“I wasn’t driving the car”: The album Tom Petty will always regret
Regret is a tricky thing to deal with, particularly for artists and musicians. After all, dark times, mistakes, and questionable decisions often lead to bouts of profound artistic expression that aid in the creation of masterpieces. For an artist as prolific and beloved as Tom Petty, life was rarely an easy ride, but even some of his darkest moments gave rise to groundbreaking albums – although the songwriter himself was not always proud of the final product.
Emerging from obscurity during the mid-1970s, Petty managed to cut through the American music scene with effortless grace. Refusing to follow trends or pander to audiences, the musician amassed a colossal audience for his timeless songwriting style. The next few decades would see Petty and The Heartbreakers create a wealth of truly iconic heartland rock anthems, committing themselves to the hearts of music fans across the globe. However, his career was certainly not without its turbulence.
By this point, it is no secret that Tom Petty struggled with drug addiction for many years. Thankfully, the songwriter was eventually able to overcome these issues with the assistance of family members and close friends, such as Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks. Nevertheless, his years spent in the depths of addiction meant that Petty struggled to look back upon certain chapters of his career with fondness.
The late 1990s, in particular, was an incredibly difficult period for the songwriter. Following the breakdown of his marriage with Jane Benyo in 1996, Petty became deeply embroiled in a crippling addiction to heroin. By the time he came to record the 1999 album Echo, the musician was arguably at their lowest point, and his band members were not in a much better place either.
Bassist Howie Epstein, for instance, was similarly gripped by heroin addiction, and he became increasingly erratic throughout the production of Echo. In fact, the musician does not appear on the album cover due to the fact he failed to show up for the photoshoot. Four years after the album hit the shelves, the bassist passed away as a result of a heroin overdose.
Fans of Petty often cite Echo as a masterpiece of songwriting, and it is easy to see why. For starters, it is the songwriter’s most personal album by far. Within the tracklisting, Petty lays his soul bare for the listener, exploring his struggles and mental state in a way that feels both personal and universal.
Despite this personal quality, Petty regularly expressed regret and mixed feelings towards the final album. In Runnin’ Down a Dream, the songwriter revealed, “I wrote the songs, but I wasn’t driving the car.” In other words, he was involved in the creative process, but his heroin addiction meant that he had almost completely lost himself by the time he came to write the album.
Thankfully, Petty managed to kick his heroin addiction following the release of Echo, finding a wealth of support in the form of his partner, Dana York, whom he married in 2001. Still, the depths of internal struggle and addiction that illustrated Echo mean that the album represented a source of regret for Petty, despite the praise it received from fans.
