Highway Companion - A Fan's Review

By Lissa ProbusTom Petty Fan

On 7/17/06, Lissa Probus reviewed Highway Companion with a little help from her friends at GoneGator Radio. Thanks, Sean!

This album is more philosophical and sweeter than I expected...As a native of the Heartbreaker's era, I was seven when the first album came out. I associate Tom Petty with raw sentiment, rocking beats and a sense of humble greatness. With hits like Breakdown and Something in the Air, to Mary Jane's Last Dance and American Girl, the Heartbreaker’s have held their own from Ford to Bush II. In this third solo release, Tom Petty still knows who he is, and a whole new generation is about to discover that for themselves. These songs don’t push for rebellion or political unrest, but they call for a personal inquiry into rightness and power. For Tom Petty, the road is always open to greater things, and love is around every corner, in both directions. Each of these songs is crafted with skill and truth, playing the roles of the rock and roll major arcana in style.

Saving Grace rolls with the bigger sounds and pictures typical of the Wilburys, but Petty’s storytelling is stylistically clear and his visuals rustic. Sparking with rock and roll grind – this one avoids bitter but not without a little of the Mr. Jones flavor. This danceable tune lives up to this era with a call for self-evaluation and grounding.

Square One is pure Petty with an innocence and hope that we keep coming back for. The gentle sounds of this song will lull the wake up of the American scene with a slow slide guitar and a sweet tune to fall in love with all over again.

Flirting With Time reminds us that time catches up with us all, and Tom calls to us to take responsibility for the world we live in with this catchy number. This song opens with a death and a reference to a last dance. A seventies bending guitar carries the message off in style, with a rhythm and melody that push the edge of cynicism, Like the earlier (Don’t Have) A Wasted Life (1982), this song reminds us to live every minute with an eye for the future.

Down South is reminiscent and reverent. "If I come to your door" – The line of the main chorus, pulls heartstrings for nostalgia and hospitality. For all of its familiar affection, this story line is a little wrapped in southern stereotype, "I'll give you all I have and a little more." speaks for the South in timely notes,

Jack is a snapping rhythm love song that hosts a sweet sentiment and a sweeter lyrical treatment by Tom, with a drumming and diving guitar solo. Another song that speaks of innocent and possessive young love, the groovy naked electric guitar sound is so late sixties you can swim to it.
Turn This Car Around is another hip mover with an impressionist storyline and a driving electric guitar. The clean sound grows with memory stimulating shifts from the big sound to the ballad. "The King and Queen are loaded..." and "I'm going back" are just some of the lyrics that compliment a sliding, climbing guitar with a call for personal action at this point in history.

Big Weekend Is a traveler’s story, and repeats the small town picture book. The suburban scene suggests a Greendale reference (Neil Young), but Petty just rolls out a good time with out preaching. The whole attitude of this piece is casual, with a message to travel light and learn the language where you are going.

Night Driver lets us listen in to the California commute and the feel of worn tires on the Pacific Coastal Highway. The lyrical picture here might have clambakes and skyscrapers in it too. A growing song, direct references like “The new King hides behind the throne, refusing to be crowned” give a clue to the decay of authority and risks of squandered power. Those of us who know the story of Tom's relocation to LA might feel him gazing at the edge of the yard here. The rising melody with a beach party rhythm backdrop grooves us just as it suggests the greatness at rest here.

Damaged by Love is a ballad story of another lost girl on the long, long road. Soulful but not mourning, this song also speaks of loneliness with a sweet slide guitar on the side. Most of the songs on this album speak of speak of maturity, but this one speaks of youth and the fragile feelings of love. The imagery here is dreamy and the music romantic, with guitar effects and building chords that convey the passion of the post- ingénue.

This Old Town makes us wonder if Tom is tired of Los Angeles, "This old town is a sad affair..." speaks of anonymity and work but the line, "Its on Ice, but it won't keep,” suggests energy ready for release and limits of staying too long where you are comfortable.

Ankle Deep starts with a story about a horse – then a stolen horse, and a fall – it could be about this year’s Triple Crown, or it could be about the race of falling in love and the falls on that track that wait for us all. With notes on family relationships and unending ties, it is a solid tune like American girl with American images

The Golden Rose is a goodbye song, slow and epic, it gives a mystical sense of loss and greatness. The big sounds and slide guitar return in this track, supporting a steady vocal and a mystical keyboard refrain that floats like the dreams of an abandoned lover.

Jeff Lynne (of the Traveling Wilburys, Full Moon Fever, 1989 and Wildflowers, 1994) co-produced this album, and like Tom’s other solo work, the professionalism is strong without blurring the outlines of a southern silhouette. Petty’s characters are real, his focus cast on the American way of life most of us work hard for, and his compassion genuine. The stories he tells are kind even when they are honest. There is no judgment here, but experience speaks for itself. As a whole, the album is not a call for running away, but a map for how to get going on to better things.

With Neil Young’s open anti-war lyrics (Living with War, 2006), and Bob Dylan on the road again this summer, Tom Petty is not the senior in a cast of tour experts leading the old gaurd through the first decade of a new millennia. Still, really, the kid from down the block, Tom Petty always tries a little harder and seems a little more like one of the guys you went to school with. Highway Companion is not out of reach in any way. You can feel every song on this album with familiar pride. Danceable, empowering and right on point, this work represents a mature artistry without any of the exclusivity of the instigator or the broken hearted.