Highway Companion
Encyclopedia
Highway Companion is the third solo album
, and 14th overall, by American
musician
Tom Petty
. It was first released in late July 2006 (see 2006 in music
), and charted at #4 on the Billboard 200
album chart. The album was produced by former Traveling Wilburys
bandmate Jeff Lynne
, who also produced Petty’s highly-acclaimed first solo album, Full Moon Fever
, as well as the Heartbreakers' next album Into the Great Wide Open
. Petty released the album through Rick Rubin
's American Recordings label and Warner Bros. Records
, where Petty has had a record contract since his second solo album, Wildflowers
(which was produced by Rubin). The tracks "Saving Grace" and "Big Weekend" were released July 4, 2006 on the iTunes Music Store. It ended up being Petty's only album for American Recordings, as that label moved to Columbia Records
distribution in 2007; Warner Bros. retained the rights to Petty.
A streaming version of the album was available on numerous websites before its release. The iTunes release of the album contained extras: a live version of "Saving Grace", the video for "Saving Grace" and an interactive media booklet.
does not like that some songs on the album seem to be made for the road while others are not, but he feels that Jeff Lynne
's production on this album is different than on Full Moon Fever
and Into the Great Wide Open
, which appears to him. Erlewine also feels that the album is darker than Petty's previous work, but it is still a "reliable" album. Noel Murray of the A.V. Club
thinks that it is Petty's fourth best album that he's made and that the album's title is appropriate. Dave Simpson, in his review for guardian.co.uk
, feels that the album is a good way to say goodbye from music, although Petty did not go through with his retirement plans. Jam!
's Darryl Sterdan feels that Petty was taking his music "down a peg" and feels that the album shows Petty "aging graciously". John Metzger's Music Box review of the album feels that the complaints that Petty sings about come across better on Companion than The Last DJ
and that the album is no less powerful than his previous albums. Alan Light
of Rolling Stone
says that although Highway Companion is not as good as Petty's two previous solo efforts, the album successfully combines the previous albums' styles and that the album is worth listening to.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, and 14th overall, by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
. It was first released in late July 2006 (see 2006 in music
2006 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....
), and charted at #4 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart. The album was produced by former Traveling Wilburys
Traveling Wilburys
The Traveling Wilburys were an English–American supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, accompanied by drummer Jim Keltner...
bandmate Jeff Lynne
Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
, who also produced Petty’s highly-acclaimed first solo album, Full Moon Fever
Full Moon Fever
Full Moon Fever is the first solo album by Tom Petty, though it features contributions from several members of his backing band, the Heartbreakers, along with fellow members of the Traveling Wilburys. The record shows Petty exploring his musical roots with nods to his influences...
, as well as the Heartbreakers' next album Into the Great Wide Open
Into the Great Wide Open
Into the Great Wide Open is the eighth studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, first released in July 1991 . The album was the band's last with MCA Records...
. Petty released the album through Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
's American Recordings label and Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, where Petty has had a record contract since his second solo album, Wildflowers
Wildflowers (Tom Petty album)
Wildflowers is the second solo album by American musician Tom Petty, released in November 1994 . The album was the first released by Petty after signing a contract with Warner Bros...
(which was produced by Rubin). The tracks "Saving Grace" and "Big Weekend" were released July 4, 2006 on the iTunes Music Store. It ended up being Petty's only album for American Recordings, as that label moved to Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
distribution in 2007; Warner Bros. retained the rights to Petty.
A streaming version of the album was available on numerous websites before its release. The iTunes release of the album contained extras: a live version of "Saving Grace", the video for "Saving Grace" and an interactive media booklet.
