Tom Petty - Highway Companion Review
Posted by Mitch Michaels on 07.26.2006
TP and Jeff Lynne reunite for a new Petty solo album, but how will it stack up against Tom and his band’s lofty catalog?
My Story
I've been a big fan of Tom Petty for a long time. His songs have pretty much been the soundtrack of my life ever since my friend Charlie made a copy of the Greatest Hits album for me back in 10th grade. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are like an ongoing rock 'n' roll revival, one of the last great American touring bands who still hold a torch for the Sun, blues and Bo Diddley 45s from 50 years ago.
I was a little cautious going into this album, though. For one thing, The Last DJ just didn't hit the mark. For another thing, it seemed strange to me the Petty was abandoning The Heartbreakers for a solo album to mark the band's 30th year together. Combine that with the questionable return to Jeff Lynne as producer (I mean, he was great, but we've been there before), and some fans were feeling like this album might be a major misstep.
Then I heard "Square One" last year and I just couldn't wait. So how does this album stack up? Let's find out.
His Story
Tom Petty grew up in northern Florida during the 60’s. Inspired by rock ‘n’ roll at an early age, Tom began his garage band career before he’d even started high school. By the time of his graduation, he was a seasoned vet in the Gainesville region’s club scene, touring locally with his different bands. In the mid-70’s, Petty decided that, if he was going to really make a go out of the music business, he needed to be in Los Angeles. Petty packed up his band (the foursome known as Mudcrutch) and headed west for fame and fortune.
Mudcrutch caught the interest of a few different labels, but decided on the small Shelter umbrella. Unfortunately, halfway into recording their first album, Mudcrutch disintegrated under the pressure. Shelter still held Petty under a contract, though, and decided they might be able to retain him as a solo artist. Petty wasn’t much for session musicians and, as fate would have it, it didn’t take long for him to re-assemble his ex-Mudcrutch pals, guitar virtuoso Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench. Tench brought in a drummer named Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair into the group and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were born.
The band’s self-titled debut hit shelves in 1976 and barely made a whisper. The hard touring unit decided to take their straight-ahead rock ‘n’ roll show overseas and it was there when things began to catch fire. By the time Petty returned to the States, “Breakdown”, their groovy first single, was becoming a sizable radio hit. The band capitalized on the success and quickly recorded the follow-up, You’re Gonna Get It!, which hit shelves in 1978. The set became the band’s first Top 40 album (of many).
Unfortunately, just as the Heartbreakers were really blowing up, changes were coming for Shelter Records. ABC, shelter’s parent company, was bought out by giant conglomerate MCA. Suddenly, Petty & The Heartbreakers found themselves employed by a company that didn’t even know them. Feeling his career may be doomed just as it was taking off, Petty fought hard to break free from his original contract. The struggle was long, and even saw Tom filing for bankruptcy to keep from turning over his master tapes to MCA. Eventually, the lawsuit was settled and Petty found himself on the better end. He and the Heartbreakers signed with Backstreet Records, an MCA imprint, and Damn The Torpedoes was released in late 1979. The record became the band’s signature statement. The album hit #2 on the Billboard charts and spawned several radio hits in songs like “Don’t Do Me Like That”, “Refugee” and “Even The Losers”. Torpedoes also became the band’s first multi-platinum album.
The Heartbreakers continued their career successfully for several years into the 80’s. The hits kept coming (“The Waiting”, “You Got Lucky”), the tours kept running, and Petty even occasionally kept butting heads with the industry. When MCA made known their plan to boost the price of 1981’s Hard Promises to a then-unheard of $10, Petty threatened to rename the album $8.98. Once again, Petty won out over the suits.
Going into their sixth album, the band had been running high for a long time. With the success came excess, and it was around 1984 when the real burnout started. Petty had been working on his first solo album, a 2 LP concept record about the south, and things weren’t going smoothly. During a particularly bad night in the studio, Tom pounded his hand into a wall in frustration, shattering several bones in the process. The career-threatening injury (who needs a one-handed guitarist?) was a real wake-up call, and Petty took it as a sign to slow down.
Southern Accents finally hit shelves in 1985, now a single disc effort that included the whole band. The music on the album stood in stark contrast to the Heartbreakers’ earlier hard rocking hits, as Accents found the band experimenting more than ever. Notably, longtime produce Jimmy Iovine was being phased out, and the band tried some music under the production of ex-Eurythmics leader Dave Stewart. The pairing produced some trippy results, particularly the huge hit single and video “Don’t Come Around Here No More”. The iconic clip not only provided Petty with his “Mad Hatter” image that would remain for the next several years, but proved that the Heartbreakers weren’t adverse to stepping outside of their rock ‘n’ roll mindset.
