Search - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers :: Southern Accents

My favorite Petty venture.

R. Hansen | Campbell, CA United States | 08/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a true blue Yankee but I love the sentiment of this work: the dichtomy of longing for your roots but being weary of them too. These two themes are explored nicely in both "Rebels" and the title track. Petty does a good job of expressing his love for his roots without giving us typical good ol' boy bombast or treacle. In fact he is so effective that one could argue that his themes are universal and that the fact that he mentions the south at all is simply coincidental.



The title work is a great acheivement from Bentmont Tench's mornful piano to TP's heartful delivery of some great lyrics. I must say that the imagery of the dream about his mother coming to him is very touching. All of the song's are great here and contain some fine riffs, words and twists (like Tench's off key piano--recorded while he was unable to hear the mix through his head phones and just tinkered away as a joke--but later included because it's discordant result seemed to fit). Two overlooked gems are also here (both in my Top Ten fave Petty tunes) "Dogs on the Run" and "The Best of Everything". The former stands tall in the great tradition of metaphoric stories over a great rock chord progression and the latter a very sentimental look back with a fantastic opening line: "She probably works in a resturant, that's what her mama did". How many of us have not pondered the lives of someone we lost track of?"

My favorite Tom Petty album

Joe | TExAS | 11/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am shocked at the negative comments directed at this album. I have every Tom Petty album made and this one became my favorite after the very first time I listened to it. The album opens with "Rebels," a powerful song about Civil War feelings not yet gone. Tom then goes directly into another song about discontent, "It Ain't Nothin' to Me." Tom stays in a bitter and somber mood with "Don't Come Around Here No More," the biggest hit of the album. However, the best song on the album is next, with the classic title track, "Southern Accents." This song sounds penned from Faulkner, with vivid references to the pride Tom feels for his Southern roots. The rest of the songs are all solid, with "Dogs on the Run" balancing out the album as the last great song. Music is subjective and to each their own. But for my money, this is Tom Petty's masterpiece."

Petty takes a chance -- and delivers his best album

Brian D. Rubendall | Oakton, VA | 05/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Full Moon Fever" may have spawned bigger sales, but "Southern Accents" is Tom Petty's best album. With production help from Eurythmic Dave Stewart, Petty incorporates synthesizers into his sound as on the weird "Don't Come Around Here No More." What really shines is the songwriting, the best that he's ever done. "With "Rebels" and the title track, he finally acknowledges his Dixie roots, which is a welcome element. The song closes with two excellent songs, "Mary's New Car" and the horn-laden "The Best of Everything." This is truly Petty at his best."