Led by its lead single, and quickly Alice in Wonderland homage music video, Don't Come Around Here No More would catapult the band into the MTV era. However, the album would be far from what it was initially planned out to be.
When Petty conceived Southern Accents, it was intended to be a concept album. However, this would quickly turn murky when Eurythmics alum Dave Stewart stepped in to co-write tracks. With him also came a shift in musical style. While it would still ultimately be labeled a Southern rock album, the truth was that the boys were dabbling into a more synth pop sound.
Some critics would call it ambitious, while others would say it got lost in its own ambition. Then there would be those who would rank it among the best from the band. In the end, the opinions didn't hinder the albums momentum up the charts, where it peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200. Further, it would once again return them to platinum selling artist status.
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For me, Southern Accents includes my favorite tune from them, and that of course is the aforementioned Don't Come Around Here No More. I remember when I first saw the video on MTV, though not the timeframe it was. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Visually, it was amazing, and the song itself resonated in my mind. Ironically, as I got older, I actually thought it was a tune from the 90's. I was ecstatic to learn it could be added to my 80's collection.
As for the rest of the album, you can definitely hear the influence of Stewart, not only in his three contributions, but across others. However, with that said, it's definitely a departure from Petty's previous work, and candidly, it kind of threw me off. With his previous album, Long After Dark, I had finally embraced the band's sound, and it made me eager to hear more. So, going from that to this, was a bit of a shock.
It's a decent album, and there's standout tracks in It Ain't Nothing To Me, and Mary's New Car. However, as a whole, it was really unexpected. I suppose it was also not what I really wanted. Like I said, I'd come around to the sound of the band, and my ears were ready, and maybe even anticipating hearing more of that.
The next stop for Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers was Live Aid, where they took the stage in Philadelphia to perform American Girl, The Waiting, Rebels, and Refugee. From there, they embarked on a massive world tour, which led to the live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live!, released that same year. Rather than return to the studio, the band would instead take Bob Dylan up on his invitation, and head out with him for his True Confessions Tour. Finally, in 1987, the world would receive their next album, Let Me Up (I've Had Enough), and that's where we go tomorrow.
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