Review: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, ‘Origins 1971 – 1978’ – A Trip Thru Their Early Days

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have released a new box set that takes us on a trip through their early days as Mudcrutch all the way through their first two studio albums as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The box set is entitled Origins 1971 – 1978. I went with the 4-CD version vs the more expensive vinyl edition… times are hard. Per usual I won’t be commenting on the Blu-ray that also comes in the box.

With this box set dropping I can honestly say we’re in the thick of the holiday season. And by “holiday season” I mean box set season. Forget about those weirdos who put up their Xmas lights before Halloween is even over – talking to you Gary and Heather – it ain’t the holidays until the box sets come pouring out. And boy, are the boxes pouring out.

With all the recent releases, it feels like Santa is done waiting in the wings and is ready to rush the stage and yell, “I’m ready for my close up.” Already this year, I’ve posted about The Who By Numbers box and as a guilty pleasure the Foreigner Head Games – Deluxe Edition. We’ve also posted about Elvis Costello’s box for the 49th anniversary of My Aim Is True.

And now we have some new (well, really “old”) Tom Petty. And this is just the tip of the iceberg with boxes from Talking Heads and Billy Joel still slated for release in the coming weeks. And I’m not even mentioning the deluxe edition of the Stones latest Foreign Tongues with 5 bonus tracks, entitled Loose Lips.

I’m on record as a huge Tom Petty fan. But I have to admit, when they announced this box, I didn’t have my usual high level of anticipation. Granted, I had years to anticipate and get excited about Wildflowers And All The Rest and Live At The Fillmore 1997 because Petty himself had teased those sets prior to his sad surprise passing. And the box set An American Treasure felt like a surprise gift.

But for some reason I felt slightly unmoved on this one. Perhaps it’s because two of the four discs (in the CD set) were rereleases of his first two albums, the great debut Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1976) and You’re Gonna Get It (1978). I’ve had both those albums on vinyl since I bought them in college.

It also didn’t help that a few of the early tracks on the first disc, which you can buy separately subtitled No Sleep Til LA, were Mudcrutch songs I already had on the 1995 box Playback. I’d already heard/owned “Depot Street,” and “Up In Mississippi Tonight,” among a few others. And let’s be honest, much of this has been heavily bootlegged – although it’s mostly all new to me.

And admittedly, “Parade Of Loons,” the first single didn’t grab me immediately, although I included it on my Playlist: Songs About Being Crazy/Insane. But now that I’ve heard this set – I’ve had to stream as I sit by the window playing “Please Mr. Postman” waiting for my set to show up – my lack of excitement was, as usual with me, misguided.

When you boil it down Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mike Campbell (guitar), Benmont Tench (keyboards), Ron Blair (drums) and Stan Lynch (drums) were not only a kick ass rock n roll band, these guys could play anything. This is an exciting live document of their coming into their own.

Disc 1 in the CD set is 17 songs long. There are five songs that are on a separate LP on the vinyl version. These are early-Heartbreaker songs or pre-Heartbreakers song with Mudcrutch (with Dave Marsh on drums and Tom Leadon on guitar). “Parade Of Loons” has indeed grown on me. This is not a “lost album,” in the manner of Neil Young’s Homegrown or Hitchhiker, it’s just a collection of songs.

What we hear on disc one is a band/band leader finding their sound. Despite being considered a “rock band” Petty takes these guys in a lot of different directions. “You’re Gonna Learn” has an almost reggae vibe. It’s like Petty was trying on a lot of different hats to see what fits. “Another Lonely Night” is a 50s style creeper of a rock song. “Sin City” is a slew of rocking weirdness.

“Wild Eyes” is a track that could have been on the debut, it would have fit in perfectly. “Unheard Hero” takes us to the country rock aisle. My two favs are “Satisfy Yourself” which almost reads as soulful, there’s a swing in that song that’s irresistible, and “Long Way” a beautiful ballad.

“Save Me” points toward “Don’t Do Me Like That.” Benmont Tench takes the piano for a wonderful stroll on “Making Some Noise.” “Lost In Your Eyes,” which was also on An American Treasure is an absolute keeper.

Disc 2 and Disc 3 are the aforementioned debut and sophomore album from Petty & the Heartbreakers. I’ve always loved the debut which has two of his biggest songs “Breakdown” and “American Girl.”

But there’s so much more than those two tracks on the album. “The Wild One, Forever” points to more nuanced songwriting to come. And who doesn’t love “Hometown Blues” and “Anything That’s Rock N Roll” (Petty wrote that one after he and Campbell saw Kiss and Campbell said, “I guess anything that’s rock n roll is ok.”)

The track I’d forgotten about that I just love is “Fooled Again (I Don’t Like It).” The young, heartbroken me could have used that song…

His second album is typical of second albums, not a sophomore slump per se, just the usual “more of the same” as the debut. “I Need To Know,” a song I first heard Stevie Nicks do live and “Listen To Her Heart” are absolute classics. The title track is great. “Magnolia” is about as Southern (not Southern rock) as you’re gonna get. It feels like kudzu is growing under my feet when I hear that song.

There are “extended versions” of a few songs, meaning they didn’t fade out as early as the original release. I don’t hear anything that would make me want those songs in this “extended” form. I mean, there was no “Stairway To Heaven” guitar solo lurking in the fade out that we missed out over these 50 years. But it is nice to have these albums sounding this fantastic – kudos to Ryan Ulyate who produced this thing.

The final disc is just magic – as it usually is for me – in a live performance at the Record Plant on April 23, 1977. At this point the debut was out and the second album was months away. The set opens with the great “Surrender” which never made it on a proper Heartbreakers LP but should have. Although Stan Lynch insists they never got it to sound right in the studio.

There are a bunch of tracks that I’d never heard before. The rollicking “Jaguar and Thunderbird” was fun. They big hits are all here – “American Girl,” “Listen To Her Heart,” “I Need To Know” – and yes, “Breakdown.” Although the definitive version of that last one is live from the Capitol Studios that was released as a promo single. My local station only played that version.

“Fooled Again” is epic! Al Kooper (of Dylan and Supersessions fame) comes out with Denny Cordell (head of Shelter Records) to play for a while. “Dog On The Run” was a great song, not to be confused with a similar titled song on Southern Accents. The final track is a great cover of the classic “Route 66” which the Stones and Depeche Mode have also done.

It’s a great show and it makes this box all the more worthy of purchase. I really dug this box set after getting over my initial hesitation. This is a great look at the early chapters of the Tom Petty story. It’s certainly worth a very loud listen!

Enjoy and Happy Box Set Season to all who celebrate!