Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar); Mike Campbell (guitar); Benmont Tench (keyboards); Howie Epstein (bass); Stan Lynch (drums, background vocals).

Additional personnel includes: Lenny Kravitz (vocals, bass, drums); Stevie Nicks (vocals); Jimmy Iovine (spoken vocals); George Harrison (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Jeff Lynne (guitar, synthesizer, bass); Tom Leadon, David A. Stewart (guitar); Scott Thurston (slide guitar); Charlie Sousa, Marty Jourard (saxophone); Lee Thornburg (trumpet); Al Kooper (piano); Ron Blair, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Emory Gordy (bass); Randall Marsh, Jim Gordon (drums); Phil Jones, Chris Trujillo, George Drakoulias (percussion); The Bangles, Marilyn Martin (background vocals).

Producers include: Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Rick Rubin, Jeff Lynne, Jimmy Iovine.

Engineers include: Shelly Yakus, Don Smith, Richard Dodd.

Recorded between 1976 & 1993. Includes liner notes by Bill Flanagan.

All tracks have been digitally remastered using HDCD technology.

Personnel: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, harmonica, electric piano, bass guitar, cymbals, background vocals); Dave Stewart (vocals, guitar, sitar, synthesizer); Lenny Kravitz (vocals, bass guitar, drums); Stan Lynch (vocals, drums, percussion, waterphone, background vocals); Jeff Lynne (guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, electric piano, synthesizer, bass guitar, timpani, bells, background vocals); Scott Thurston (guitar, 6-string bass); Jeff Jourard, Tom Leadon (guitar); Ron Blair (acoustic guitar, bass guitar); George Harrison (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Jimmy Ripp, Robbie Blunt, Kevin Dukes (acoustic guitar); Tim Pierce (electric guitar); Gayle Levant (harp); Daniel Rothmuller (cello); Charlie Sousa (saxophone, bass guitar); Mike Turre, Harold Todd, Molly Duncan, Phil Kenzie (saxophone); Dave Plews, Lee Thornburg, Michael Hunter (trumpet); Jim Coile, William Bergman, Dick Braun, Kurt McGettrick, John Berry, Jr. (horns); Benmont Tench (piano, electric piano, harmonium, organ, synthesizer, hand claps, background vocals); Al Kooper (piano, organ); Alan Weidel (piano); Mitchell Froom (harpsichord); Garth Hudson (organ); Gary Chang, Scott Humphrey (synthesizer); Howie Epstein (bass guitar, background vocals); Donald "Duck" Dunn, Emory Gordy (bass guitar); Jim Keltner (drums, maracas, tambourine, percussion); Randall Marsh (drums, hand claps); Steve Ferrone (drums); Noah Shark (maracas); Bobbye Hall (tambourine); Chris Trujillo, George Drakoulias, Brad Dutz (percussion); Clydene Jackson, Sharon Celani, Debbi Peterson, Julia Waters, Marilyn Martin, Maxine Willard Waters, Michael Steele, Phil Seymour, Richard Dodd, Stevie Nicks, Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Don Smith ; Noah Shark; George Drakoulias; Max Reese ; Jim Scott; Mark Linett; Mike Shipley; Richard Dodd; Roger Linn; Shelly Yakus; Bill Bottrell.

Liner Note Author: Bill Flanagan.

Recording information: Cherokee Studios, Hollywoo; Leon Russell's Home, Encino, CA; Shelter Studios, Hollywood, CA; Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

Photographers: Lynn Goldsmith; Annie Leibovitz; Robert Matheu; Martyn Atkins; Robert Sebree; Joel Bernstein.

Arranger: Jerry Hey.

Coming along in 1976, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were part of a movement back to basic, pop-oriented rock & roll that has proven to be the most lasting legacy of a decade otherwise given over to such stylistic flameouts as disco and punk. Never getting too mellow to be mistaken for a sensitive singer/songwriter or rocking too hard to be thought of as a heavy metallurgist, Petty spun out a series of mid-tempo hits patterned on Bob Dylan's classic Blonde on Blonde sound, in which the guitars play off the keyboards while the singer sings lyrics steeped in attitude in a high nasal whine. No wonder the Heartbreakers spent part of the '80s backing Dylan. Petty's only musical development occurred upon his encountering former Electric Light Orchestra leader Jeff Lynne, who helped write and produce his later records, updating them to the Sgt. Pepper's pop sound of 1967. Of course, the consequence of Petty & the Heartbreakers' affection for the music of the mid-'60s was that, in essence, they were a singles band, a fact driven home on the first three CDs or cassettes of this six-CD or cassette box set. Even when abbreviating each of their first nine studio albums to four-to-six cuts (and throwing in a few stray tunes from the live album, the hits album, and a Christmas compilation), the songs break down into the hits and the also-rans. To be fair, there are quite a few of the former, 23 singles-chart entries (22 of them here), in fact, and some of the latter are could-have-beens. And since Petty is more a song maker (or, more precisely, a track cutter) than an album artist, his work is more amenable to compilation. Still, three discs are more than enough, and then come three more discs of rarities and outtakes. The first of these contains non-LP B-sides, most of which are pleasant throwaways (the drummer singing "Psychotic Reaction," etc.), though one, "Trailer," suggests that Petty's failed concept album, Southern Accents, could have been a more of a success if it had been included. The last two discs present early and alternate histories of Petty, as his pre-Heartbreakers group, Mudcrutch, searches for a sound and, later, as he tries out different approaches that never made it onto his regular albums. Some of this material will be of interest to hardcore Petty fans. To justify the length and price of the box, however, there would have to be real lost treasures here, and Tom Petty simply is no Bob Dylan. Not surprisingly, then, Playback is a box set that would have been twice as good at half the size, though it can be thought of as economical in the sense that it can be purchased in lieu of buying Petty's entire 1976-1993 MCA catalog. ~ William Ruhlmann

The consequence of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' enduring affection for the music of the mid-'60s was that, in essence, they were a singles band, a fact driven home on the first three CDs of the six-disc set Playback; even when abbreviating each of their first nine studio albums to four to six cuts, the songs break down into the hits and the also-rans. To be fair, there are quite a few of the former, and some of the latter are could-have-beens; and since Petty is more a song maker (or, more precisely, a track cutter) than an album artist, his work is more amenable to compilation. Still, three discs are more than enough, and then come three more discs of rarities and outtakes. The first of these contains non-LP B-sides, most of which are pleasant throwaways (although "Trailer" suggests that the failed concept album Southern Accents could have been more of a success if it had been included). The last two discs present early and alternate histories of Petty, as his pre-Heartbreakers group, Mudcrutch, searches for a sound; later, he tries out different approaches that never made it onto his regular albums. Some of this material will be of interest to hardcore fans, but to justify the length and price of the box, there would have to be real lost treasures here. Not surprisingly, then, Playback is a box set that would have been twice as good at half the size. ~ William Ruhlmann

PLAYBACK spans 20 years of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' career, from 1973 to 1993. Disc one, titled "The Big Jangle," features Petty's popular early songs, such as "Breakdown," "Refugee" and "The Waiting," and is as close to rock & roll perfection as you're likely to come.

Packed with more than 90 songs PLAYBACK is the definitive Petty document. In addition to his many hits, PLAYBACK features a few oddball cuts. There's a hilarious live version of The Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction," sung by drummer Stan Lynch, as well as a demo version of Petty's hit "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," sans Fleetwood Mac vocalist, Stevie Nicks. Another bonus to Petty fans is the inclusion of excellent historical liner notes penned by lauded music critic Bill Flanagan.