2008 Woodie Awards
Tom Petty Goes Back to Square One
Tom Petty flies solo with a very eclectic mix of great songs.
Trevor Owens
Issue date: 9/6/06 Section: Entertainment
It may be subconscious, but Tom Petty is doing an awfully good Bob Dylan impersonation. It isn't the sparse production of these ten songs that draws that comparison, it isn't even the lazily lilted vocal delivery. This time out, Tom Petty is as lyrically intriguing as his former Traveling Wilburys bandmate, and twice as melodic.
"Highway companion" is Tom Petty's third 'solo' offering. As far as albums without his usual band. It follows "Full Moon Fever," from 1989, and "Wildflowers," from 1994. While those two albums easily rank among Petty's finest work, "Highway Companion" struggles a little more.
The loss of the Heartbreakers does not benefit this album as much as fans may have hoped. It is, like the first two efforts, in a different vein than a Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers album.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the most noticeable effect of flying solo is a lack of fast-paced rockers among the 10 tracks.
The opening track and first single, "Saving Grace," is a glaring exception. The hardest song on the album, it contains an unrelenting beat, and an instantly catchy chorus. This ZZ Top-esque song suffers slightly from a lack of lyrical
direction, but Petty is aiming for something more subversive, more poetic. If Dylan is listening, then he is jealous.
"Big Weekend" and "Flirting With Time" are the other fast paced songs this album has to offer. These two songs are also notable because they contain Petty's trademark emotional directness.
"Highway Companion" contains songs that find Petty on the move, though it is not certain whether he is running from something, or to it. Many of the songs mention southern homes or places, roads, cars, and a boat. Even with all this movement, and so many methods of travel, the most interesting journeys here take place inside the narrator.
In "Square One," Petty faces a turning point that feels more like a new beginning. "Last time through I hid my tracks so well I could not get back. Yeah, my way was hard to find. Can't sell your soul for peace of mind."
"Highway companion" is Tom Petty's third 'solo' offering. As far as albums without his usual band. It follows "Full Moon Fever," from 1989, and "Wildflowers," from 1994. While those two albums easily rank among Petty's finest work, "Highway Companion" struggles a little more.
The loss of the Heartbreakers does not benefit this album as much as fans may have hoped. It is, like the first two efforts, in a different vein than a Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers album.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the most noticeable effect of flying solo is a lack of fast-paced rockers among the 10 tracks.
The opening track and first single, "Saving Grace," is a glaring exception. The hardest song on the album, it contains an unrelenting beat, and an instantly catchy chorus. This ZZ Top-esque song suffers slightly from a lack of lyrical
direction, but Petty is aiming for something more subversive, more poetic. If Dylan is listening, then he is jealous.
"Big Weekend" and "Flirting With Time" are the other fast paced songs this album has to offer. These two songs are also notable because they contain Petty's trademark emotional directness.
"Highway Companion" contains songs that find Petty on the move, though it is not certain whether he is running from something, or to it. Many of the songs mention southern homes or places, roads, cars, and a boat. Even with all this movement, and so many methods of travel, the most interesting journeys here take place inside the narrator.
In "Square One," Petty faces a turning point that feels more like a new beginning. "Last time through I hid my tracks so well I could not get back. Yeah, my way was hard to find. Can't sell your soul for peace of mind."
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