About Mojo

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS MOJO
Tom Petty - Vocals, Guitar
Mike Campbell - Guitar
Benmont Tench - Keyboards
Ron Blair - Bass
Scott Thurston - Harmonica, Guitar
Steve Ferrone - Drums

Some time in the last few years Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers took a left turn. Maybe it was when Petty woke up in the night with the idea of reuniting his first band, Mudcrutch, to cut the album they never got a chance to make back in the early 70s. Maybe it was when the Heartbreakers assembled the mammoth multi-disc The Live Anthology, which detailed thirty years of concerts. Maybe it was when they gave all their home movies, outtakes and live footage to director Peter Bogdanovich to create the Grammy-winning four-hour career documentary Runnin' Down A Dream. There have been side projects and experiments since the band last went into the studio to cut a new Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album. With MOJO, they have taken their recent freedom and experimentation to heart. They have gone off the reservation and all signs indicate they aren't coming back.

The first thing that hits you about MOJO is that the spirit of the Mudcrutch sessions has carried on with the Heartbreakers. This is the sound of a band playing together in a room - not a studio - facing each other, all singing and playing at the same time. The music is alive, with no overdubs or studio trickery. What you hear is what they created on the spot at that time.

Tom Petty says, "With this album, I want to show other people what I hear with the band. MOJO is where the band lives when it's playing for itself."

As for the songs, MOJO showcases a wide variety of American music from rock 'n' roll to country and both electric and acoustic blues. And then there are the images in Petty's lyrics which slip in on the melodies and set up a home in your head: The barefoot girl in the high grass chewing on a stick of sugar cane, the run-in with the law that begins when a carload of buddies decide to party with the motel maids, and the hilariously audacious idea of opening an album with an electric blues rocker about Thomas Jefferson's love affair with Sally Hemings. Petty would probably chuck a rock at anyone who called him a poet, but he sure is a southern writer of humor and sensitivity.

MOJO has juice and guts but it also has some sweet balladry for the slow dancers and even a wacked-out reggae number that is unlike anything that Heartbreakers have done before. It's the kind of album nobody's supposed to be able to make anymore. It got here just in time.

Comments (17)

ANGELEYEZ - 24 April, 2010 Ticketmasters What's up?? Bought tickets for Woodlands, TX, show & it's been rescheduled, so now how I am too know-? : O; if my tickets are still any good? Please don't say will call. Gettin pretty weary, that I am may never see them! Waited 32 years already, so that makes me a Veteran, I deserve to know whats up!!! ANGEL

doozie - 23 April, 2010 think it's gonna be the greatest This is gonna be the greatest out of all the greats....

- 22 April, 2010 walnut creek CANT WAIT TO SEE PETTY! GETTING MARRIED THERE!!!!

joes6666 - 19 April, 2010 joes6666 I'll be there July 22nd for the Motor City show @ the Palace, can't wait! I know my regular Highway Companion brothers and sisters will love Mojo....but for those with doubts, ...come on...Tom's always been three steps ahead of everyone, you think this will be any different? Sit back, breath-in, and ENJOY....it will be more than just the regular noises in here!!!

- 19 April, 2010 Tom.. Bring the band downunder I'm blown away with "Good Enough" & "First Flash Of Freedom" - reminds me of the class of Damn The Torpedoes.Man! I bet the album (MOJO) will be just as good as if not better than the latter.How about you bring the guys to New Zealand to do some summer gigs.Bring a truckload of gear and come and play a gig @ my place in the country.You'll f*****g love it.:-) plenty of great Sun Sea Sand and Air.And may I add that Mike Campbell is playing out of his f*****g skin on the above tracks .. In fact the entire band sounds brilliant.MOJO will be a huge success in New Zealand.We f******g love you guys downunder mate ;-) "It's just the normal noises in here" :-)

missmisie - 19 April, 2010 "It got here just in time." That's the last line above. I say it will get here about 10 shows too late for some of us. Hate to keep bitching, but I am extremely dissapointed with whoever pulled the trigger on this decision.

missmisie - 19 April, 2010 Can't wait for new music I am really looking forward to the new album and can't wait to get a copy, but I could have waited until after my concert (Tampa). This is a real pain. Can't make it to the original show in Tampa, now I will get shitty seats somewhere else. Love TP! Love HB's! Love the music!!! HATE THIS DECISION TO MOVE 10 SHOWS!!!!!!!!

