Highway Companion

[ForeverAutumn]

I haven't purchased a Tom Petty disk since Into the Great Wide Open. But I was shopping today and picked up the new disk, Highway Companion, just to take a look at it. I then saw that Jeff Lynne was back with Petty as Producer. That made me curious enough to buy the disk.

I'm glad that I did. This is a great disk! It's stripped back and filled with nice melodies. Nothing flashy, not a lot of layers, just good solid songs. Highway Companion appears to be a more mature Petty. Some may find this disk to be a little MOR. If you're looking for Full Moon Fever, this isn't even close. I would say this disk is, overall, much more folky and introspective. Although you would never guess that if all you heard was the opening song, Saving Grace, which is just a kick-ass rock and roller (Tom Petty style). But the CD mellows from there.

If I had to compare it to another disk for mood, I would compare it to Mark Knopfler's, Sailing to Philadelphia. Both disks are filled with well written songs backed with simple musical arrangements, for an unpretentious and enjoyable listening experience.

I'm giving this one 4.5 smilies.
:biggrin5: :biggrin5: :biggrin5: :biggrin5: :smile5:

[3-LockBox]

I was wondering about this one. I didn't know you were a Petty fan. I was a huge Petty fan growing up, as well as an ELO fan. I had all the Heartbreakers' albums from Damn The Torpedos up through the oft maligned Let Me Up, I've Had Enough.

So when Lynn and Petty teamed for The Traveling Wilburys I ate it up. And when I heard Lynn produced and played on Petty's Full Moon Fever, I was stoked. But FMF never grabbed me. It shoulda sounded like any other Petty album, with half his band backing him up, but for some reason it left me flat. Of course I'm in the minority here cuz its still Petty's best selling album ever. He just seemed to have lost that "kiss my a$$ attitude" I liked so much about him. In the late '70s, he was southern rock's answer to punk.

But thanks for bringing this up. Its been a while since I visited Tom Petty's albums. The song You Got Lucky use to haunt me when it first came out.

[ForeverAutumn]

I became a Tom Petty fan around Full Moon Fever. That album produced hit after hit after hit. It was hard not to be a fan around that time. I went into his back catalogue and picked up Damn the Torpedoes and Southern Accents (which I can't find, I wonder if I lent it to someone).

Then I got sick of FMF from all the over-play on the radio and videos. Petty kinda fell off my radar after that. The couple of tracks that I heard off of The Last DJ didn't do enough for me to entice me to buy the CD.

I don't think that you'll find his "kiss my a$$' attitude on this disk either. It's a different direction for him this time 'round. But a good one IMHO. Although, I can see many of his old fans being disappointed by the mellowness of this disk.

[Swish]

Highway Companion appears to be a more mature Petty. Al:

What is he now, 60? If he were any more mature he'd be six feet under. But seriously, he's the only guy I know who could be a stunt double for Martina Navratilova, and I never could understand the big attraction to his music. His songs always seemed so mundane and passable to me, kinda like Lenny Kravitz. Not in style, but in the way that their songs, while not totally unpleasant, never challenge the listener and seem unimaginative.

I guess you can figure out that I won't be running out to buy this one, eh Fall Girl? :ihih:

Swish

[ForeverAutumn]

What is he now, 60? If he were any more mature he'd be six feet under. But seriously, he's the only guy I know who could be a stunt double for Martina Navratilova, and I never could understand the big attraction to his music. His songs always seemed so mundane and passable to me, kinda like Lenny Kravitz. Not in style, but in the way that their songs, while not totally unpleasant, never challenge the listener and seem unimaginative.

I guess you can figure out that I won't be running out to buy this one, eh Fall Girl? :ihih:

Swish

OMG!!!! You don't like something that I do? I don't think that's ever happened before! :yikes:

:ciappa:

[Swish]

OMG!!!! You don't like something that I do? I don't think that's ever happened before! :yikes:

:ciappa:

...bad about it, but I opined that I never thought much of Tom Petty, especially all the accolades he received for Full Moon Fever. I don't exactly hate him either and wouldn't run out of a room where his music was playing, but Free Fallin, I Won't Back Down, A Face In The Crowd, and Yer So Bad, et. al. just don't do anything for me. And I really don't believe that he would change my mind with a new record. I guess I just have no interest and will leave it at that.

Swish

[Slosh]

he's the only guy I know who could be a stunt double for Martina Navratilovahe he, and if they had a baby it would look like . . . Tom Petty :)

I got talked into going to a Heartbreakers' show when I was in college and as it turns out it was great! Not a big fan either but he cranked up the distortion on "Running Down A Dream" and it almost sounded like a thrash metal song. RAWK!!

