November 16, 1993 - Greatest Hits and Mary Jane's Last Dance

Two weeks after my last release and two years after "Into The Great Wide Open", Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers released a "Greatest Hits" album on November 16, 1993. I abhorr greatest hits albums, but there was one brand new song, the massively popular single "Mary Jane's Last Dance". It's driven by a pretty catchy main guitar riff and after opening on it's own the drums nicely count in the rest of the band and complete this catchy riff with a similar rhythm section. Tom sings a catchy verse overtop and he also adds some nice harmonica between lyrics. The verse rolls right into a catchy chorus as Petty sings in a nice higher voice and the guitar changes slightly and has some cool parts to it. Another solid drum fill finishes the chorus and the harmonica comes back briefly before they play the next verse. After another catchy verse and chorus it's solo time and Petty plays a cool little solo that matches the mood perfectly and it rolls right into the next verse. They play this final verse, a final catchy chorus and then the harmonica sticks around for a little bit and then we're treated to a closing solo! We hear some more solid guitar as things slowly fade to an end. This is the last we will hear from the Heartbreakers in my library, but their namesake will show up again. This also happens to be my last release of the year, and so begins the year-end wrap-up! Nine albums this year is one less than last year, but there were lots of great ones as grunge and it's subsidiaries were at an all-time high.

Favourite song of the year: While there were many great albums this year,  lot of them were built as a whole with no weak parts, and less about having a stand-out song. If I had to choose one, I guess it would be "Geek U.S.A." by the Pumpkins, but there are lots of others in that same range.

Top 5 Albums of the Year

1. In Utero by Nirvana
2. Undertow by Tool
3. Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins
4. Dig by I Mother Earth
5. Splendor Solis by The Tea Party

All 5 of these albums were quite good the whole way through and "In Utero" is basically the pinnacle of grunge music. 1993 has been a fun year but I can't wait to see what next year has to offer!

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