TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS - Hypnotic Eye

Kategorie: CD-Reviews | Genre: Rock | Heft: Jahrgang 2014, eclipsed Nr. 162 / 7-8-2014 | VÖ-Jahr: 2014 | Wertung: 9/10 | Label: Warner | Autor: MA


Thomas Earl Petty doesn't give interviews, but lets his music speak - and how. His 13th studio album is already a highlight of the otherwise rather drunken music year 2014: Eleven songs that stylistically tie in with his powerful early work and cover a broad spectrum from rock, pop, jazz to blues. The 63-year-old shines not only with his distinctive nasal singing, but also with dense instrumentation (organ, harmonica, strings), strong solos and lyrics that are hard to beat in their dripping cynicism. "I got a dream. Gonna fight until I get it right", he purrs in the opener "American Dream Plan B" and holds the mirror in front of his over-patriotic compatriots' face. While in "Burn Out Town" he sketches a somewhat flattering picture of the USA as the new Third World, or in "Shadow People" he rages against religious hardliners. Whereby Petty is at his strongest when he - as in "Red River" - rocks uninhibitedly, surprises with great melodies, conjures up the "Magic Bus" of the Who in "Forgotten Man" and for the finale (with "Shadow People) six and a half minutes of melodious sound. Great!

Top track: Shadow People

Back to overview