The band continued relatively smoothly for the next few years. The Heartbreakers’ 1987 release, Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough), was their first ever self-produced effort, and also marked the beginning of a long association with Bob Dylan, whom they would wind up touring with for nearly two years.
Following the Dylan tour, tensions in the band were rising and it became increasingly difficult to get any music recorded. Fighting was particularly bad between Tom and drummer Stan Lynch, who both had different visions of the Hertbreakers’ future. After a failed attempt at recording a follow-up to Let Me Up (and a nasty fire that burned down his L.A. home), Tom took some time away from the band. It was around this time that he joined up with ex-ELO frontman Jeff Lynne. After a while away from work, Lynne began to encourage Petty to get back to music making.
Petty’s time with Jeff Lynne was particularly fruitful. Lynne and Petty got to work on a TP solo album, recorded entirely in Petty’s home garage, and the association also helped lead to the formation of super group the Traveling Wilburys (Lynne, Petty, Dylan, Roy Orbison and George Harrison). The band’s debut album, Vol. 1, was a big success in the late-80’s, as was Petty’s first solo CD, Full Moon Fever, which finally hit stores in 1989.
Full Moon Fever became the biggest hit of Petty’s career (amazing, since the album was initially rejected by MCA; amazingly, when Petty brought it back to them six months later, unchanged, the label loved it). The album reached #3 on the Billboard 200 and spawned seven Top 20 Mainstream Rock hits, including the #1s “Free Fallin’”, “I Won’t Back Down” and “Runnin’ Down A Dream”. FMF wasn’t really a departure for Petty; it still featured his signature roots rock-style, as well as backing work by most of The Heartbreakers. But Jeff Lynne’s radio-friendly, high-gloss production reintroduced Tom to the masses and people were loving what they heard.
Following a second Wilburys album (1990’s Vol. 3), Petty returned to The Heartbreakers with Jeff Lynne in tow. Tom was hoping that the success he’d had with Lynne on the solo album would translate into a great band album. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the group to start butting heads again. Some of The Heartbreakers, especially Lynch, wanted to take a more rocking approach and felt confined by Lynne’s folksy, pop/rock production. The resulting album, 1991’s Into The Great Wide Open, did well commercially, but found Petty & The Heartbreakers in an atypical standstill, more repeating the success of Full Moon Fever than pushing ahead. The album suffers, musically, as it seems of two minds, with the hard rockers feeling caged in amongst shiny pop/rock like the title track.
The early 90’s were a time of change for Petty. Wide Open proved to be his swan song for MCA as he negotiated a deal with Warner Bros., leaving a 15-year business association behind. Tom went on to work with Def Jam/American guru Rick Rubin on a second solo album, but still owed MCA a couple of new Heartbreakers tracks for a forthcoming Greatest Hits CD. Rubin helped produce the sessions, which yielded the big hit “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and also proved to be the final Heartbreakers recording with original drummer Stan Lynch.
Tom Petty’s second solo album hit shelves in the winter of 1994. Wildflowers stood in stark contrast to anything in Petty’s nearly 20-year catalog. The stripped down acoustic set found Petty singing the most personal and raw material of his career (as well as being backed once again by most of The Heartbreakers). The set reintroduced Petty to the Billboard Top 10 as it went on to sell over three million copies, as well as spawn four more hot singles, including the #1 slacker anthem “You Don’t Know How It Feels”. Petty was connecting with a new audience at the time, it seemed, as the video for “You Don’t Know” scored an MTV award for Best Male Video. He was also awarded the Video Vanguard Award that year for his achievements in innovative music videos.
Following Wildflowers, Petty rejoined with what was left of the Heartbreakers to work on a new album. Tom had been inspired after being asked to produce a soundtrack for the Edward Burns romantic comedy She’s The One. What Burns got was a full album of new material by Petty and The Heartbreakers. The set, inspired by Nirvana according to Petty, was one of the band’s most hard rocking to date. Petty’s lyrics were angrier and more bitter than usual, most likely due to the dissolution of his marriage. 1999’s Echo followed the “divorce album” tone, only with a decidedly sadder tone.
The new millennium has been a good time for Petty. He and The Heartbreakers are enjoying a second (third?) wind and were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001, the Greatest Hits album has been certified diamond and their tours frequently top the year’s most attended. Tom also got a gig as a host for his own music show, "Buried Treasure", on XM Radio. 2002 saw the release of The Last DJ, an album that was billed as Petty’s shot across the bow towards the record industry. The set was greeted mildly, despite a few really solid songs.
