Highway Companion

Last updated
Highway Companion
Highway Companion.jpg
Studio album by
Tom Petty
ReleasedJuly 25, 2006
Recorded2005–2006
StudioBungalow Palace and Shoreline Recorders, Los Angeles
Genre Heartland rock
Length43:56
Label
Producer
Tom Petty chronology
The Last DJ
(2002)		Highway Companion
(2006)		 Mudcrutch
(2008)
Singles from Highway Companion
  1. "Saving Grace"
    Released: July 4, 2006
  2. "Flirting with Time"
    Released: 2006
  3. "Big Weekend"
    Released: 2006

Highway Companion is the third and final solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Petty. It was released on July 25, 2006, and charted at No. 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, eventually reassigning him to subsidiary label Reprise Records.

Contents

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. Petty stated in an interview that this would be his last solo album. [1]

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

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 73/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The A.V. Club B+ [4]
Entertainment Weekly A− [5]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Paste 4/10 [8]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Slant Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Spin Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]

Highway Companion has a score of 73 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews". [2] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine did not like that some songs on the album seemed to be made for the road while others were not but he felt that Jeff Lynne's production on this album was different than Full Moon Fever and Into the Great Wide Open , which appealed to him. Erlewine also felt the album was darker than Petty's previous work but was still a "reliable" record. [3] Noel Murray of The A.V. Club stated it was arguably the fourth best album that Petty has made and that the album's title was appropriate. [4] Dave Simpson, in his review for The Guardian , said the album was a good way to say goodbye from music, [6] although Petty did not go through with his retirement plans. Jam!'s Darryl Sterdan gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five and thinks Petty was taking his music "down a peg" and that the album shows Petty "aging graciously". [13] John Metzger, in his Music Box review of the album, gave it four stars out of five and felt the complaints that Petty sang about came across better on Companion than The Last DJ and that the album was no less powerful than his previous albums. [14] Alan Light of Rolling Stone said that although Highway Companion was not as good as Petty's two previous solo efforts, it successfully combined the previous albums' styles and was worth listening to. [10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tom Petty

Highway Companion track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Saving Grace"3:48
2."Square One"3:26
3."Flirting with Time"3:16
4."Down South"3:27
5."Jack"2:29
6."Turn This Car Around"3:59
7."Big Weekend"3:16
8."Night Driver"4:28
9."Damaged by Love"3:23
10."This Old Town"4:17
11."Ankle Deep"3:24
12."The Golden Rose"4:43
Total length:43:56+13:37
Special edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Home"3:11
14."Around the Roses"2:58
15."Big Weekend" (demo version)3:04
16."This Old Town" (demo version)4:24
Total length:57:33

Personnel

Additional personnel

Charts

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traveling Wilburys</span> 20th-century English-American musical group

Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1988, consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. They were a roots rock band and described as "perhaps the biggest supergroup of all time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Petty</span> American rock musician (1950–2017)

Thomas Earl Petty was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was the leader and frontman of the rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. He was also a successful solo artist.

<i>The Long Road</i> 2003 studio album by Nickelback

The Long Road is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Nickelback, released on September 23, 2003. Recorded at the famed Greenhouse Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, it is the band's final album with Ryan Vikedal as drummer, and features a notable change in style towards more aggressive guitar riffs and the inclusion of double bass drumming. The album is the first collaboration with producer Joey Moi; who engineered their previous album, Silver Side Up, and produced the band's next three albums.

<i>Full Moon Fever</i> 1989 studio album by Tom Petty

Full Moon Fever is the debut solo studio album by American musician Tom Petty, released on April 24, 1989, by MCA Records. It features contributions from members of his band the Heartbreakers, notably Mike Campbell, as well as Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison, Petty's bandmates in the Traveling Wilburys. The record showcases Petty exploring his musical roots with nods to his influences. The songwriting primarily consists of collaborations between Petty and Lynne, who was also a producer on the album. Full Moon Fever became a commercial and critical success, peaking at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified 5× platinum in the United States and 6× platinum in Canada.

<i>Mule Variations</i> 1999 studio album by Tom Waits

Mule Variations is the thirteenth studio album by American musician Tom Waits, released on April 16, 1999, on the ANTI- label. It was Waits' first studio album in six years, following The Black Rider (1993). The album was backed by an extensive tour in Europe and North America during the summer and autumn of 1999, which was Waits' first proper tour since 1987. Other promotional stops included a solo performance on VH1 Storytellers.

