Mojo

Thirty years is not a limit for a band

In 2006, American classic rock music author and performer Tom Petty and his band The Heartbreakers celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of their on-stage existence. Of course, the new millennium does not see the outfit as celebrated and productive as they used to be some twenty years ago. The musicians do not go to the studio too often; the lineup goes through constant changes while the present participants pay more efforts, attention and time to side projects. Petty, in his turn, has recorded several solo albums and is currently working on a number of other ideas. Considering all this, many The Heartbreakers supporters tended to believe that the 2002 long player, The Last DJ, would be the last CD to be added to the band’s discography. They had to wait for eight years to see they were wrong. In 2010, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers dropped another studio effort with new material that is called Mojo.

Blues-rock for ever

Rock, simply combination of guitars, bass, vocals and drums, is the core of Mojo with nothing to be surprised by. For more than thirty years already, Tom Petty and his ensemble have been playing this type of music bringing joy and pleasure to numerous listeners on their native American soil and far beyond its borders. While the world is loving in 2010, you still can hear from the speakers the blues-rock that you can never forget and that you love so much you are about to burst up with tears. Actually, even the opener’s track states it clear: Jefferson Jericho Blues. First Flash of Freedom is a song done in full accordance with patters of The Heartbreakers music: light guitars pushed backwards to support Petty’s peaceful vocals and then a simple solo that goes close to the end. It seems that for the musicians it is a piece of cake as if they have been playing this piece for a couple of dozens of years. The CD features fifteen tracks mostly presented by slow-tempo and relaxing material with bluesy guitars. The musicians make no haste and give time and space to one another to enjoy their instrumental and vocal work. This is how they did the first half’s best songs, The Trip To Pirate’s Cove, and No Reason To Cry. Almost in the very end, you will find an awesomely beautiful ballad Something Good Coming that does not sound like the majority of the compositions here.

A proper comeback

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers have long been posing themselves as rigorous condemners of what is going on currently at the music market. Protectors and prompters of old-school rock as it is, they are refusing to adjust their music to the demands of the today’s audience and keep playing the stuff for those who used to share their preferences thirty years ago. Apparently, the band does not recognize the wide application of high tech things and expensive equipment in the recording and mixing process, which might be the reason why Mojo is a product of a live session. The musicians played all the tracks simultaneously without locking up in the soundproof facilities and strapping headphones with microphones on. The outcome is a live and slightly dirty sound that endows the albums with a specific retro-framing. It is immensely difficult to come back after an eight-year break, particularly if you want to make your return a holiday for those who have been waiting for it. To come back, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers recorded a CD lasting as long as 65 minutes. It features songs that a very similar to the band’s classic hits in style. This record can hardly claim the status of the ensemble’s best effort, yet it truly is a good donation to their discography.