Playback (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album)

Playback
Box set by
ReleasedNovember 20, 1995
Recorded1973–93 (plus 1995 overdubs)
GenreRock
Length5:14:39
LabelMCA
Producer
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology
Wildflowers
(1994)
Playback
(1995)
Songs and Music from "She's the One"
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[2]
MusicHound[3]
Q[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
Spin8/10[4]

Playback is a box set compilation by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in 1995. It contains popular album tracks, B-sides, previously unreleased outtakes, and early songs by Petty's previous band Mudcrutch.

The first three discs of this collection are Petty's singles with and without the Heartbreakers, arranged in rough chronological order. Disc One covers the years 1976-81, Disc Two covers 1982-87 and Disc Three covers 1989-93.

Disc four brings together 15 B-sides that were never officially released on Tom Petty or Heartbreakers albums. Some of these seem like throwaways, while others are miscellaneous live tracks usually found on singles' flipsides.

Discs five and six offer 27 recordings that include tracks previously unreleased or unavailable on CD, dating back to Petty's early days with his pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch.

A companion VHS home video, later released on DVD, featured the band's most popular music videos.

Track listing

Disc one: The Big Jangle

  1. "Breakdown" (Tom Petty) – 2:42
  2. "American Girl" (Petty) – 3:33
  3. "Hometown Blues" (Petty) – 2:12
  4. "Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll" (Petty) – 2:24
  5. "I Need to Know" (Petty) – 2:24
  6. "Listen to Her Heart" (Petty) – 3:03
  7. "When the Time Comes" (Petty) – 2:45
  8. "Too Much Ain't Enough" (Petty) – 2:57
  9. "No Second Thoughts" (Petty) – 2:39
  10. "Baby's a Rock 'n' Roller" (Petty, Mike Campbell) – 2:52
  11. "Refugee" (Petty, Campbell) – 3:22
  12. "Here Comes My Girl" (Petty, Campbell) – 4:25
  13. "Even the Losers" (Petty) – 3:59
  14. "Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)" (Petty) – 4:25
  15. "Don't Do Me Like That" (Petty) – 2:42
  16. "The Waiting" (Petty) – 3:59
  17. "A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)" (Petty, Campbell) – 4:23
  18. "Something Big" (Petty) – 4:44
  19. "A Thing About You" (Petty) – 3:32
  20. "Insider" (Petty) – 4:23
  21. "You Can Still Change Your Mind" (Petty, Campbell) – 4:16

Disc two: Spoiled & Mistreated

  1. "You Got Lucky" (Petty, Campbell) – 3:36
  2. "Change of Heart" (Petty) – 3:19
  3. "Straight into Darkness" (Petty) – 3:47
  4. "Same Old You" (Petty, Campbell) – 3:30
  5. "Rebels" (Petty) – 5:19
  6. "Don't Come Around Here No More" (Petty, Dave Stewart) – 5:05
  7. "Southern Accents" (Petty) – 4:44
  8. "Make It Better (Forget About Me)" (Petty, Stewart) – 4:23
  9. "The Best of Everything" (Petty) – 4:03
  10. "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" (live) (Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman) – 3:30
  11. "Don't Bring Me Down" (live) (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) – 3:52
  12. "Jammin' Me" (Petty, Campbell, Bob Dylan) – 4:08
  13. "It'll All Work Out" (Petty) – 3:11
  14. "Mike's Life/Mike's World" (Campbell) – 0:40
  15. "Think About Me" (Petty) – 3:45
  16. "A Self-Made Man" (Petty) – 3:00

