Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Echo

In 1999, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers got together to create some magic. Returning to their original form, Tom and the band worked hard to produce the best effort that they could. So, is Echo worth paying your hard earned money to own in your permanent collection? Let’s spin the disc and find out.

I’m going to make this one a little easier than most; Echo is without a doubt, the best Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers CD in existence. Something magical happened at the end of the millennium, and Tom & the boys recorded a masterpiece.

The disc opens with Room At The Top, which is a brilliant song, filled with passion that oozes through every note. The song starts with a slow, melodic build before crashing into a louder, more profound musical piece, where you can feel what the band is singing about. Room At The Top is an excellent opener that sets the tone for what’s to come.

Highlights on the disc of many include Free Girl Now, Swingin’, Echo, and Rhino Skin.

Free Girl Now was the first single released, and is a hard rocking, stomp your feet and sing-along, fun fest of a song. Tom sings of being free from the past, through the story of a girl who used to put up with a lot of bad in her working life, but broke away to become a free girl now, one who’s out to do what she wants and get back her life without feeling ashamed or humiliated. Good song, great message.

Swingin’ has a superb funky groove that catches your attention and holds it. Tom’s voice is smooth for this one and the guitar work is exemplary. The harmonica is a nice touch and the song soaks into your system, not leaving for a while after it’s been played.

Echo is my favorite song on the disc and may be one of my favorite Tom Petty songs ever. It’s a slower song with a beautiful piano drive, played by Benmont Tench, which keeps the pace mellow. The slow, meaningful power that Tom puts into his voice shines through on this song, and the lyrics are well developed and poignant.

Rhino Skin is a fantastic song about being mentally tough in order to make it through this life. The message in the music is that things are not always easy, and there are plenty of hard times and harsh comments to be had by us all. A thick skin is required to get through those hard times but never give up hope. It is a dark song that speaks of mystery and the hiding of our true selves in order to have a good opinion formed of us by our peers. Tom delivers the message brilliantly on this track, get thicker (Rhino) skin and accept that some people will never like anything you do for no reason other than to make them feel better.

With fast beating, road cruising, heavy rockers, and slow ballads placed perfectly on the disc, Echo is one of the best works Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have ever done. This record was a fabulous way for them to close out 1999. If there is one Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers album that should be in your collection, this is it.

Ryo’s Rating: 9.5 (out of 10)

Track List
Room At The Top
Counting On You
Free Girl Now
Lonesome Sundown
Swingin’
Accused Of Love
Echo
Won’t Last Long
Billy The Kid
I Don’t Wanna Fight
This One’s For Me
No More
About To Give Out
Rhino Skin
One More Day, One More Night

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - June 30, 1999

Summertime, 1999. I was on my way to the PNC Bank Arts Center with my best friend Tommy to experience Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers live for the first time ever. Since I had an extra ticket and invited Tommy to be my guest, he drove. At his insistence, we did not leave as early as I recommended. He kept reassuring me that everything was going to be fine and we would not be late. I kept telling him that we were going to hit severe traffic on the parkway and miss part of the show. He countered with the fact that there was an opening act (that neither of us wanted to see) and we would arrive in time. He was driving and knew what he was doing. Famous. Last. Words.

Sure enough, we hit the parkway and about 10 miles away from the venue we slammed into a wall of non-moving, bumper-to-bumper traffic. I can’t recall sitting in a more sever traffic jam. With the car stopped and practically in the park position, I glared at Tommy.

“What?” was his dull response.

He knew damn well what. We were going to be late for the concert because he didn’t listen.

“We’re fine,” he said as I continued my stare of aggravation.

We weren’t fine. The concert was scheduled to begin at 8:00 PM. We finally parked the car at 8:45 PM. Not only had we missed the opening act, we missed the start of Tom Petty’s set. I could hear the music playing as soon as we parked the car. While Tommy insisted it was still the opening act, I knew he was wrong and told him as much. His decision to leave later than recommended had cost us the start of the concert. It was the first and only concert that I ever missed the opening song to.

As we dashed to get into the center, we both had full bladders and therefore would have to miss more of the concert as we headed to the men’s room instead of our lawn seats. The end of Running Down A Dream played out as we proceeded to the urinals. I was not happy at all and still couldn’t believe I missed the start of the concert.

While standing in the bathroom line, my all time favorite Tom Petty song started. Breakdown rang out through the ampitheater and into the men’s room. I glared at Tommy again. There’s nothing like listening to your favorite song in the bathroom at a concert. I relieved myself, washed up, and headed out of the men’s room, singing Breakdown along with the rest of the crowd. Tommy and I finally made our way to the lawn and found our seats during Swinging.

Of course, by that time, the lawn was jam packed. We found a nice spot at the top as far away from the stage as possible and settled in for the rest of the show. Soon all of the troubles of being late and missing songs would be forgotten as Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers would take over the rest of the night.

Classic songs were mixed in with cuts from the new disc (Echo), which was a CD that I loved. As my first (and so far, only) Tom Petty experience, it was amazing. You Don’t Know How It Feels, Don’t Come Around Here No More, Don’t Do Me Like That, and American Girl, were just some of the highlights from this brilliant performance.

As he also does with his music videos and website, Tom had an elaborate stage setting with several light changes that reflected different images dancing across the floor. From our vantage point way up high, the stage was hard to see (so was the band), but I could tell that there was a lot of psychedelic stuff happening.

In concert, Tom and the boys sounded as great as they do on record. Note perfect, exceptional timing, and Tom’s vocals were superb. The tour had not put a strain on his vocal chords or his spirits. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers came to PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, and conquered us all.

To this day I am still disappointed that I missed the beginning of the show, but I don’t dwell on it. And I never pass up an opportunity to razz Tommy about it, especially if a Tom Petty song comes on while we’re hanging out. Hey, what are friends for?

Setlist
Jammin’ Me (completely missed this one)
Runnin’ Down A Dream (heard the end while rushing up the hill)
Breakdown (heard it in the men’s room)
Swinging
Don’t Do Me Like That
I Don’t Wanna Fight
Mary Jane’s Last Dance
I Won’t Back Down
Listen To Her Heart
It’s Good To Be King
You Don’t Know How It Feels
Rhino Skin
Don’t Come Around Here No More
Walls
Room At The Top
You Got Lucky
Free Girl Now
American Girl
You Wreck Me
Free Fallin’
Gloria
Learning To Fly