Tom Petty

Hard Promises isn't the equal of its predecessor, the career-defining Damn the Torpedoes. But that doesn't mean the album blows chunks or anything like that. Quite the opposite, in fact. It opens with that awesome homage to Byrdsy jangle titled "The Waiting." After that Petty descends into a set of blistering California rock, wherein mood and alienation often overwhelm the hooks. He would never again sound so desperate, so torn 'n' frayed, to borrow a phrase from the Stones.

There's a peculiar challenge that faces rock & rollers who aren't at the music's cutting
edge: the problem of how to mature. The genre's intellectuals may challenge themselves
with philosophical lyrics and ethnic rhythms, changing the parameters of their music with
every LP, but those musicians wedded to what Robert Christgau's called "the rock & roll
verities" face the prospect of eternal boogie-down adolescence. The times, the... More >

Hard to gainsay the class solidarity of a rich rock star who sues his record company to keep his list price down to $8.98. And glancing at the lyric sheet, I was pleased to note that the antiboho number--"Kings Road," in which a Pakistani tries to sell Tom funny-looking English underwear--had a lighter touch than usual. The reason I hadn't noticed, unfortunately, is that Petty clobbers the thing like he's singing about how much he hates the road. Elsewhere he's more understated, fortunately, but it just goes to show you--no matter how much they respect the working fan, rich rock stars do tend to fill up on themselves. (Grade - B)