Mojo
Studio album by
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
ReleasedJune 15, 2010
RecordedApril 28, 2009 – January 11, 2010
StudioThe Clubhouse, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length65:09
LabelReprise
Producer
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology
The Live Anthology
(2009)		 Mojo
(2010)		 Mojo Tour 2010
(2010)
Singles from Mojo
  1. "Good Enough"
    Released: 2010
  2. "I Should Have Known It"
    Released: 2010
  3. "First Flash of Freedom"
    Released: 2010
  4. "Don't Pull Me Over"
    Released: 2010
  5. "Help Me"
    Released: 2023

Mojo is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on June 15, 2010 on CD and June 29 on Blu-ray.[1][2] It was Petty's first album with the Heartbreakers in eight years.[3] Mojo debuted at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 125,000 copies in its first week of release.[4] The album was also the band's first full album with bassist Ron Blair since 1981's Hard Promises, as he played on only two tracks on the previous Heartbreakers album, The Last DJ.

The album was reissued in 2023 as the "Extra Mojo Version" on vinyl LP and also digitally with three bonus tracks. The digital edition of the reissued album included an unreleased cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's song "Help Me" which was issued as a single on October 6, 2023.[5]

Recording

In November 2009, Petty told Rolling Stone's David Fricke that he intended to record the album live in the studio without overdubs.[6]

He said of the album's tone, "It's blues-based. Some of the tunes are longer, more jammy kind of music. A couple of tracks really sound like the Allman Brothers – not the songs but the atmosphere of the band."[6]

Promotion and release

The band began streaming the album song "Good Enough" on their website February 24, 2010, followed two days later by "First Flash of Freedom".[7] Videos for "Jefferson Jericho Blues", "First Flash of Freedom", "I Should Have Known It", "Something Good Coming" and "Good Enough" were posted on the band's YouTube channel.[8]

Tom Petty also released five of the songs prior to his and the Heartbreakers' Mojo tour via his YouTube account.[9] The first of these was the single "Good Enough", released March 4, 2010.[10] The songs released were, in order of release:

  1. "Good Enough"[10]
  2. "First Flash of Freedom"[11]
  3. "I Should Have Known It" (official video)[12]
  4. "Something Good Coming" (official video)[13]
  5. "Jefferson Jericho Blues" (official video)[14]

The last three of the songs were clean, non-overdubbed songs filmed in his new studio, as he expressed in a roughly 12-minute "Mojo Documentary".[15] He noted he had had the studio for "eight or nine years", which dates back approximately to before the recording of his previous studio album with the Heartbreakers, The Last DJ.[15]

In addition to his YouTube account, Mojo's track list was made available June 8, 2010, via an article on one of ESPN's websites. The article went into brief detail of the tour and songs. Most of the songs were made available on the website through a "Streampad" music player, at least until the album was officially released.[16]

Mojo was released via compact disc and limited edition vinyl (2x LP). The vinyl pressing is largely out of print and is considered a collector's item, selling for large sums in the vinyl aftermarket.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]
The A.V. ClubB−[19]
Chicago Tribune[20]
Entertainment WeeklyB[21]
The Guardian[22]
Now[23]
Paste8/10[24]
PopMatters[25]
Rolling Stone[26]
Slant Magazine[27]

The album has a score of 72 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[17] ChartAttack gave it a score of 2.5 out of five and said it was "an incredible disappointment" and "a record destined to be a cult hit 10 years from now, recognized as the band's most expansive and sonically adventurous disc. But expectations for Petty and his band are incredibly high, and from a contemporary standpoint, it comes off as lacking memorable hooks and choruses, something we all expect these guys to pull off in their sleep."[28] The Independent, however, gave it all five stars and said "it's one of their very best efforts, as ought to be the case when a band plugs into the potency of raw R'n'B spirit. [...] It's such a perfect alliance of sentiment and setting that Muddy himself might have penned it."[29] The Globe and Mail gave it three out of four stars and said, "The carefree Petty, at this stage of the game, isn't worried about hits. Like Big Bill Broonzy and others, he's found the key to the highway, and he's billed out and bound to go."[30] Uncut gave it three out of five stars and said, "Unfortunately, and rather ironically, Mojo is ultimately undone by the very virtuosity of its creators: the band stumbles repeatedly into that musician's trap of making music that sounds intended principally to impress other musicians."[17][31]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tom Petty, except 2, 7 and 15, co written by Mike Campbell