Disc three: Good Booty

  1. "Free Fallin'" (Petty, Jeff Lynne) – 4:16
  2. "I Won't Back Down" (Petty, Lynne) – 2:57
  3. "Love is a Long Road" (Petty, Campbell) – 4:08
  4. "Runnin' Down a Dream" (Petty, Lynne, Campbell) – 4:23
  5. "Yer So Bad" (Petty, Lynne) – 3:06
  6. "Alright for Now" (Petty) – 2:02
  7. "Learning to Fly" (Petty, Lynne) – 4:03
  8. "Into the Great Wide Open" (Petty, Lynne) – 3:43
  9. "All or Nothin'" (Petty, Lynne, Campbell) – 4:07
  10. "Out in the Cold" (Petty, Lynne) – 3:40
  11. "Built to Last" (Petty, Lynne) – 3:58
  12. "Mary Jane's Last Dance" (Petty) – 4:33
  13. "Christmas All Over Again" (Petty) – 4:15

Disc four: The Other Sides

  1. "Casa Dega" (B-side of "Don't Do Me Like That," issued November 1979) [Petty / Campbell] – 3:37
  2. "Heartbreakers Beach Party" (B-side of "Change of Heart," February 1983) [Petty] – 1:57
  3. "Trailer" (B-side of "Don't Come Around Here No More," March 1985) [Petty] – 3:15
  4. "Cracking Up" (B-side of "Make It Better (Forget About Me)," May 1985) (Nick Lowe) – 3:34
  5. "Psychotic Reaction" (Count Five garage rock cover live at Lawlor Events Center, Reno, NV, November 23, 1991; from the UK-only "Too Good to Be True" 1992 maxi CD single) (Kenn Ellner / Roy Chaney / Craig Atkinson / John Byrne / John Michalski) – 4:49
  6. "I'm Tired Joey Boy" (live at Lawlor Events Center, Reno, NV, November 23, 1991; from the UK-only "Too Good to Be True" maxi CD single) (Van Morrison) – 3:42
  7. "Lonely Weekends" (live at Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA, November 24, 1991; from the UK-only "Too Good to Be True" maxi CD single) (Charlie Rich) – 2:47
  8. "Gator on the Lawn" (B-side of "A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)," July 1981) [Petty] – 1:35
  9. "Make That Connection" (B-side of "Jammin' Me," April 18, 1987) [Petty / Campbell] – 5:04
  10. "Down the Line" (B-side of "Free Fallin'", October 1989) [Petty / Lynne / Campbell] – 2:53
  11. "Peace in L.A." (Peace Mix) (B-side of "Peace in L.A.," May 26, 1992) [Petty] – 4:43
  12. "It's Rainin' Again" (B-side of "Refugee," January 1980) [Petty] – 1:32
  13. "Somethin' Else" (live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England, March 7, 1980; B-side of "Even the Losers" in Australia) (Sharon Sheeley / Eddie Cochran) – 2:05
  14. "I Don't Know What to Say to You" (B-side of "Listen to Her Heart," August 30, 1978) [Petty] – 2:28
  15. "King's Highway" (live at Stephen J O'Connell Center, University Of Florida, Gainesville, FL, November 4, 1993; B-side of the German-only "Something in the Air" as well as the UK-exclusive "Mary Jane's Last Dance" maxi CD single, March 1994) [Petty] – 3:30

Disc five: Through the Cracks

  1. "On the Street" (1973 Mudcrutch outtake) (Benmont Tench) – 2:10
  2. "Depot Street" (1974 Mudcrutch outtake) [Petty] – 3:26
  3. "Cry to Me" (1974 Solomon Burke cover by Mudcrutch) [Bert Russell] – 3:06
  4. "Don't Do Me Like That" (1974 Mudcrutch version) [Petty] – 2:47
  5. "I Can't Fight It" (1974 Mudcrutch outtake) [Petty] – 3:00
  6. "Since You Said You Loved Me" (1974 outtake featuring Al Kooper, Jim Gordon, and Emory Gordy) [Petty] – 4:40
  7. "Louisiana Rain" (original 1975 version featuring Al Kooper, Jim Gordon, and Emory Gordy) [Petty] – 4:22
  8. "Keeping Me Alive" (from 1982 "Long After Dark" sessions) [Petty] – 2:59
  9. "Turning Point" (from 1982 "Long After Dark" sessions) [Petty] – 2:52
  10. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (demo from "Hard Promises" 1981 sessions) [Petty, Campbell] – 4:11
  11. "The Apartment Song" (demo from "Southern Accents" 1984 sessions) [Petty] – 2:37
  12. "Big Boss Man" ("Southern Accents" 1984 sessions) [Al Smith, Luther Dixon] – 2:41
  13. "The Image of Me" (Conway Twitty cover; "Southern Accents" 1984 sessions) [Wayne Kemp] – 2:33
  14. "Moon Pie" ("Let Me Up [I've Had Enough]" 1986 sessions) [Petty] – 1:05
  15. "The Damage You've Done" (country version from "Let Me Up [I've Had Enough]" 1986 sessions) [Petty] – 3:16

