‘Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough)’: The album that Tom Petty always felt “let down” by
Not every album that comes out is the one the artist had in their head. Many people have their hands in making a commercial product, and there’s bound to be some compromises along the way, but even Tom Petty had to admit when one of his records didn’t meet the expectations that he set for himself.
But in the grand scheme of rock and roll, Petty might have one of the most solid track records of his generation. While there are bound to be the classics that bubble up to the surface after a while, there aren’t too many times when he officially struck out throughout his prime. In fact, let’s take a look at the moments that aren’t nearly as they should be for a second and see if they’re actually that bad.
Hard Promises? Sure, it’s not the same kind of album Damn the Torpedoes seemed to be promising, but it does have its fair share of highlights and holds the distinction of being one of his darkest records. Long After Dark? Yeah, it’s not nearly as memorable thanks to the cheesy 1980s production, but the guitars are the most roaring they have ever been. Even Echo, the album that Petty was afraid to listen to for years, manages to have some fine moments that any other artist would kill to write.
And that’s before getting into his legendary run working with the Traveling Wilburys, which then transformed into his own classics like Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers. Petty was always looking for the right songs to work with half the time, and while he never came up short, Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) did seem to feel like an also-ran from his catalogue next to the records next to it.
After going on tour with Bob Dylan, it felt that Petty was finally able to work on something that had Dylan’s sense of immediacy, but a lot of the best moments on the album are undercut by the tone being off. Right when he seems to settle into a groove, tracks like ‘Runaway Trains’ break up the flow of the rootsy rock album, which is a shame, considering those songs are great as well.
Although there are the makings of a great record in there somewhere, Petty expected a lot more out of the album than what he got, saying, “There’s some good stuff on Let Me Up. I’m really pleased to see over the years it sold quite well, y’know? Because at the time it let me down a bit, I thought. Even though it had a hit single (the title track) and everything, I thought it would do better.”
While some songs do boost the record up like ‘It’ll All Work Out’ and ‘How Many More Days’, the biggest problem the album has is being sandwiched between two classics. Southern Accents made the best of a nightmare situation and Full Moon Fever is among the best albums he ever did, so the one in the middle was always going to be a let down if it didn’t happen to be a solid-gold classic.
But even if it’s a perfectly decent album, that should really show you the kind of standard Petty was working with at this point. He could have been on auto-pilot for the rest of his career, but he still seemed to care about making the kind of records that moved people’s hearts as well as their legs.
