocked harder, something that's evident throughout this record. Take the closer
"American Girl"
-- it's a
Byrds
song by any other name, but he pushed
to treat it as a
rock & roll
song, not as something delicate. There are times where the album starts to drift, especially on the second side, but the highlights --
"Rockin' Around (With You),"
"Hometown Blues,"
"The Wild One, Forever,"
the AOR staples
"Breakdown"
and
-- still illustrate how refreshing
sounded in 1976. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine