Mojo is Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ twelfth studio album, and I want to say right off the bat that it’s easily one of the best records they have ever made. This is one of those albums that I could ramble on and on about, telling you how great it is, and I’d still probably leave out a whole bunch of reasons why this is just so good. One of them is that few bands make music like this anymore, and so when I hear their rare brand of blues-rock, it completely engrosses me. I haven’t heard an album of this style played so well since Petty reformed his old band Mudcrutch for their long-overdue, self-titled debut a couple of years ago.
The Heartbreakers are one of the great rock bands of all time, and more often than not, it translates to their recorded work. Having said that, the last time these guys were all in the studio together they came up with the most disappointing album of their stellar career. The Last DJ was musically boring, which was in strange contrast to a spitting and snarling Petty, who was again pissed off at everyone from the radio stations to the record labels and several others. Since that debacle, we have only seen the Mudcrutch album and Petty’s patchy solo album Highway Companion emerge from the studio, as the band has spent the best part of ten years on an almost constant start-stop US tour.
There’s not a doubt in my mind that the catalyst for Petty taking his posse back into the studio to make a blues-inspired album was his success with the Mudcrutch album. That record saw him letting loose and having fun again, which resulted in some awesome jams and beautiful mid-tempo blues songs. I’m thrilled to say he has repeated that here with 
Mojo (both albums were recorded live with no overdubs.) There are really two main elements that make this album work so damn well.
First, it is obviously a fact that each member of The Heartbreakers is a wonderfully talented musician, some more flexible than others, but all in all every single one of them would be an asset to any band. So together, they are undeniably brilliant, and when their leader writes them some inspired material, they have always and continue to rise to the challenge.
The second factor is, of course, Mr. Tom Petty himself, one of the most laidback and charming frontmen in rock history. There was once a time when Petty was a hot-headed, ambitious young man who fronted his band with a take no prisoners attitude. That man, though, is long gone as age has well and truly mellowed Petty, and he now relies on his wisdom and experience to handle the business that is leading The Heartbreakers. So while some fans may prefer those old (brilliant) records of a young band taking all before them, I’m just as happy to enjoy the mature version just jamming up some bloody great music and not stressing the little things.
This of course is another reason why I love Mojo so much and couldn’t have wished for a better record from them if I tried. The disc kicks off with the shuffling brilliance of “Jefferson Jericho Blues,” which is countered by the sweeping epic “First Flash Of Freedom,” bringing out the romantic in Petty (“We felt so much more than our hearts could explain”). More highlights include the infectious groove of “Candy,” with Petty now taking full advantage of his Southern drawl: “I sure like that candy / I don’t go for them turnip greens.”
The hardest rocking song on the record is the stinging “I Should Have Known It,” in which both the band and Petty are on fire. He’s pissed-off at some woman, and his boys are backing him to the hilt. Mike Campbell’s angry slide guitar is simply awesome. The honky-tonk “U.S. 41” is a brilliant ode to the hardworking days of old, a wonderful piece of Americana.
“Takin’ My Time” is a slow-burning blues groove that gives Petty the freedom he needs to tell his tale of youthful abandon. Late into this hour-long set, the guys are still coming up with the goods, like the reggae-tinged “Don’t Pull Me Over” and the glorious closer “Good Enough,” which is an understatement to say the least.
I don’t know how much more praise I can heap on this album, so I might as well leave it there. In parting, I’ll say this: Mojo is without a doubt the best Heartbreakers album since their classic Damn The Torpedoes came out way back in 1979. Not only that, but it is in every way just as good and vital as that record was and still is. I cannot recommend this highly enough; it is simply brilliant from top to bottom and back again.