Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) (1987) [FLAC] {2009 Japan papersleeve SHM-CD remaster}
As the two-line Wikipedia entry confirms, Let Me Up "is notable for being the only studio album not represented on
Petty's 1993 Greatest Hits album." As with Long After Dark, however, time has been kinder to it than you might think,
dated production aside. The two singles - Jammin' Me (co-written by Bob Dylan) and All Mixed Up provide bursts of
radio-friendly pop, while the title track is a strong Stones-like rocker. Elsewhere, there's the moody My Life/Your
World and the requisite acoustic ballad, It'll All Work Out. There's not really a bad cut on the album and had it
been recorded with a less synthetic sheen (and without so much reverb) it would be most likely be regarded more fondly
by fans and critics alike.
Tracks:
1. Jammin' Me (Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Mike Campbell) – 4:08
2. Runaway Trains (Petty, Campbell) – 5:12
3. The Damage You've Done (Petty) – 3:52
4. It'll All Work Out (Petty) – 3:12
5. My Life/Your World (Petty, Campbell) – 4:38
6. Think About Me (Petty) – 3:42
7. All Mixed Up (Petty, Campbell) – 3:42
8. A Self-Made Man (Petty) – 3:04
9. Ain't Love Strange (Petty) – 2:40
10. How Many More Days (Petty) – 3:16
11. Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) (Petty, Campbell) – 3:30
Personnel:
Tom Petty - Vocals, Guitars, Piano, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Bass Guitar
Mike Campbell - Guitar, Bass, Dobro, Keyboards, Producer, Slide Guitar
Howie Epstein - Bass, Vocals, Harmony Vocals
Benmont Tench - Piano, Keyboards, Piano (Electric), Vocals, Vibraphone
Stan Lynch - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
AMG Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers spent much of 1986 on the road as Bob Dylan's backing band. Dylan's presence proved
to be a huge influence on the Heartbreakers, turning them away from the well-intentioned but slick pretensions of
Southern Accents and toward a loose, charmingly ramshackle roots rock that harked back to their roots yet exhibited
the professional eclecticism they developed during the mid-'80s. All of this was on full display on Let Me Up (I've
Had Enough), their simplest and best album since Hard Promises. Not to say that Let Me Up is a perfect album - far
from it, actually. Filled with loose ends, song fragments, and unvarnished productions, it's a defiantly messy
album, and it's all the better for it, especially arriving on the heels of the well-groomed Accents. Apart from the
(slightly dated) rant "Jammin' Me'" (co-written by Dylan, but you can't tell), there aren't any standouts on the
record, but there's no filler either -- it's just simply a good collection of ballads ("Runaway Trains"), country-
rockers ("The Damage You've Done"), pop/rock ("All Mixed Up," "Think About Me"), and hard rockers ("Let Me Up [I've
Had Enough]"). While that might not be enough to qualify Let Me Up as one of Petty & the Heartbreakers' masterpieces,
it is enough to qualify it as the most underrated record in their catalog.