Top Ten Songs by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

They have been called "America's Band" and played the halftime show at America's game. Together as a rock band for 34 years they've also had solo projects and vanity projects, backed up a music legend, and been cartoons and the subject of a film documentary. So picking their ten best songs from a 16-cd catalogue of original material truly is "the hardest part."

The 2010 summer Mojo Tour in support of the album of the same name will provide my 25^th time at a Heartbreakers' show and I'm as excited as that first time in 1981, standing in the front row, in the wake of the Damn The Torpedoes album (we called them "albums" back then). And the Number 1 song on this top ten list played constantly on the radio and as a video on MTV...

1. Refugee (Damn The Torpedoes, 1981)

This song exudes the raw energy and passion of Tom Petty like no other. "Everybody's had to fight to be free/You see you don't have to live like a refugee" Maybe it's the emotion from his recent fight with the record company coming through. Whatever drives this song it works. You can feel the energy, anger and frustration and I challenge you to listen to it without drumming the beat out on your dashboard, pumping your head up and down or taking some air guitar licks.

2. The Waiting (Hard Promises, 1981)

A Heartbreakers' love song, The Waiting shows the songwriting poetry that would be no small part of the Band's success. Every line of this song is perfectly written - verses that can top the chorus -- and it's hard to choose just one or two examples of its perfect lyrics. "Oh, baby don't it feel like heaven right now?/Don't it feel like somethin' from a dream?" Making the strength of these songs even more remarkable is that they appear on TP&H's fourth album in just five years.

3. The Damage You've Done (Let Me Up (I've Had Enough), 1987)

This is a strong example of what I call the Petty Sneer. You can just see him - his heart's been trampled a good one and he's in pain, but still defiant. "Well, I wish I had a dollar/For every piece of my broken heart" Later in the song he demands to know what he did wrong. The upbeat guitar line by the Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell also leaves no doubt that Petty's going to survive the breakup described in the song - and maybe drive by the woman's house and moon her.

4. You Got Lucky (Long After Dark, 1982)

The title comment threading its way through this rant at a complacent girlfriend lives up to the title "Heartbreaker." "You got lucky babe/When I found you" But in the complaint also resides some humor - a sly grin that keeps the seriousness of the message from bogging down the good time. An eerie guitar riff sliding between the notes gave thematic support to the post-apocalyptic video for this song, which was an early MTV favorite and harbinger of Petty's later role as a post-apocalypse mayor in the movie, The Postman. This was also Howie Epstein's, the lost Heartbreaker's, first album with the band.

5. Don't Come Around Here No More (Southern Accents, 1985)

This song highlights the sixth album which otherwise lacks the energy of the previous releases. I used to rank this as my favorite TP&H song, but realize now that some of its allure was the somewhat disturbing video a la Alice In Wonderland in which Alice is eaten as cake and the theatrics that used to accompany its performance on tour. Originated by the Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, who also plays sitar on it, the song has a tortured genesis from amongst Stewart, the Heartbreakers' "baby sister" and a rock legend. A steady drum beat and lazy sitar build to background singers shout-singing "hey" briefly and in unison and then, Petty issues the titular warning. "I've given up/You tangle my emotions" It's not until four minutes in that the restrained angst gives way to a blood-curdling background vocal that tears the song open. Mike Campbell begins a driving guitar solo and Petty exclaims, "I'm Free!", as the song's climax draws to a close just too quickly.

6. American Girl (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, 1976)

The debut album spawned two enduring songs for the band, Breakdown and American Girl. But while the appeal of the former is its adaptability to a crowd sing-a-long (Petty tells the ebullient crowd during the song on Pack Up The Plantation, Live!, "You're going to put me out of a job"), American Girl stands on its own strength as a fantastically written, driving rock song. "And for one desperate moment/There he crept back in her memory/God it's so painful when something so close/Is still so far out of reach" The band saw fit to include it in their four song set a the SuperBowl 32 years after its recording. Classics endure. Think of this one as a harder-edged predecessor to one of Petty's biggest solo hits, Free Fallin' (1989).

7. Listen To Her Heart (You're Gonna Get It, 1978)

"She's gonna listen to her heart/It's gonna tell her what to do/She might need a lot of lovin'/But she don't need you" While Petty's verses often lyrically overshadow the chorus, a chorus can't get much better than that. A steady rhythm behind those words puts Tom's trust in the strength of his relationship beyond any doubt, even against the lechery of music industry bloodsuckers. You can give this one (and 9 others) a listen on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website - the members of TP&H were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002.

8. Learning To Fly (Into The Great Wide Open, 1991)

Even though the strength of the band is straight-on rock there are several ballads that are just as strong. Picking out just one or two of them from the catalogue becomes quite arbitrary. But this is my favorite, largely because of the full guitar intro, soft vocal, background harmonies and its message. This song acknowledges that life is tough but you can learn to fly above it. "I'm learning to fly/But I ain't got wings/Coming down/Is the hardest thing" There is an almost metaphysical quality to these simple lyrics that makes it seem like they were written just for you. In concert, Benmont Tench adds a strong piano line that should have been included on the studio album.

9. Saving Grace (Highway Companion, 2006)

"It's hard to say where you are these days/But you run on anyway, don't you baby?" I have no idea what this song is about, but it has fast become one of my favorites. The quirky lyrics over a steady blues guitar rhythm and the subtle Petty Sneer make this a standout from most of their new work since 1999's Echo. "You're confident but not really sure" If that isn't etched in marble somewhere, it should be - like on the cornerstone of every college. Yes, technically, this is a Tom Petty solo album, but that distinction largely blurs when most of the Heartbreakers play on those solo projects.

10. Free Girl Now (Echo, 1999)

On an album that predominantly features ballads and songs leaning that way, Petty belts out a pro-female rock anthem against workplace sexual harassment without even coming near to being preachy. Free Girl Now counterbalances some of the more chauvinistic songs earlier in the band's history and sets their karma right. "I remember when he was your boss/I remember him touching your butt/I remember you counting your blessings/Yeah, honey you had to keep your mouth shut/Hey, baby, you're a free girl now" Mike Campell's guitar work is flawless without being overstated and Petty's vocals have lost none of their edge in 20 years.

TP&H have generally toured the U.S. every other summer, but Petty has become more conscious of the road's toll after losing friend and bandmate, Howie Epstein. Heartbreaker and Petty albums have also become less frequent in the new millenium - Mojo will be the first Heartbreaker album of new material in eight years and it has been four years since Petty's last solo cd, although Petty, Campbell and Tench played on a cd released in 2008 by TP&H's predecessor band, Mudcrutch. The opportunities to see America's band have become more limited, making this summer the best time to go out and hear the guys play these ten great songs and many others.