Tom Petty's Echo

Addiction's a funny thing. You're a good kid straight out of high school when the bearded guy in the dorm room next door gets you to take his Tom Petty collection for a spin. On first listen you don't get it, but the second time it hits you--and damn, it's good. You're hooked. The next thing you know, all you can think about is "Free Fallin'," "Mary Jane," and possibly "Learning to Fly." But your whole world is thrown upside down when your friend from Santa Cruz mails you something else--Tom Petty's new album, Echo, arriving in stores on Tues., Apr. 13.

Hints of Echo surfaced in early March, when Petty released "Free Girl Now," the CD's third track, as a downloadable sound file on the digital music website MP3.com. It's clear that this song headlines Petty's new album, but the tune is no "You Don't Know How It Feels." Although it does exude the same just-kickin'-it feel that is the hallmark of Petty's other hits, Petty's crackling voice now sounds more old-folk than old-skool.

In addition, tunes like the title track would be far better if Petty avoided his imitations of elementary-school sopranos and returned to his attempts to blur the line between singing music and smoking weed. He does so in "One More Day, One More Night," the album's last and possibly best song, as the Tom Petty of old returns in this prototypical greatest-hit-in-the-making. The guitar rises and falls with every quiver in Petty's voice, following him closely throughout the chorus, while the drums persistently hint at a quicker beat, rapidly approaching a climax without ever actually speeding up.

Echo may not be the hard-hitting Tom Petty you were expecting, but it's good enough. After all, you never know when you'll get your next fix. (Warner Bros.)

--Aaron Zamost

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