THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1999

Petty recreates earlier sound

By Trond M Vagen

On-Line Forty-Niner

Throughout his long career in the music business, Tom Petty has always composed hard core rock 'n' roll to accompany his wailing voice, producing a steady stream of records and remaining just as popular today as he was in the 1980s.

His latest effort, "Echo," is by no means a departure from the path he has been following on his latest records, with solid guitar-based rock composing the bulk of the album's 15 songs. Together with The Heartbreakers, he manages to recreate the sound that has earned him so much success through the years, whether it has been solo or with various bands such as the Traveling Wilburys.

Although the album is a hard-hitting rock record, there seems to be a lack of pure hit material present. Fans used to the catchy melodies that have earned Petty acclaim in earlier years, such as "Learning to Fly" and "I Won't Back Down," will have a hard time searching for something to hold onto on this album.

But the album is not completely devoid of any catchy melodies; "Room at the Top" and "Accused of Love" will probably appeal to picky fans, since both are reminiscent of earlier hits.

Mixed in with a couple of good mandatory rock ballads, like the hopeful "One More Day, One More Night," these songs provide the backbone of an album that does not contain any disappointments but rather, has too many down periods between the good parts.