Some confused sectors of the press initially slotted Petty as "new wave" when he released this 1976 debut, and the mistaken identity isn't wholly inexplicable. While the heartland rock of that era was defined by the grand, sweeping revivalism of Springsteen and Seger, Petty and his spunky fellow Floridians looted the '60s for a feel that was punchier and more direct, but with more of a glossy coat than garage rockers of the Nuggets ilk. Like any footloose young rocker, Petty's breezy outlook has its callow charms: "Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll" insists that you don't need school or work so long as you got your radio, "Rockin' Around with You" presents frisky alternatives to being "lonely" and "blue," and "American Girl" peeks into the bedroom of its titular heroine to sympathize with her unspoken yearning. (The guitar hook of the latter also "inspired" the Strokes' "Last Nite.") At slower tempos, the Heartbreakers do gather moss, if only because you inevitably pay more attention to what Petty has to say — or, too often, what he doesn't. A major exception is "Breakdown," with Mike Campbell's guitar winding its way around a slow-burning shuffle, creating a lithe groove that only… read more »