Latest Posts

Remembering Echo, Tom Petty’s Overlooked Masterpiece

August 11, 2014 John Hugar

In the new issue of Rolling Stone, Tom Petty is asked if there’s any album he’s made that he’s not fond of. He responds by telling us that he’s not particularly thrilled with 1999’s Echo, although people have told him it’s “not that bad.” Well, I can safely say that this is an enormous udnerstatement. Not only is Echo not bad, it’s Petty’s most underrated album, and one of his best. Of course, I don’t blame Tom for not being a fan of it – he recorded it while going through a bitter divorce, and it features some of the darkest songs he’s ever recorded. But while that experience may not be fun for Petty to relive, the album is extremely rewarding on repeated listens. Petty has always been the kind of artist whose songs are from the hip, and often feel autobiographical, but this is the rare album where[...]

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Hypnotic Eye

July 30, 2014 John Hugar

When you woke up on the morning of Tuesday, July 29th, 2014, you might have noticed that the grass was a bit greener, and the air was a bit cleaner. There’s an easy explanation for that: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers released a new album! Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but after four years since the last Heartbreakers record, it was about time for one of the most consistently great rock bands in the world to finally get back in the studio. I can happily report that the results are good: Hypnotic Eye is yet another strong Heartbreakers record, and furthers Petty’s status as the most reliable songwriter in rock (if you’re wondering, Jack White is second, Dave Grohl is third). The buzz about this album in the months before its release centered around the idea that Petty would be returning to the sound of his[...]

Why Do We Care What The Critics Think? (I’ll Tell You)

April 28, 2014 John Hugar

It’s August 2006, I’m hanging around the no-longer-in-existence FYE on Transit & Wehrle, next to the Imax Theater. I pick up the new issue of Spin, immediately flip to the reviews section, and I’m dejected to notice that Tom Petty’s Highway Companion had only received two stars. I resisted the urge to hurl the magazine across the room, but I was decidedly unhappy. How could the be so down on my favorite artist ever? But more importantly, why did I give a fuck? It’s the question that fans, musicians, and probably even other critics have contemplated for decades: why do we care what the critics think? If we derive joy from an album, should we really be losing sleep over whether or not some freelancer from Rolling Stone thought it wasn’t any good? Ideally, no, but we care anyways. Because as music fans, we feel an intrinsic need to have our[...]