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On May 5th, 1981, 40 years ago, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers released their 4th studio album, Hard Promises. The record was originally scheduled for an earlier release, but was delayed due to Tom Petty doing what Tom Petty does best.
He really doesn’t get enough credit for it, but Tom Petty was a badass, through and through. He stirred the pot when it needed stirring, and he usually got his way as a result. When the band’s distributor at the time, MCA Records, scheduled Hard Promises to be released on what was then called “superstar pricing,” Tom fought back. At the time, most records sold for 8 dollars and 98 cents (what I would give for records to be that cheap today!), and records priced at “superstar pricing” were 9 dollars and 98 cents, a difference of only one dollar. Previous records released on “superstar pricing” at the time included the Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra soundtrack to the film Xanadu and Steely Dan’s Gaucho. Tom, remembering his own quest for his favorite records when he was a teenager back in Gainesville, Florida, didn’t agree with this price increase – he wanted to keep the price low for his fans - and he fought it tooth and nail. The band considered naming the record Eight Ninety-Eight instead, or simply not delivering the album to be released. The general public soon caught wind of this struggle and began to aid in the fight too. This wasn’t the first battle Tom had fought for his music, having also fought with MCA during the recording of Damn The Torpedoes over his contract being sold without his permission, a battle that he won. MCA finally backed down on the price increase, another win for Tom and the Heartbreakers.
I find it difficult to believe that this record could possibly be 40 years old. To me, it still feels fresh, it feels timely, and it just feels downright good to listen to. It’s so hard to pick a favorite Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers record because they’re all so good and so different, but Hard Promises is definitely up there for me. I’ll never forget how excited I was to come across an original pressing of it at a strange local comic book and record shop several years ago.
I think, generally, Hard Promises is one of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ more underrated albums. Their early 80s stuff is often overlooked – people tend to acknowledge 1979’s Damn the Torpedoes and then skip ahead to 1985’s Southern Accents. There’s 2 really great albums you’re missing out on if you do that! I also think Hard Promises features some of their most underrated album tracks.
Maybe this is just me, but ever since I first heard it, I’ve always had a soft spot for Letting You Go. I’ve always loved songs that sound upbeat and happy, but the lyrics are kind of sad, and that’s what I get out of this one. It sounds like such a happy, cute little song, but the lyrics tell such a different story. “There’s no one as honest as those in pain… It’s a restless world, uncertain times. You said hope was getting hard to find…Do you get scared when you close your eyes?” I love the antithesis this song evokes.
Then there’s You Can Still Change Your Mind. I don’t think Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are known too well for their ballads. With maybe the exception of Free Fallin’ or Wildflowers, most people know Tom solo or Tom and the Heartbreakers for their upbeat rock numbers, but they excelled at ballads too. There’s something about that chord progression at the end of the chorus that always surprises me in the best way. It’s a hopeful song – it’s comforting. He acknowledges the struggle (“it gets harder by the minute, it gets harder every day”), offers a solution (“if you change your mind, you change your feeling”), and he offers reassurance (“everything’s gonna be alright”). For me, it’s always a good one to listen to on a bad day when I’m need of some better vibes, and what’s more, this song features backing vocals from the one and only Stevie Nicks.
Of course, this record was being recorded around the same time Stevie Nicks was recording her first solo record, Bella Donna. She’d wanted Tom to write her a song, and after enough prodding, he did, a song called Insider. The pair recorded the song together, with Tom on lead and Stevie on harmony vocals. After hearing the song back, Tom decided he didn’t want to give it to Stevie, so he gave her another song he’d written with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell instead, Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around, which became Stevie’s first number one hit. As for Insider, it ended up on Hard Promises as a hidden gem that only hardcore fans seem to pay attention to.
Underrated tracks aside, you can’t ignore the hits from this record either. The Waiting, a fan-favorite, made it to #1 on the US Billboard Top Tracks chart. Its jangly, Byrds vibes make it a really fun one to jam to. Perhaps a lesser-known hit, but still a hit, having reached #5 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart is A Woman in Love (It’s Not Me). This track actually ended up being overshadowed by Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around, which was released around the same time. The point is, Tom Petty (and Mike Campbell!) was writing some incredible music during this time.
Hard Promises is solid proof of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ talent as musicians and Tom’s talent as a songwriter, not that he needed any more proof at that point. The release of this record also made it clear that his fans took priority over making money. He wasn’t doing this to get rich and famous, he was doing it to make music that resonated with people. He was a true artist, and that thought always pops into my head when I listen to this record. Go give it a spin and show it some love, it’s a good one.