Angel Dream (Songs And Music From The Motion Picture “She’s The One”) – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Album Review
In 1996, a rather mediocre film – She’s The One – was released. It got a little publicity, as it starred Jennifer Aniston, but didn’t break any records. What did come with it was a soundtrack album that was better than the film. With music written by Tom Petty, performed by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, it was certified gold in the December of its year of release.
Following on from the release of Wildflowers & All The Rest last year, comes Angel Dream (Songs And Music From The Motion Picture “She’s The One”) – a reimagined reissue to honour its 25th anniversary. This version contains twelve songs, rather than the original fifteen, along with tracks not on the original release.
Whilst the choice of Walls (No 3), rather than Walls (Circus) is a little surprising – the latter being the better mix, in this reviewer’s opinion – the other changes make for a great version. A couple of the missing tracks were featured on the Wildflowers release last year – the rearrangements work well.
The new tracks on this version include Thirteen Days – a cover of the JJ Cale tune – which contains some awesome slide guitar, and is reminiscent of the more Dylanesque Traveling Wilburys’ numbers than the typical Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. The Petty originals – One Of Life’s Little Mysteries has a jazzy feel to it, 105 Degrees is a strong rock ‘n’ roll number, and the extended Supernatural Radio allows for some awesome guitar playing by Mike Campbell which alone makes it worth a listen.
The songs which remain from the original album have been interwoven nicely with the new ones, and the reduction in tracks, along with the addition of French Disconnection – an instrumental version of Angel Dream – to end the album makes the whole thing seem more refined. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with the original album, there is a sense that the late-‘90s trend to fill a CD may have led them astray. One thing to be said for wanting to release on vinyl is you don’t need the filler to give the appearance of value for money.
All in all, this 25th anniversary edition is a strong album. It contains some great music, has the feel of a ‘90s Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers album and delivers some undeservedly previously unreleased material. If you are a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers fan this is a must for you – if you own the original and still enjoy listening to the album, it’s definitely worth getting this version. For those of you just looking for something new to listen to, if you’ve enjoyed any of the songs by the band, this is a good starting point.
Angel Dream (Songs And Music From The Motion Picture “She’s The One”) is released on Warner Records and is available digitally, on CD, and on black vinyl. If you’re lucky to find one, there is also a limited edition on cobalt blue vinyl which was released on 12th June as part of Record Store Day.
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