Disc six: Nobody's Children

  1. "Got My Mind Made Up" (from 1986 "Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)" sessions; Bob Dylan wrote different lyrics for his "Knocked Out Loaded" version) [Petty] – 2:51
  2. "Ways to Be Wicked" (from 1986 "Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)" sessions) [Petty, Campbell] – 3:27
  3. "Can't Get Her Out" (from 1986 "Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)" sessions) [Petty] – 3:11
  4. "Waiting for Tonight" (from 1988 sessions featuring The Bangles on backing vocals) [Petty] – 3:30
  5. "Travelin'" (1988 outtake from an aborted Heartbreakers album) [Petty] – 3:15
  6. "Baby, Let's Play House" (Elvis Presley cover from July 1993 "Mary Jane's Last Dance" sessions") (Arthur Gunter) – 2:33
  7. "Wooden Heart" (Elvis Presley cover from July 1993 "Mary Jane's Last Dance" sessions) (Bert Kaempfert, Kay Twomey, Fred Wise, Ben Weisman) – 2:09
  8. "God's Gift to Man" (August 1992 outtake from an aborted Heartbreakers follow-up to "Into the Great Wide Open") [Petty] – 4:18
  9. "You Get Me High" (August 1992 outtake from an aborted Heartbreakers follow-up to "Into the Great Wide Open") [Petty] – 2:48
  10. "Come on Down to My House" (from July 1993 "Mary Jane's Last Dance" sessions) [Petty] – 3:05
  11. "You Come Through" (demo from 1986 "Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)" sessions featuring Lenny Kravitz overdubs recorded in August 1995) [Petty / Campbell] – 5:15
  12. "Up in Mississippi Tonight" (Debut 1973 A-side for Mudcrutch) [Petty] – 3:28

Notes

  • In 2015, both Through the Cracks and Nobody's Children were released on digital purchasing and streaming platforms as standalone releases.[6] As of 2020, only Nobody's Children is still available to digitally purchase and stream.

Personnel

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Additional musicians

VHS/DVD

  1. "Here Comes My Girl" (1979)
  2. "Refugee" (1979)
  3. "The Waiting" (1981)
  4. "A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)" (1981)
  5. "Insider" (1981)
  6. "You Got Lucky" (1982)
  7. "Change of Heart" (1982)
  8. "Don't Come Around Here No More" (1985)
  9. "Jammin' Me" (1987)
  10. "I Won't Back Down" (1989)
  11. "Runnin' Down A Dream" (1989)
  12. "Free Fallin'" (1989)
  13. "A Face in the Crowd" (1990)
  14. "Yer So Bad" (1990)
  15. "Learning to Fly" (1991)
  16. "Into the Great Wide Open" (1991)
  17. "Mary Jane's Last Dance" (1993)

Certifications

Certifications for Playback
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[7] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ "Holiday Music Preview '95". EW.com.
  3. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 870. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  4. ^ a b "Tom Petty - Playback CD Album". www.cduniverse.com.
  5. ^ Rolling Stone Album Guide
  6. ^ "Through The Cracks & Nobody's Children Now Digitally Released!". TomPetty.com. 17 December 2015.
  7. ^ "American album certifications – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Playback". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 11, 2021.