Tom Petty: Highway Companion - 2006

This final 'solo' album, from 2006, was ostensibly intended to be a goodbye to the music industry. As it was, Petty didn't retire. How many artists have said they were retiring but never did? It's in the blood, I guess. It is a pleasant, if not a bit understated, collection of acoustic and electric-merged new millennium rock. 

Saving Grace is a rhythmic, riffy pice of vibrant bluesy rock to open with. It has a Southern swampiness to it, along with some infectious, insistent riffs. It reminds me of Willy De Ville's White Trash Girl in some places. The mood immediately changes with Square One, which is a haunting acoustic slow number with a sad vocal refrain. 

Flirting With Time gets things back up again, slightly, with a solid acoustic and electric rock chugger. It has a catchy chorus too. Down South is so Dylanesque on the verses to be almost Dylan himself. It reminds me a lot of Love Minus Zero/No Limit on those verses and also has a delicious guitar solo in the middle. It is, despite is derivative parts, a fine song. 

Jack is a both melodic and chunkily powerful number with a slight mysterious quality to it. The same applies to the slow and muscular Turn This Car Around. Big Weekend is a lively piece of country-ish Petty rock. It is a familiar serving of Petty fun. 

Night Driver is a ghostly, Neil Young-ish slower number with Petty's vocal higher than usual. It features some lovely bass and guitar at the end. The mournful Damaged By Love reminds me of Bruce Springsteen, lyrically. Once more, the guitar is superb on here. 

This Old Town has Beatles-ish hints in its production. This is not surprising, as the album was produced by Beatles devotee Jeff Lynne. Ankle Deep is a sort of Springsteen meets Dylan dignified and attractive rocker. It is my favourite on the album. It is similar to some of the stuff Petty did with The Traveling Wilburys. Petty's guitar is on fire on the solo, again. 

The Golden Rose is a Beatles and Dylan type closer with hints of Norwegian Wood in places and a typically anthemic Pretty chorus. Nice bass and guitar feature once more as well as a spacey keyboard ending that is very ELO. Quality stuff.

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