Mojo (2010)
1. Jefferson Jericho Blues
2. First Flash of Freedom
3. Running Man's Bible
4. The Trip to Pirate's Cove
5. Candy
6. No Reason to Cry
7. I Should Have Known It
8. U.S. 41
9. Takin' My Time
10.Let Yourself Go
11.Don't Pull Me Over
12.Lover's Touch
13.High in the Morning
14.Something Good Coming
15.Good Enough
 
When I first heard about this record,
I was a bit skeptical and had my heart set on disappointment.
Supposedly, this was going to be a "Blues" album, with Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers playing homage to the old Blues greats. I'm simply not a
huge fan of the blues. I can take it or leave it, don't hate it, but
can't really distinguish many of the blues artists from one another - so
I wasn't expecting I would enjoy this one that much.
What I should have learned by this point, is that Tom Petty doing
anything is great, as long as he sounds like Tom Petty. I have
to argue that if I never would have heard the "Blues" comparison, I
would have never made the connection myself. This album sounds more
like Petty trying to replicate the great music of the late 1960's in the
likes of Hendrix, The Yardbirds and (of course) The Byrds. Yes, I know
that some of those artists, and a lot of the music in the late 1960's
was a form of the Blues, it's just not the same as the early
Chicago Blues sound that first comes to mind.
I was still scared when I listened to the very first song, Jefferson
Jericho Blues. Normally Petty puts the strongest song on the album
as the very first track. He seems to do just the opposite here, as this
one is one of the worst songs on the album. The same seven note
sequence throughout the song is a snoozer, and the idiotic lyrics (about
Thomas Jefferson shagging one of his slaves) is only worse.
Fortunately, things pick up quickly and strongly. A lot of the music
here isn't necessarily distinguishable, but for the most part, it's not
really a bad thing since all of the music has that pleasant, trippy late
sixties feel. In other words, this is a good album to just listen
and relax to, without worrying about what songs really sound like
what.
With what now seems obligatory on most Petty albums, there are fifteen
songs, and most fans could probably do without three or four (I'm not
particularly crazy about Takin' My Time or the odd, out of place
Reason To Cry, but that's just me). Curiously, he reserves the
strongest songs for the middle of the album. The strongest highlights
are the somewhat humorous Candy along with first single, the
power driven I Should Have Known It. My two favorites are the
Bluesy U.S. 41 and the sort of flowery Let Yourself Go.
I guess I should point out that this is a "Heartbreakers" record, the
first since 2002's The Last D.J., but I
never could tell a difference. Plus, it looks like there are a lot of
new guys in the band this time around. Fortunately, Mike Campbell, as
always, is right there by Petty's side, and his guitar work on this
album is impeccable. Thumbs up on this one.
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