Mojo (Deluxe Edition)

Editors' Notes With his last solo album, 2006’s Highway Companion, Tom Petty began feeling his age, reflecting on how much of his life was now past. Now, at 60, and teamed up with his Heartbreakers, he re-finds his, well, “mojo” with this compelling modern version of the blues. His band has always been a solid rock for him and their playing has always served the song to the point where their musicianship could be overlooked. Mike Campbell is amongst the best second men in rock. His lead guitar playing has defined Petty’s sound for years and here it suddenly comes blistering out like the band has spent its entire life studying Chicago blues. There’s the slow creep of “Takin’ My Time,” the full-on highway attack of “U.S. 41” and the heartbreak shuffle of “Let Yourself Go,” where Petty takes his FM radio croon, his classic-rock stature and applies it to the music that influenced his influences. “Don’t Pull Me Over” sparkles with a touch of country honky-tonk in its sights of falling stars on moonlit nights. It’s an unexpected and welcomed move from a guy always likened to folk-rock and the jangle of the Byrds.