<i>Wildflowers</i> (Tom Petty album) 1994 studio album by Tom Petty

Wildflowers is the second solo studio album by American musician Tom Petty, released on November 1, 1994, by Warner Bros. Records. It was the first album released by Petty after signing a contract with Warner Bros., where he had recorded as part of the Traveling Wilburys. It was the first of three of his albums produced with Rick Rubin. Wildflowers was very well-received by critics upon release and was certified 3× platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2020, Wildflowers was ranked at number 214 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

<i>Me and Mr. Johnson</i> 2004 studio album by Eric Clapton

Me and Mr. Johnson is the fifteenth solo studio album recorded by Eric Clapton, released in March 2004 by Reprise Records. It consists of covers of songs written and originally recorded by Robert Johnson. The album cover was painted by Sir Peter Blake, using a series of photographs of Clapton. Clapton had planned to record an album of new material, but by the time of the recording sessions there were not enough new songs written, so the band instead recorded a series of Johnson songs.

<i>Mystery Girl</i> 1989 studio album by Roy Orbison

Mystery Girl is the twenty-second album by American singer Roy Orbison. It was his last album to be recorded during his lifetime, as he completed the album in November 1988, a month before his death at the age of 52, and it was released posthumously by Virgin Records on January 31, 1989. It includes the hit singles "You Got It", which was co-written by Orbison and his Traveling Wilburys bandmates Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, and "She's a Mystery to Me", written by Bono and The Edge. The album was a critical and commercial success; it peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, the highest position Orbison had achieved on that chart, and number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (Tom Petty album) 1993 greatest hits album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on November 16, 1993. It is Petty's best-selling album to date and was certified 12× Platinum by the RIAA on April 28, 2015. The single "Mary Jane's Last Dance" became one of Petty's most popular songs, reaching No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The other new song on the album is a cover of the Thunderclap Newman hit "Something in the Air". The album contains no songs from 1987's Let Me Up . However, three songs from Petty's 1989 solo album Full Moon Fever were included.

<i>Cloud Nine</i> (George Harrison album) 1987 studio album by George Harrison

Cloud Nine is the eleventh studio album by the English rock musician George Harrison. The album was recorded and released in 1987 after Harrison had taken a five-year hiatus from his career as a solo artist. The hit single "Got My Mind Set on You" from this album re-established Harrison as a critically acclaimed and commercially significant recording artist. Cloud Nine was Harrison's final solo studio album to be released during his lifetime; his next album Brainwashed was released in 2002, almost a year after his death.

<i>Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1</i> 1988 studio album by Traveling Wilburys

The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 is the debut studio album by the English-American supergroup Traveling Wilburys, comprising George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. It was released in October 1988 to commercial success and critical acclaim. Although Harrison had long planned to start such a band, the project came about through happenstance. Harrison was in Los Angeles and in need of a B-side for a single from his album Cloud Nine, which resulted in the participants collaborating informally on the song "Handle with Care" at Dylan's home.

<i>Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3</i> 1990 studio album by Traveling Wilburys

Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 is the second and final studio album by the Traveling Wilburys, a group consisting of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. It was released on October 29, 1990, as the follow-up to their 1988 debut, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. The band members again adopted pseudonyms for their contributions, using new names from the fictitious Wilbury brothers.

<i>Into the Great Wide Open</i> 1991 studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Into the Great Wide Open is the eighth studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Released in July 1991, it was the band's last with MCA Records. The album was the second that Petty produced with Jeff Lynne, following the successful Full Moon Fever (1989).

<i>All the Roadrunning</i> 2006 studio album by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris

All the Roadrunning is a collaboration between British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler and American singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris, released on 24 April 2006 by Mercury Records and Universal Music internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album received favorable reviews, and reached the number one position on album charts in Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland. The album peaked at number eight in the United Kingdom, and number 17 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. The title track, which actually was released the year before as a new track on the compilation album Private Investigations, was released as a single and reached number 8 in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saving Grace (Tom Petty song)</span> 2006 single by Tom Petty

"Saving Grace" is a song by American musician Tom Petty and is the lead track on his 2006 album, Highway Companion. In July 2006, "Saving Grace" was released as the first radio single from the album. The song, as well as its B-side "Big Weekend", was released on the iTunes Store on July 4, 2006. The single received a physical release in the United Kingdom in early August 2006.