Special Edition
An expanded Special Edition of Highway Companion was released on June 5, 2007. This expanded edition included the original album unchanged, but added two new tracks and demos of "This Old Town" and "Big Weekend." The new tracks, "Home" and "Around the Roses," were recorded for the album in 2005, and were mentioned in Tom Petty's 2005 biography Conversations With Tom Petty, but remained unreleased before this edition. The leatherette board packaging also includes two postcards.Critical reception
Although Highway Companion did not receive rave reviews upon its release, it was warmly received by critics with the average star rating for the album being 3.5 out of 5. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas ErlewineStephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
does not like that some songs on the album seem to be made for the road while others are not, but he feels that Jeff Lynne
Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
's production on this album is different than on Full Moon Fever
Full Moon Fever
Full Moon Fever is the first solo album by Tom Petty, though it features contributions from several members of his backing band, the Heartbreakers, along with fellow members of the Traveling Wilburys. The record shows Petty exploring his musical roots with nods to his influences...
and Into the Great Wide Open
Into the Great Wide Open
Into the Great Wide Open is the eighth studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, first released in July 1991 . The album was the band's last with MCA Records...
, which appears to him. Erlewine also feels that the album is darker than Petty's previous work, but it is still a "reliable" album. Noel Murray of the A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
thinks that it is Petty's fourth best album that he's made and that the album's title is appropriate. Dave Simpson, in his review for guardian.co.uk
Guardian.co.uk
guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
, feels that the album is a good way to say goodbye from music, although Petty did not go through with his retirement plans. Jam!
Jam!
Jam! is a Canadian website, which covers entertainment news. It is part of the CANOE online portal, owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division....
's Darryl Sterdan feels that Petty was taking his music "down a peg" and feels that the album shows Petty "aging graciously". John Metzger's Music Box review of the album feels that the complaints that Petty sings about come across better on Companion than The Last DJ
The Last DJ
The Last DJ is the eleventh studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The tracks "The Last DJ", "Money Becomes King", "Joe", and "Can't Stop the Sun" are attacks on the greediness of the music industry....
and that the album is no less powerful than his previous albums. Alan Light
Alan Light
Alan Light is an American journalist who has been a rock critic for Rolling Stone and the editor-in-chief for both VIBE and Spin....
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
says that although Highway Companion is not as good as Petty's two previous solo efforts, the album successfully combines the previous albums' styles and that the album is worth listening to.
Track listing
All songs written by Tom Petty.Musicians
- Tom PettyTom PettyThomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
- Lead vocal, Rhythm GuitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, 12 string guitar, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, Backing Vocals, HarmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, Electric PianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
on “Night Driver,” bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on “Square One,” Lead GuitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
and keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
on “Jack” - Mike Campbell - Lead Guitar, 12 string guitar, VibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
on “The Golden Rose” - Jeff LynneJeff LynneJeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
- Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, AutoharpAutoharpThe autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
on “Ankle Deep”
Personnel
- Produced by Jeff Lynne with Tom Petty and Mike Campbell.
- Recording and Mix Engineer: Ryan Ulyate
- Session supervision, equipment and guitar tech, coffee and tea transportation for Tom Petty: Alan "Bugs" Weidel
- Additional engineer for "Square One" and "Jack": Steve McGrath
- Recorded at Bungalow Palace and Shoreline Recorders, Los Angeles, CA
- Studio tech: Charlie Bolois
- Mastered by Brian Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering
- Cover Art By Artist Robert DeyberRobert DeyberRobert Deyber is an American artist most known for visual interpretations of cliches, euphemisms and idioms from the English and other languages...
Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Top 75 Albums | 60 |
| Belgium (Flanders) 100 Albums | 72 |
| Belgium (Wallonia) 100 Albums | 58 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
5 |
| Finnish Top 50 Albums | 22 |
| French Top 200 Albums | 155 |
| German Albums | 12 |
| Netherlands Top 100 Albums | 55 |
| New Zealand Top 40 Albums | 13 |
| Norwegian Top 40 Albums | 15 |
| Swedish Top 60 Albums | 3 |
| Swiss Top 100 Albums | 44 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
56 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
4 |
| US Rock Albums | 1 |
External links
- Tom Petty signs exclusive recording contract with American Recordings, 6/15/06, from Tom Petty - The Last DJ URL accessed 16 June 2006.
- Watch "Saving Grace" at TomPetty.com, 6/26/06, from Tom Petty - The Last DJ URL accessed 29 June 2006.