I Should Have Known It

Song: I Should Have Known It
Artist: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Album: Mojo






A new Tom Petty album is like a visit from an old friend you don't see often.  He comes over, has a bunch of great new stories, and you sort of pick up where you left off feeling like no time had really past between the last visit.  That's exactly how I think of Mr. Tom Petty, and here on his twelfth album with the Heartbreakers, the stories they are bringing are blues-soaked and recorded live in the studio without overdubs.  "Mojo" is rich in texture and vibe and finds Petty sounding quite amazing.  Just shy of 60, Petty is an American music legend, and while I don't expect "Mojo" or any of its tracks to become "hits" that's really not the point... this album is about killer songwriting, killer playing, and grooves deep dark and sexy.  It could have been released in 1970... just an indication of how toned down the production is.

Album opener "Jefferson Jericho Blues" gets things off to a crackling start.  It really let's you know what you're going to expect.  It's some big bar blues that hits you in the gut and then gets you moving.  It honestly wouldn't feel out of place in a bar scene from "True Blood."  "First Flash of Freedom" slows things down and sounds like vintage Petty.  It actually reminded me a little of the album "She's the One," and over-looked album that was unfortunately the soundtrack for a terrible movie.  Lead single "I Should Have Known It" is also a groovy rocker.  Petty really in his element.

I realized, almost embarrassingly, that I'd somehow missed the last TWO Heartbreakers albums, "Echo" and the "The Last DJ."  I'm going to have to pick those up.

Petty says "Mojo" "isn't a California album" it's a "rural South album."

Enjoy.

I Should Have Known It


Jefferson Jericho Blues


Mojo Documentary