Southern Accents - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1985)

I’m working on a thread about legacy artists giving in to the pressure of using modern production and recording techniques in the 80s. It certainly produced a wide range of results, from breakout performances to nadirs. But it was a moment where everything in the music business seemed to change overnight, and it’s fascinating to me how different artists dealt with that.

Tom Petty only barely counts as a legacy artist, but he and his Heartbreakers had several big hits and huge-selling records by the dawn of the 80s. That, his throwback sound, and eventually ending up as the youngest Traveling Wilbury kind of grandfathered him into the 60s and 70s rock star club.

I mention all this because this album wound up being a big step forward for the band. They took several years to agree on a sound and used some diverse production expertise (previous producer Jimmy Iovine, legacy rock modernist Robbie Robertson, and The Eurythmics Dave Stewart) to end up with an evolution in sound from “70s band still trying to score a hit the old fashioned way” to “bold new approach to showcase a talented band.”

There’s plenty of the same reverb-heavy southern rock and neo-psych that made the band big in the first place, but it gets complemented by more interesting song structures, complex multi-tracking, and a sleeker overall sound.

What has never changed over the years is Petty’s dry sense of humor and his habit for biting straight to the core of whatever subject he’s talking about.

They’d always been a great rock band. This was the beginning of the group as a modern music industry mainstay.

Tracks I Liked

It Ain’t Nothin To Me - part of Petty’s long-running “modern life is rubbish” thread of kiss-off songs. And a… checks notes… horn chart?!

Don’t Come Around Here No More - a big hit and my least favorite track on the album when I first heard it. But I see now what they were doing.

Spike - edgier-than-average psych blues, still full of humor and fun