Tom Petty’s Highway Companion: CD Review of Petty’s Road Trip Soundtrack

Highway Companion is the third album that Tom Petty has done sans The Heartbreakers, the other two being Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers, which are two of his best albums, and once again the solo Petty delivers. Highway Companion is far superior to Petty’s last two albums; Echo, which had a few great songs but too many not so great ones, and The Last DJ, which was bogged down by its grumpy concept of a music industry gone astray.

The album kicks off with “Saving Grace,” a radio ready single that would be the perfect song to play at the start of any road trip. Petty sings: “it’s hard to say who you are these days, but you run on anyway, don’t you babe.” This reflects the theme of many of the albums songs – motion. In fact, the entire album plays like the soundtrack to a road trip, as Petty sings about both running away from things, and running towards them.

“Square One,” which originally appeared on the soundtrack to the Cameron Crowe film Elizabethtown, is a beautiful ballad about redemption and second chances. Not only is it Petty’s best song in years, it’s one of the best songs in years by any artist, period. The strength of that song is carried over to the next track, “Flirting with Time,” which is also one of the albums highlights, with its catchy melody and universal lyrics about how time is always nipping at our heels.

The lyrical standout of the album is “Down South,” a charming and whimsical tune where Petty takes us on a trip back to his childhood home. Here Petty shows off his lyrical dexterity with striking imagery and a soul baring chorus that proclaims: “If I come to your door, let me sleep on your floor. I’ll give you all I have, and a little more.”

“Jack,” is a little more rock than most of the other songs, and suggests early Petty. “Turn this Car Around,” is reminiscent of “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” and “You Don’t Know How it Feels,” a mid-tempo gem that allows plenty of space for Petty’s easily digestible lyrics.

“Big Weekend,” is a party song where Petty croons about taking a break from the work and monotony of our lives and having a little fun. Petty sings: “There’s time when I’m down, and there’s nothing to blame,” and then suggests that sometimes the best solution is to just “kick off the dust.”

The soft side of Petty comes out in such songs as “Damaged by Love,” which is a tale of a young girl who, you guessed it, has been damaged by love. Petty keeps the heartbroken theme going with “This Old Town,” which is one of the album’s best cuts, where a wiser-but-sadder Petty spits such lines as: “living free is gaining on me, can’t keep ahead of my dreams,” and “I’d say more but I can’t think.”

“Ankle Deep,” is one of the albums weaker tracks, in that it’s just a little too simplistic. “The Golden Rose,” has a slow, swaying melody and is one of those songs that gets better with each listening.

All of the songs connote a sense of perpetual motion, suggesting that we’re constantly running away from the past and towards the future, and sometimes vice versa. Even if we’re not sure why we’re running, we keep moving, and Tom Petty’s Highway Companion is sure to make the journey an enjoyable one.