| Southern Accents | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 26, 1985 (1985-03-26) | |||
| Recorded | 1983–1985 | |||
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:54 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Southern Accents | ||||
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Southern Accents is the sixth studio album by Americanrock bandTom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on March 26, 1985, throughMCA Records. The album'slead single, "Don't Come Around Here No More", co-written byDave Stewart ofEurythmics, peaked at No. 13 on theBillboard Hot 100. The song "Southern Accents" was later covered byJohnny Cash for hisUnchained album in 1996.
Originally conceived as a concept album, the theme ofSouthern Accents became somewhat murky with the inclusion of three songs co-written by Stewart, and several others originally planned for the album left off. Songs cut from the track list include "Trailer", "Crackin' Up" (aNick Lowe cover), "Big Boss Man" (aJimmy Reed cover), "The Image of Me" (aConway Twitty cover), "Walkin' from the Fire", and "The Apartment Song". The first two were released as B-sides, while the two remaining covers (and a demo version of "The Apartment Song") were later released on thePlayback box set. A studio version of "The Apartment Song" appeared on Petty's first solo album,Full Moon Fever, released in 1989. "Trailer" was later re-recorded and released in May 2016 by Petty's other bandMudcrutch, on its second studio album,2.[1] "Walkin' from the Fire" was eventually released on the posthumous box setAn American Treasure in 2018. The song "My Life/Your World" fromLet Me Up (I've Had Enough) included several of the song's lyrics rewritten.
While mixing the album's opening track, "Rebels", Petty became frustrated and punched a wall, severely breaking his left hand. Subsequent surgery on his hand left him with several pins, wires and screws holding his hand together.
The album cover features an 1865 painting byWinslow Homer titledThe Veteran in a New Field.
The album would prove to be the last album to have any involvement of bassistRon Blair until 2002.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Blender | [3] |
| Chicago Tribune | [4] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B−[5] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
| The Essential Rock Discography | 6/10[7] |
| MusicHound Rock | [8] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable)[9] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [10] |
Robert Palmer ofThe New York Times praisedSouthern Accents as "the most adventurous and musically accomplished album of the band's career."[11] He later included it in his list of the year's ten best albums, ranking it at No. 5 and calling it "an exquisitely crafted reassessment of personal and geographical roots by an established group that probably includes the finest American musicians playing the stadium circuit."[12]
Southern Accents was later hailed inThe Rolling Stone Album Guide as a "breakthrough" and "Petty's best record...backed up with rock & roll of nearly the sweep and ease ofthe Stones'Exile on Main Street."[13]
In a retrospective review,Stephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic commented that while "occasionally, the songs work" and "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Make It Better (Forget About Me)" expand [the band's] sound nicely", the record was too often "weighed down by its own ambitions".[14]
In theLos Angeles Review of Books, Connor Goodwin said the album is "deeply embedded in nostalgia for theLost Cause."[15]
All tracks are written byTom Petty, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rebels" | 5:21 | |
| 2. | "It Ain't Nothin' to Me" | 5:12 | |
| 3. | "Don't Come Around Here No More" |
| 5:07 |
| 4. | "Southern Accents" | 4:44 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Make It Better (Forget About Me)" |
| 4:23 |
| 6. | "Spike" | 3:33 | |
| 7. | "Dogs on the Run" |
| 3:40 |
| 8. | "Mary's New Car" | 3:47 | |
| 9. | "The Best of Everything" | 4:03 | |
| Total length: | 39:54 | ||
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Additional musicians
Production
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] | 25 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] | 10 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[18] | 23 |
| USBillboard 200[19] | 7 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[20] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