Mojo track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Jefferson Jericho Blues"3:24
2."First Flash of Freedom"6:53
3."Running Man's Bible"6:02
4."The Trip to Pirate's Cove"5:00
5."Candy"4:12
6."No Reason to Cry"3:04
7."I Should Have Known It"3:36
8."U.S. 41"3:01
9."Takin' My Time"4:21
10."Let Yourself Go"3:23
11."Don't Pull Me Over"4:05
12."Lover's Touch"4:24
13."High in the Morning"3:36
14."Something Good Coming"4:11
15."Good Enough"5:57
Total length:65:09
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleLength
16."Little Girl Blues"3:08
Total length:68:17
Extra Mojo Version[5]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Help Me"Ralph Bass, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Willie Dixon3:30
17."Mystery of Love" 4:05
18."Little Girl Blues" 3:08
Total length:75:32

Personnel

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Production

  • Chris Bellman – mastering
  • Greg Looper – engineer
  • Ryan Ulyate – producer, recording, mixer
  • Travis Weidel – recording

Charts

References

  1. ↑ McKnight, Connor. "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Announce New Album, Tour". billboard.com. February 25, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mojo Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
  3. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (February 25, 2010). "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Announce New Album "MOJO," Big Summer Tour". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 2, 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  4. ↑ Caulfield, Keith. "Drake Debuts At No. 1 on Billboard 200". billboard.com. June 23, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Deville, Chris (2023-10-06). "Hear Tom Petty's Previously Unreleased "Help Me" From New Mojo Reissue". Stereogum. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  6. 1 2 Fricke, David (November 25, 2009). "Tom Petty Looks Back". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2009-12-03. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  7. ↑ "Listen to "Good Enough"". Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  8. ↑ "Tom Petty's YouTube Channel". YouTube. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  9. ↑ "tompetty" user account on YouTube
  10. 1 2 "Good Enough" on YouTube
  11. ↑ "First Flash of Freedom" on YouTube
  12. ↑ "I Should Have Known It" official video on YouTube
  13. ↑ "Something Good Coming" official video on YouTube
  14. ↑ "Jefferson Jericho Blues" official video on YouTube
  15. 1 2 Mojo Documentary on YouTube
  16. ↑ "'Mojo' by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – The Life – ESPN". ESPN.go.com. 2010-06-11. Archived from the original on 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  17. 1 2 3 "Critic Reviews for Mojo". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
  18. ↑ Leggett, Steve (2010-06-15). "Mojo - Tom Petty, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  19. ↑ Noel Murray (2010-06-22). "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers: Mojo". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  20. ↑ Greg Kot (2010-06-14). "Turn It Up: Album review: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 'Mojo'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  21. ↑ Tom Sinclair (2010-06-18). "Mojo Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  22. ↑ Michael Hann (2010-06-17). "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mojo". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  23. ↑ Carla Gillis (June 10–17, 2010). "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mojo". Now. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  24. ↑ Steve Dollar (2010-06-17). "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mojo :: Music :: Reviews". Paste. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  25. ↑ Clifford, Bill (2010-06-17). "Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Mojo". PopMatters. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  26. ↑ David Fricke (2010-06-15). "Mojo". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  27. ↑ Matthew Cole (2010-06-14). "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mojo". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  28. ↑ Ian Gormely (2010-06-16). "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Mojo". ChartAttack. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07.
  29. ↑ Gill, Andy (June 11, 2010). "Album: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Mojo)". The Independent. London.
  30. ↑ Brad Wheeler (2010-06-14). "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mojo". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  31. ↑ Andrew Mueller (July 2010). "TOM PETTY – MOJO". Uncut: 102. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  32. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 217.
  33. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  35. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  36. ↑ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  38. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  39. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  40. ↑ "Greekcharts.com – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  41. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Tom Petty". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  42. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  43. ↑ "Charts.nz – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  44. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  45. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  46. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  47. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  48. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  49. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  50. ↑ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  51. ↑ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  52. ↑ "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  53. ↑ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
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