Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Southern Accents on 180g LP

It's been 40 years since Tom Petty and his extraordinary band, The Heartbreakers, unleashed their eponymous debut in 1976. In the subsequent decades, Petty - both as a solo artist and as leader of the band - has sold over 80 million records worldwide, earned 18 Grammy nods and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Petty's musical integrity and craft, not to mention his seemingly effortless flair for rapturous hooks, have remained constant despite ever-shifting musical trends, and his multi-generational fan base continues to swell. In the words of Rolling Stone's Alan Light, "The man's consistency is pretty astounding."

After issuing five classic albums in a six year span, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers took nearly three years to finish their sixth album Southern Accents (1985), a more experimental and conceptual affair which found the famous frontman examining his Southern roots. Utilizing a pair of producers (Dave Stewart and Jimmy Iovine) as well as outside musicians for the first time, the results are both compelling and distinct in the band's rich catalog. Home to the offbeat hit "Don't Come Around Here No More," plus enterprising cuts like "Rebels," "Southern Accents" and "Make It Better (Forget About Me)"