Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are back with their first new album in eight years, Mojo and it's a mess of blues. The band has moved as far away from the signature Petty soun
d as possible. Most of the time this experimentation helps the music but there are a few instances where it'd be better to stick to what they do best, honest to goodness American classic rock."Jefferson Jericho Blues" is driving, repetitive energetic Chicago blues in the vein of Muddy Waters. Wailing harmonica is the lead instrument while the guitar snakes around underneath, sometimes with a raw crunch and other times liquid.
The band channels their inner Pink Floyd on "First Flash of Freedom." Huge atmospheric, drawn-out notes inform this song with a David Gilmour meets Stevie Ray Vaughan quality. Vocals don't show up for well over a minute.
"Running Man's Bible" is a pretty standard electric blues song but the recording technique makes it sound live. There are hints of Albert King in the short bursts of lead guitar. Another live-sounding song, with its room reverb-soaked vocals is "Takin' My Time." It also features Hendrix-like lead guitar and a heavy thud drum pattern.
The sleepy "The Trip To Pirate's Cove" is reminiscent of post-Cream Eric Clapton meets Steely Dan. The song is cool and collected with clean blues-based guitar licks.
Petty has often shown his playful side but "Candy" is plain goofy. Full of half-baked blues cliches in the lyrics, its ultimately boring.
"No Reason To Cry" mostly continues the tradition of Petty's country-flavored solo songs. But this time around its almost too mellow, although the steel guitar is a nice touch. The song could use a memorable chorus hook.
Taking a page from Led Zeppelin, the first single "I Should Have Known It" has an infectious heavy riff throughout. Even the drumming cascades like an avalanche John Bonham-style.
"U.S. 41" is pure Skip James acoustic blues with some southern swamp rock thrown in. Petty even adopts a slightly dissonant falsetto like James. Employing a raw production value, it sounds like everything is filtered through the natural distortion of a "green bullet" harmonica microphone. Resonator slide guitar and piston-like drumming leads add to the effect.
In the tradition of Eric Clapton's cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff," the band attempts reggae on "Don't Pull Me Over." The experiment mostly succeeds, although it takes a bit to get used to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers playing swirling, echo-filled dub.
"Good Enough" is full of biting lead guitar that proves Mike Campbell is a highly underrated player. Benmont Tench's organ really shines as well, starting as shimmering texture in the background than emerging triumphantly as the guitar dies down.
Like all the best bands of the 1970s, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers play blues-based rock and roll. However, Mojo is the most straight-ahead blues that's ever been heard from the band on a studio album. While most of the songs show an excellent blues band has been inside them all these years, others suffer from Petty's voice. His distinctive nasal drawl is part of what makes the band's classic hits so great but the blues needs something meatier. Depending on the point of view, Mojo could be seen as a failure or a success.