Hey, off topic but Dennis Miller stole one of my jokes. The one about going to the Air and Space museum and being amazed by all of the artifacts in it :rolleyes: Wonder how he heard it?

[Swish]

he he, and if they had a baby it would look like . . . Tom Petty :)

I got talked into going to a Heartbreakers' show when I was in college and as it turns out it was great! Not a big fan either but he cranked up the distortion on "Running Down A Dream" and it almost sounded like a thrash metal song. RAWK!!

Hey, off topic but Dennis Miller stole one of my jokes. The one about going to the Air and Space museum and being amazed by all of the artifacts in it :rolleyes: Wonder how he heard it?

...that I really do like. As for the Martina jab, I actually saw a picture of her in a magazine, can't bemember which, and they had a small blurb below it that asked "why is she disguising herself as Tom Petty" or words to that effect. It cracked me up because, had you told me it was a picture of Tom, I would have believed it without a doubt.

As for the Dennis Miller joke, I don't recall hearing it, but I'm sure he stole it from you.

Swish

[bobsticks]

. But seriously, he's the only guy I know who could be a stunt double for Martina Navratilova, and I never could understand the big attraction to his music.
Swish

LOL Between that and "Hey, hey llama..." I don't know which of you two has a better act. You guys must be hell on wheels in a bar. Excuse me while I go clean up the coffee I just spit out...:arf:

Cheers

[Swish]

LOL Between that and "Hey, hey llama..." I don't know which of you two has a better act. You guys must be hell on wheels in a bar. Excuse me while I go clean up the coffee I just spit out...:arf: Cheers

...but looks aren't everything. Now Slosh, he's the real deal, just waiting for the right moment to unleash the hounds.

Swish

[superpanavision70mm]

Here is the way that I descibe the music of Tom Petty and ...for that matter John Mellencamp and even Bruce Springstein....

Their music definitely has talent and it's catchy, but it's also nothing that you need to revisit all the time because you can turn on the radio and almost immediately hear their music at some point. Most of their songs are overplayed.

Tom Petty is someone that I have a greatest hits CD of and every few years I crack it open, dust off the case, insert it, skip through a few catchy tunes, and then gracefully return it to the collection. I think quietly to myself....wow, I forgot about that song. Then I return back to the real world.

[3-LockBox]

Here is the way that I descibe the music of Tom Petty and ...for that matter John Mellencamp and even Bruce Springstein....

Their music definitely has talent and it's catchy, but it's also nothing that you need to revisit all the time because you can turn on the radio and almost immediately hear their music at some point. Most of their songs are overplayed.

Tom Petty is someone that I have a greatest hits CD of and every few years I crack it open, dust off the case, insert it, skip through a few catchy tunes, and then gracefully return it to the collection. I think quietly to myself....wow, I forgot about that song. Then I return back to the real world.

Add Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles and Bob Seger...Luckily, I don't listen to the radio much anymore. My wife and I were at some friends house playing games a couple of weekends ago and listening to FM101 outta Vancouver BC and I hadn't listened to that station in years. It was the same playlist as the last time I tuned in. I still own and listen to all of these bands mind you. I have made comps with their deeper album cuts. They were just too damn talented not to listen to them, but I eschew the radio hits...that's what classic rock radio is for.

[Woochifer]

I was wondering about this one. I didn't know you were a Petty fan. I was a huge Petty fan growing up, as well as an ELO fan. I had all the Heartbreakers' albums from Damn The Torpedos up through the oft maligned Let Me Up, I've Had Enough.

So when Lynn and Petty teamed for The Traveling Wilburys I ate it up. And when I heard Lynn produced and played on Petty's Full Moon Fever, I was stoked. But FMF never grabbed me. It shoulda sounded like any other Petty album, with half his band backing him up, but for some reason it left me flat. Of course I'm in the minority here cuz its still Petty's best selling album ever. He just seemed to have lost that "kiss my a$$ attitude" I liked so much about him. In the late '70s, he was southern rock's answer to punk.

But thanks for bringing this up. Its been a while since I visited Tom Petty's albums. The song You Got Lucky use to haunt me when it first came out.

I'm kind of in the same boat with you. I went into a major Tom Petty phase when Jimmy Iovine was his primary producer. Those three albums that Iovine produced are all great albums from start to finish, many many repeat listenings. Just a bunch of well-written songs and a total band effort that was masterfully captured by Iovine. My favorite Petty album overall is probably Long After Dark, though Damn The Torpedoes has the standout songs.

I thought when Petty brought in Dave Stewart and spent more than two years in the studio on Southern Accents, the music started to lose focus. Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) was maligned, but I really liked that album for the simple reason that they were playing loose and just letting it all fly. It was self-produced and refreshingly free of self-consciousness.

