Between collecting lifetime achievement awards, various side projects, an acclaimed solo album, and a hit Sirius/XM satellite radio show, the legendary Tom Petty has had a fairly busy noughties. However, as his first studio album with The Heartbreakers since 2002's The Last DJ shows, he definitely hasn't lost his mojo along the way.
Nor, indeed, have they (though they did lose bassist Howie Epstein to a drug overdose in 2003; since replaced by original Heartbreaker Ron Blair).
Over 15 tracks and more than an hour of music, this is predominantly a highly accomplished rock/blues affair, but, to this reviewer's ears, its standout moment is actually a reggae number. With a paranoid plea of, "Don't pull me over . . . meester policeman," the superbly stoned 'Don't Pull Me Over' sounds like it could've been recorded in Kingston back in the day.
Of course, it wasn't. As with the rest of this excellent album, this is the sound of a group of experienced, ultra-talented musicians playing together in a room, as opposed to separately in recording booths. As Petty himself explained, "With this album, I want to show other people what I hear with the band. Mojo is where the band lives when it's playing for itself."
From electrifying opener 'Jefferson Jericho Blues' (about the third US president's sexual shenanigans with slave Sally Hemmings) through the Californication of 'The Trip To The Pirate's Cove', to the closing ballad 'Good Enough', this cover-all-bases affair definitely won't disappoint any Petty fans. If there's any justice in the world, it'll earn him many new ones.