2006 marks Petty & The Heartbreakers’ 30th Anniversary. To celebrate, the band has set out on one of their biggest tours in years, packing along such acts as Pearl Jam, Stevie Nicks, The Allman Brothers Band, The Strokes and others. With the anniversary hubbub amiss, it seems strange for Petty to return to solo work, but that’s exactly what he’s doing. Last year, TP announced that he had finished an album with Jeff Lynne and that it would soon see release on Rick Rubin’s American label. The first song from the album to appear, “Square One”, was included on the 2005 soundtrack to Elizabethtown, and a few other songs were previewed when Petty was asked to be the musical director for the 2006 NBA Playoffs telecasts.
The Album
On July 25, 2006, American Records released Highway Companion, the third solo album by Tom Petty and the follow-up to the 2002 Heartbreakers album The Last DJ. The album is available for download on iTunes with two bonus tracks: live versions of “Square One” and the lead single “Saving Grace”.
The Band: 9.0
Tom Petty: lead and backing vocals, rhythm and lead guitars, drums, harmonica, electric piano, bass, keyboards
For the first time ever, it looks like Tom Petty’s solo album is truly a solo album. The only Heartbreaker in attendance is Mike Campbell, who co-produced the set and also provides lead guitar on almost all of the tracks. Other than Campbell and some various additions by Jeff Lynne, Petty seems to have handled nearly everything on Highway Companion.
Petty’s vocals are very warm and engaging on this set. A lot of people are turned off by his decidedly nasal tone, but the singing here is so earthy and intimate, that you can’t help but feel every emotion. Petty has his charm in high gear on this CD.
The album also marks Tom’s debut as a drummer, and he does a serviceable job. Mike Campbell’s guitar work is top notch as always, and he can rock it up, like on the boogie “Saving Grace”, or completely break your heart, like the sad slide solo on “Square One”.
Many fans were wondering why Petty had returned to Jeff Lynne, who was considered a one trick pony by most. Luckily, Highway Companion avoids the shiny gloss that has marked previous Lynne productions, and the ex-ELO frontman provides the proper touches at all turns. The set is definitely jangly in places, as are all Petty albums, but it comes across, ultimately, as a warm, built-up acoustic CD, a big plus for fans of Wildflowers.
The only problem with this album is it just doesn’t rock very much. Some songs are fun, others are heartbreaking, but none take off with that kick-ass American guitar rock like Petty’s Heartbreaker CDs have tended to do. But maybe that’s what makes this a solo set.
The Songs: 8.5
1. Saving Grace
2. Square One
3. Flirting With Time
4. Down South
5. Jack
6. Turn This Guitar Around
7. Big Weekend
8. Night Driver
9. Damaged By Love
10. This Old Town
11. Ankle Deep
12. The Golden Rose
Highway Companion is a very cohesive piece, and you can tell that each song is cut from the same cloth. You can just imagine Petty in the same setting, singing each song one after another, but it never gets boring, as each song has its own personality.
The album’s major themes seem to be time and travel, but not to a heavy extent, more like an underlying thread. Bob Dylan made a “time” album in 1997’s mournful, excellent Time Out Of Mind, but Petty’s set doesn’t seem to feel pensive about it as much as it seems aware of its passage. “Square One”, perhaps one of Petty’s most beautiful songs (right up there with “Walls” and “Angel Dream”) talks about starting over. “Flirting With Time” warns that the clock is going to catch up with you, but in a very catchy way. “Down South” is a look back. The “time” element is so present on the album that when the forlornly gorgeous “Damaged By Love” opens with the line “She don’t care about time”, you’re both interested and relieved.
The road songs are nice, too. “Big Weekend” is a wry down-on-your-luck rollick akin to “Yer So Bad”, while “Turn This Car Around” grooves something fierce. “Night Driver” is an ambling electric piano-driven piece with enough atmosphere to spare.
“Saving Grace”, the album’s lead single, boogies like a ZZ Top single, with a riff that seems copped directly from the late John Lee Hooker’s songbook. “Ankle Deep” is a humorous number that flows like a lost Dylan outtake.
In all, though this album may not have the big rocked up feel of a Heartbreakers release, the songs are so catchy, warm and well written that you’ll be enjoying this CD for a long time.
The 411: Highway Companion is a great CD. Its heavy theme of time mixed with the light road songs are the perfect blend of rock maturity and whimsy. Petty has always been a great songwriter and this batch is some of his best and most cohesive. Tom does a great job stepping into a roll of playing nearly everything on this disc and the CD’s “small staff” feel (only about five people have fingers on it) is a welcome change to previous bombastic Tom Petty/Jeff Lynne productions. This album may not satiate fans looking for the rock of the Heartbreakers, but it’s a warm set of very personal songs that will surely stand as one of TP’s many fine achievements.