The Jeff Lynne produced stuff never grew on me. It seemed overly deliberate and sterile, and the continuity with the band didn't seem as tight. I know that Jimmy Iovine was a notorious perfectionist in the studio, but the albums he did with Petty felt a lot more spontaneous and natural, and sounded a lot more like a cohesive band was playing. I haven't really followed Petty's stuff since Into The Great Wide Open.

[Swish]

I haven't purchased a Tom Petty disk since Into the Great Wide Open, and for good reason. But I was shopping today and picked up the new disk, Highway Companion, just to take a look at it. I then saw that Jeff Lynne was back with Petty as producer, but I bought it any way. In my opinion, Lynne was the downfall of Petty.

I'm sad that I did. This is a lousy disk! It's stripped back and filled with poor melodies. Nothing flashy, not a lot of layers, just crappy songs. Highway Companion appears to be more manure from Petty. Most will find this disk to be MOR. If you're looking for Full Moon Fever, this isn't even close. I would say this disk is, overall, boring and lacking in focus. Although you would guess that if all you heard was the opening song, Saving Grace, which is just a sick-ass, whimpy rock and roller (Tom Petty style). But the CD goes even futher downhill from there.

If I had to compare it to another disk for mood, I would compare it to the latest from the Pussycat Dolls. Both disks are filled with tripe with simple musical arrangements, for an unsophisticated and uninformed audience.

I'm giving this one 4.5 smilies...from my butt. :ciappa:

And it's about time.

Swish :cornut:

[Mr Peabody]

Swish, you ought to quit, LOL

I 2nd Wooch's view on this. The Wilbury's, do make me run from the room.

If FA says it's good though, I'll at least have to give it a listen, where I otherwise wouldn't have paid it any attention.

[Mr Peabody]

Red Hot Chilli Peppers considering law suit because a new Petty song sounds like Under The Bridge!

[ForeverAutumn]

Swish, you ought to quit, LOL

I 2nd Wooch's view on this. The Wilbury's, do make me run from the room.

If FA says it's good though, I'll at least have to give it a listen, where I otherwise wouldn't have paid it any attention.

Don't buy it solely on my rec. After a few more days of listening it's losing it's lustre quickly. It's good and I'm enjoying it, I'm just not sure that my original 4.5 smilies will hold up over time.

[ForeverAutumn]

And it's about time.

Swish :cornut:


Who the hell are The Pussycat Dolls??? Is that like Josie and the Pussycats?

[Swish]

Who the hell are The Pussycat Dolls??? Is that like Josie and the Pussycats?

Ha! They're some really lame girly-girl band ala the Spice Girls or whatever. I never heard them...really, but I've seen ads and billboards, especially in London, so I figured I'd use them when I pillaged your post.

Your welcome,
Swish

[3-LockBox]

Who the hell are The Pussycat Dolls??? Is that like Josie and the Pussycats?

basically...

[ForeverAutumn]

Ha! They're some really great girly-girl band ala, my all-time favourites, the Spice Girls . I LOVE them. I've seen ads and billboards, especially in London, so I figured I'd use them when I made my next comp.

Your welcome,
Swish

I can't believe you took the bait! :p

[bobsticks]

...And coming up from the outside, Forever Autumn takes the lead by a nose...

[Davey]

Ha! They're some really great girly-girl band ala, my all-time favourites, the Spice Girls . I LOVE them. I've seen ads and billboards, especially in London, so I figured I'd use them when I made my next comp.

Your welcome,
Swish
I can't believe you took the bait! :p
Haha, poor Swish Baby. A week in the old country and he can't even spell proper english anymore. But really, who doesn't love the Spice Girls? Especially that spicy redhead, eh? :)


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f9/GeriBrits.JPG/178px-GeriBrits.JPG

Hey, wait a minute, I thought she was a redhead, what gives? Another fantasy turns to dust in the wind ....

[Swish]

Haha, poor Swish Baby. A week in the old country and he can't even spell proper english anymore. But really, who doesn't love the Spice Girls? Especially that spicy redhead, eh? :)


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f9/GeriBrits.JPG/178px-GeriBrits.JPG

Hey, wait a minute, I thought she was a redhead, what gives? Another fantasy turns to dust in the wind ....

Better men than you have had their dreams shattered by mere happenstance. Get over it. Oh, and another thing, never touch another man's rhubarb."

I memorised that from a chalkboard in the men's room at a pub on Portobello Road. Those Brits are a funny lot, and I realise they spell things a bit differently than their neighbours across the pond.

Swish

[3-LockBox]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f9/GeriBrits.JPG/178px-GeriBrits.JPG





but then again, I never liked platform boots anyway


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