Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty’s 13th studio album is a rant aimed at greedy record executives and corporate radio programmers. He certainly has a right to be pissed, with hip-hop and mindless pop ruling the charts and with rock and punk falling by the wayside. The album opens with the title track, a jangly, guitar-driven ballad with a message; it sounds like a 1960s Byrds classic. If you want rock ’n’ roll, your song is “Joe,” a sneering punk-ish anthem about a CEO who makes money, when you don’t. Another punk standout is “When a Kid Goes Bad,” a commentary on violence involving kids and guns. The album ends with “Can’t Stop the Sun,” a defiant ballad that ends in a hail of guitar reminiscent of something off the Beatles’ Abbey Road. All in all, it’s a cool album. But, if you want to hear it, you’d better buy it; it likely won’t be played on the radio or MTV.