babuzz - 18 April, 2010 Very Exciting I can't wait for the new Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers album!!! It seems very exciting. They haven't put an album out in years, it feels like! Screw all you people against it! Suck it up and be a man!

st1977 - 18 April, 2010 Proud to be a fan Let's all stop complaining and be glad there is an actual band out there who contintues to do what they love. No matter what they play it will be moving and amazing, it always has. They are one of the only bands left that actually plays real rockn roll and just because the times change, doesn't mean the fans have to. Rock On! Welcome back TP AND THE HEARTBREAKERS, my family will be at 3 shows supporting you!!!

- 17 April, 2010 I'm boycotting Mojo Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers have rescheduled their tour in order to try and maximise the money they make from Mojo. Thousands of their US fans have been inconvenienced and lost hundreds of dollars, while many of their international fans have lost thousands of dollars. Screw you, Tom and Warner Brothers and Ticketmaster, and screw the album. You've lost your mojo.

complexkid79 - 17 April, 2010 It'll be worth the wait I'm sure there isn't a single person out there, myself included, who isn't at least a little disappointed that we now have to wait an additional FOUR or so months before we get to see Tom and the band. But, well, what can you do? I know in my heart the album and the show is going to be worth the wait. I saw the Mudcrutch show in Santa Barbara, CA, and without so much as knowing ONE of the songs, since it hadn't been released yet, it was one of the most enjoyable and heartfelt concerts I'd ever seen - from anyone. If even SOME of the vibe from that show - festive, joyous, blissful, lively, and even transcendent at times - we are all in for a special album and concert. I hope the band plays lots of the new songs. Let's keep things on the new and fresh side. I love the old songs dearly and I was struck at how well they've held up and still sound vital and new as I've listened to Live Anthology, but we've all heard them before. Tom's on a roll. His songwriting is as great as ever. Highway Companion, the Mudcrutch album and now Mojo - our boy's on fire, people. And he's one of the very few guys out there who's been doing this as long as he has who is writing material that stands right up there with his best work. I can hardly wait! Love you, Tom (and the boys)! We all do!

gordongirlsshoppe - 16 April, 2010 Worth the Wait! Rock on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers! Just thrilled you are going on tour and that MOJO will be available. We'll be waiting for you in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena! Always worth the wait! Timeless!

Ringo64 - 16 April, 2010 Not buying this album because of the tou WTF!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously I'm not buying the god damn album now this has pissed me off!!! Summer tour dates work for your FANS!!!!! I'm sorry Tom but if you expect a sold out crowd then you have to do it when YOUR FANS are available!!! Not when they're working, in school or not able to go! You guys are my favorite band but seriously think of your ... See Moreconsumers when you do stuff, at this point I would so much rather hear the old stuff anyway!!! Bring out songs like Dogs on the Run, Magnolia, Forget about Me, etc... and still play the old tour dates if you don't want to play the new music before its officially released!!!

michaelkhosla - 16 April, 2010 I had a feeloing that there was a proble Well, I am a die hard fan of TP & HB's music so I wont complain, but darn it!!!!!! I had Section 2, 2nd Row (thats right in front middle) seats for the opening show in Raleigh, NC, to go see it with my 7 year old and had airline tickets booked. Now I have to cancel the airline tickets and guess what?? Oakland Show on June 5 which now becomes the operner is all sold out (at least all the good seats). Anyway, on the bright side I get to see a few more shows...already got tickets for Raleigh, Louisville (whats going on with that? HAS LOUISVILLE BEEN CANCELLED???), Indy, Cincinnati, Chicago and Sarasota Springs... Cant wait

clyde - 16 April, 2010 Mojo June 15, but Tour June 5 The tour starts before the album is released. I hope there will be a way to download the album before the show in Oakland on June 5.

ohmybabydoll - 16 April, 2010 Can't wait for MOJO!!! I can't wait to hear the whole album!! I just LOVE "Running Man's Bible" and "Good Enough"

- 16 April, 2010 Welcome back TomPetty&HBs I AM anxiously awaiting the album & the tour! I've been to 72 shows. This year I may only get to catch 1 but I KNOW it will be awesome! Thanks for writing the soundtrack of my life! You "raised" me & did a GREAT JOB! Love to TP& the HBs