Echo (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album)
Echo is the 10th studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Released in April 1999, the album reached number 10 on the Billboard 200 aided by singles "Free Girl Now", "Swingin'" and "Room at the Top", which hit numbers 5, 17 and 19 respectively on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1999. The album was the band's last collaboration with producer Rick Rubin, and was also the last to feature contributions from longtime bassist/vocalist Howie Epstein, who died of a heroin overdose in 2003. Despite still being a member of the band, Epstein is missing from the album's cover photo because he failed to show up for the photo shoot, and Petty ordered it to commence without him.[9] It also marks the first to feature longtime touring member Scott Thurston. Echo was certified Gold (500,000 copies sold) by the RIAA in July 1999, only three months after it was released. Echo is the only Heartbreakers' album to feature a lead vocal from another member of the band: lead guitarist Mike Campbell on "I Don't Wanna Fight".
Echo | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 13, 1999 | |||
Recorded | 1997–1998 | |||
Genre | Heartland rock | |||
Length | 62:06 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | ||||
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Echo | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
Entertainment Weekly | A–[3] |
The Essential Rock Discography | 5/10[4] |
The Harvard Crimson | (favorable)[5] |
The Music Box | [6] |
Rolling Stone | [7] |
USA Today | [8] |
"Free Girl Now" is also notable for being the second single by a major artist to be made available for free internet download in MP3 format by the artist. Petty's marketing decision caused concern at Warner Bros., and the download was pulled after two days, but propagated thanks to services like Napster.[10]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Tom Petty, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Room at the Top" | 5:00 | |
2. | "Counting on You" | 4:05 | |
3. | "Free Girl Now" | 3:30 | |
4. | "Lonesome Sundown" | 4:32 | |
5. | "Swingin'" | 5:30 | |
6. | "Accused of Love" | 2:45 | |
7. | "Echo" | 6:36 | |
8. | "Won't Last Long" | 4:22 | |
9. | "Billy the Kid" | 4:08 | |
10. | "I Don't Wanna Fight" | Mike Campbell | 2:47 |
11. | "This One's for Me" | 2:42 | |
12. | "No More" | 3:15 | |
13. | "About to Give Out" | 3:12 | |
14. | "Rhino Skin" | 3:57 | |
15. | "One More Day, One More Night" | 5:37 |
Outtakes
- "Sweet William" appeared as the B-side on the "Room at the Top" CD single.
- "Gainesville" and "I Don't Belong" were released posthumously as a part of the An American Treasure compilation in 2018.
Personnel
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
- Tom Petty – rhythm guitars, harmonica, lead and backing vocals
- Mike Campbell – guitars (lead, bass), lead vocals on "I Don't Wanna Fight"
- Benmont Tench – pianos, organ, chamberlin, clavinet
- Howie Epstein – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Scott Thurston – guitars (acoustic, electric), backing vocals
- Steve Ferrone – drums
Additional musicians
- Lenny Castro – percussion
Production
- Martyn Atkins – art direction and photography
- Rob Brill – engineer
- Mike Campbell – producer
- Christine Cano – art direction and design
- Richard Dodd – engineer, mixer
- Ok Hee Kim – engineer
- Aaron Lepley – engineer
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Tom Petty – producer
- Rick Rubin – producer
- Dave Schiffman – engineer
- Christine Sirois – engineer
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (1999) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] | 27 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] | 5 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13] | 43 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] | 5 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] | 39 |
UK Albums (OCC)[16] | 43 |
US Billboard 200[17] | 10 |
Singles
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | "Free Girl Now" | US Mainstream Rock[17] | 5 |
"Swingin'" | 17 | ||
"Room at the Top" | 19 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[18] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
References
- "Echo - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers,Tom Petty - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic".
- Larkin, Colin (ed.) (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2005. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- "Echo - EW.com".
- Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 816. ISBN 978-1-84195-827-9.
- The Harvard Crimson review
- Metzger, John. "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Echo (Album Review)".
- "Echo".
- "Rebellious ring to Petty's 'Echo' Bocelli right to return to pop, but John's 'Aida' simply tragic".
- Matthews, Tom (March 16, 2011). "Heart Breaker". Milwaukee Magazine. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
- Nelson, Chris (March 11, 1999). "Best of '99: Downloadable Tom Petty Single Pulled from 'MP3.com' Site". MTV.com. MTV. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
- "Austriancharts.at – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Echo" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Echo" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- "Charts.nz – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Echo". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Echo". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- "Swisscharts.com – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Echo". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- "Tom Petty | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
- "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
- "American album certifications – Tom Petty – Echo". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.