Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)

Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) (styled on the cover with quotation marks) is the seventh studio album by the American band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on April 27, 1987.[1] It features the most songwriting collaborations between Petty and lead guitarist Mike Campbell on any Petty album. It is the first album without then-former bassist Ron Blair on any tracks, as well as the first since Damn the Torpedoes not produced by Jimmy Iovine.

Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 27, 1987
Recorded1986–87
StudioSound City and M.C. Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length41:08
LabelMCA
Producer
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology
Pack Up the Plantation: Live!
(1985)
Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)
(1987)
Full Moon Fever
(1989)
Singles from Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)
  1. "Jammin' Me"
    Released: April 6, 1987
  2. "All Mixed Up"
    Released: 1987
  3. "Think About Me"
    Released: 1987

The Heartbreakers' approach when starting to work on the album in 1986 was to make it sound like a live recording. This technique contrasted with the heavy studio production on the band's previous album, Southern Accents, and was influenced by touring as Bob Dylan's backing band.

Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) is also notable for being the only previous studio album not represented on Petty's 1993 Greatest Hits album, even though the single "Jammin' Me" (co-written with fellow Traveling Wilbury Bob Dylan) was No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks for four weeks and No. 18 on the Hot 100. "Jammin' Me" was later included on the compilation album Anthology: Through the Years.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [2]
Blender     [3]
Chicago Tribune    [4]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [6]
The Essential Rock Discography5/10[7]
MusicHound3.5/5[8]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [10]

The album received generally positive reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic described the album as "their simplest album since Hard Promises." However, he also stated that Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) was "filled with loose ends, song fragments, and unvarnished productions, it's a defiantly messy album, and it's all the better for it."[11]

Cash Box said that the single "All Mixed Up" "tells a wondering, bittersweet story of life and love in the 80's."[12]

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jammin' Me"Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Mike Campbell4:09
2."Runaway Trains"Petty, Campbell5:13
3."The Damage You've Done"Petty3:53
4."It'll All Work Out"Petty3:11
5."My Life/Your World"Petty, Campbell4:40
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Think About Me"Petty3:45
7."All Mixed Up"Petty, Campbell3:42
8."A Self-Made Man"Petty3:02
9."Ain't Love Strange"Petty2:40
10."How Many More Days"Petty3:18
11."Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)"Petty, Campbell3:31

Personnel

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Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

  • Tom Petty – lead and backing vocals, guitars (acoustic, electric, 12-string, bass)
  • Mike Campbell – lead guitars (12-string, electric, acoustic, bass, resonator, slide), koto, keyboards, dulcimer, mandolin, ukulele, percussion
  • Benmont Tench – acoustic and electric pianos, Hammond and Vox organs, vibraphone, synthesizer
  • Howie Epstein – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Stan Lynch – drums, percussion

Production

  • Annalisa – photography
  • Bruce Barris – assistant engineer
  • Nick Basich – assistant engineer
  • Mike Campbell – production, engineer
  • Paul Chinn – photography
  • Mark Desisto – assistant engineer
  • Mick Haggerty – design, art
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Tom Petty – production
  • Don Smith – engineer
  • Mike Shipley – mixing
  • Andy Udoff – assistant engineer
  • Alan Weidel – assistant engineer
  • Shelly Yakus – overdub engineer

Charts

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Chart performance for Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)
Chart (1987) Peak
Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] 63
UK Album Charts (OCC) 59[14]

Certifications

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Certifications for Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)
Country Organization Year Sales
USA RIAA 1987 Gold[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) by TomPetty.com". Tom Petty | Wildflowers & All The Rest. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  2. ^ "AllMusic: Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)". AllMusic.
  3. ^ "Tom Petty: Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)". Blender. Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  4. ^ Kot, Greg (September 1, 1991). "Through The Years With Tom Petty". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  5. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: tom petty and the heartbreakers".
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2005. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  7. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 816. ISBN 978-1-84195-827-9.
  8. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 870. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  9. ^ "Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)". Rolling Stone. 4 June 1987.
  10. ^ "Tom Petty: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  11. ^ "Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Tom Petty | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  12. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. July 25, 1987. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 232/233. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "let me up (i've had enough) | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  15. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2019-03-21.