Self-Titled Debut

Rating

Album: Self-Titled Debut (Expanded & Remastered)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Rockin' Around (With You)	More Info...	0:02
2)	Breakdown	More Info...	0:02
3)	Hometown Blues	More Info...	0:02
4)	The Wild One, Forever	More Info...	0:03
5)	Anything That's Rock 'N' Roll	More Info...	0:02
6)	Strangered in the Night	More Info...	0:03
7)	Fooled Again	More Info...	0:04
8)	Mystery Man	More Info...	0:03
9)	Luna	More Info...	0:04
10)	American Girl	More Info...	0:03

Album: Self-Titled Debut (Expanded & Remastered)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Rockin' Around (With You)	More Info...	0:02
2)	Breakdown	More Info...	0:02
3)	Hometown Blues	More Info...	0:02
4)	The Wild One, Forever	More Info...	0:03
5)	Anything That's Rock 'N' Roll	More Info...	0:02
6)	Strangered in the Night	More Info...	0:03
7)	Fooled Again	More Info...	0:04
8)	Mystery Man	More Info...	0:03
9)	Luna	More Info...	0:04
10)	American Girl	More Info...	0:03

Tracks

Performer Notes

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Mike Campbell (guitar); Ron Blair (cello, bass); Benmont Tench (piano, organ); Stan Lynch (drums).
Recorded at the Shelter Studio, Hollywood, California. Originally released on Shelter (52006). Includes liner notes by Bill Flanagan.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
The debut of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers came at a crucial time in American rock & roll history. Punk hadn't hit yet, and bloated rock dinosaurs like Bad Company and their ilk were still making life miserable for real rock & rollers. All the first generation roots-rock bands were gone. Petty's appearance marked the return of pure, unpretentious rock & roll that wasn't afraid to wear its '60s influences on its sleeve. The band's eponymous first album is full of Byrdsian ringing guitars, Dylan/McGuinn-style drawling vocals and pure pop hooks of the kind that hadn't been heard since the first Big Star album (and how many people heard Big Star at the time?). Petty also proved himself to be a world class pop songsmith on instant classics like "American Girl" and "Breakdown."

Professional Reviews

Q (9/91) - 3 Stars - Good - "...two stand-outs ("Breakdown" & "American Girl")..."

Uncut (8/02, p.114) - 5 out of 5 - "...Innocently infusing Southern psychedelia with a shot of poppy, punkish energy, Petty's debut was one of the 1976/7's ubiquitous LPs..."

Pitchfork (Website) - "[A]ll the elements that later made Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers one of America's most agreeable and enduring music institutions were clear and present on the band's self-titled debut."