<i>Anthology: Through the Years</i> 2000 compilation album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Anthology: Through the Years is a double compilation album featuring the best of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It contains a new song, "Surrender," written by Petty in 1976 and recorded during sessions for the band's first album but left off the record, recorded again in 1979 but left off "Damn The Torpedoes," and finally recorded again in 2000 for this release. "Surrender" is also the last studio recording of Howie Epstein before his death in 2003. The 1976 version of the song was included on the 2018 box set An American Treasure.

<i>The Traveling Wilburys Collection</i> 2007 box set by the Traveling Wilburys

The Traveling Wilburys Collection is a box set compilation album by the British-American supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. It comprises the two studio albums recorded by the band in 1988 and 1990, with additional bonus tracks, and a DVD containing their music videos and a documentary about the group. The box set was released on 11 June 2007 by Rhino, in association with Wilbury Records.

<i>Hypnotic Eye</i> 2014 studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Hypnotic Eye is the thirteenth and final studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in the UK on July 28, 2014 and in the United States on July 29, by Reprise Records. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming the only Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album ever to top the chart. Hypnotic Eye was nominated for the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. It was the Heartbreakers' final studio album before disbanding in 2017, following Petty's death in October of that year.

<i>An American Treasure</i> 2018 Tom Petty compilation album

An American Treasure is a 2018 compilation album and box set of Tom Petty, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch released by Reprise Records on September 28, 2018. The set includes several rare and unreleased songs alongside more obscure album tracks that showcase Petty's songwriting. The majority of the content is Heartbreakers material but there are also several solo songs and some recordings by Mudcrutch. Critical reception has been positive.

<i>The Best of Everything</i> (album) 2019 greatest hits album by Tom Petty

The Best of Everything is a 2019 greatest hits album with recordings made by Tom Petty, with his backing band The Heartbreakers, as a solo artist, and with Mudcrutch. It was released on March 1.

References

  1. ↑ Greene, Andy (2015-07-16). "Tom Petty on New Mudcrutch, Why He's Done With Solo Albums". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  2. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Highway Companion". Metacritic . Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Highway Companion – Tom Petty". AllMusic . United States: Rovi Corporation . Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Murray, Noel (July 26, 2006). "Tom Petty: Highway Companion". The A.V. Club . Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  5. ↑ Collis, Clark (August 4, 2006). "Highway Companion Review". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Simpson, Dave (July 21, 2006). "Review: Tom Petty, Highway Companion". The Guardian . Manchester, England.
  7. ↑ Lewis, Randy (July 23, 2006). "Petty's route gets complex". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  8. ↑ Himes, Geoffrey (August 8, 2006). "Tom Petty – Highway Companion". Paste . Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  9. ↑ Vrabel, Jeff (July 24, 2006). "Tom Petty: Highway Companion". PopMatters . Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  10. 1 2 Light, Alan (July 20, 2006). "Highway Companion". Rolling Stone .
  11. ↑ Jones, Preston (July 25, 2006). "Tom Petty: Highway Companion". Slant Magazine . Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  12. ↑ Eddy, Chuck (September 2006). "Tom Petty Highway Companion". Spin . p. 110. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  13. ↑ Sterdan, Darryl (July 28, 2006). "Album Review: Highway Companion". Jam! . Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ↑ Metzger, John (July 2006). "Tom Petty – Highway Companion (Album Review)". The Music Box. 13 (7). Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Tom Petty – Highway Companion" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Tom Petty – Highway Companion" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Tom Petty – Highway Companion" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Tom Petty, CAN" . Billboard . Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tom Petty – Highway Companion" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Tom Petty: Highway Companion" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Tom Petty – Highway Companion". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Tom Petty – Highway Companion" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Tom Petty". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Tom Petty – Highway Companion". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Charts.nz – Tom Petty – Highway Companion". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Tom Petty – Highway Companion". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  28. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Tom Petty – Highway Companion". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Tom Petty – Highway Companion". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Tom Petty, TLP" . Billboard . Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Tom Petty, RCK" . Billboard . Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Årslista Album – År 2006" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.