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Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Hard Promises (MCA)

Cynthia Rose, New Musical Express, 23 March 1981

WITH THE release of 'American Girl' back in '76, Tom Petty asserted that ability to articulate a native territory – both inherited and imagined – which occasionally makes the phrase 'rock star' more relevant than the average arbitrary partnership of nouns. Since then, through business ups and downs, and through a sometimes overly-florid, occasionally banal output, he's continued to nurture two strong assets.

Total word count of piece: 846

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