And the next few tracks bear that out as the soft and nearly solo-acoustic Square One comes hummimg along next with Petty picking gently on guitar and the band playing it hushed with brushed drums, slide guitar, and gentle chimes.
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But this album is not about volume, exactly. Turn the volume up and this could be a ZZTop song circa 1976. You keep running to another place/To find that saving grace, he sings in Saving Grace as he and his capable band of musicians (including guitarist Mike Campbell from the Heartbreakers) play an acoustic tinged mid-tempo shuffle behind him. Perhaps even a bit too much.Ī concept album of sorts about moving around from place to place, the passage of time, and getting further down the highway in life and in age, the first track takes us on a personal journey that finds Tom questioning his own identity and the reasons he keeps moving on. And on this album that feeling comes through more than ever. Its an artist allowing himself to relax and breathe. But what we get with Tom solo is different, nonetheless. And members of that band find places on all his solo records, this one included. Highway Companion, as with his other solo efforts, could easily be a Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers album if you consider the whole of their work. And as with his previous two solo efforts (Full Moon Fever and the excellent Wildflowers, respectively) what we get is Tom Petty with a twist. Having released his first album with The Heartbreakers 30 years ago and putting out most of his material with that band throughout three decades of making music, this album, the aptly titled Highway Companion, marks just the third time he has stepped away from his comfortable band of fellow rockers and stepped out on his own.
![tom petty highway companion tom petty highway companion](https://ec-assets.sheetmusicplus.com/items/17357232/cover_images/cover-large_file.png)
Bland, unimaginative, and sounding a little like "been there done that" this is sleepy Tom at his most tired. Review Summary: Tom Petty slows down to reflect and nearly comes to a screechnig halt on this Jeff Lynne produced snooze fest.