Maps of Music

Highway Companion (2006)

Where the lyrics of Highway Companion take you, and where it was really made.

Petty said this would be his last solo album, and it became his only release on American Recordings.

Key places

Recording location listed as Bungalow Palace Studio (2006)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — The album's recording and mix engineer was Ryan Ulyate. The recording location is listed as Bungalow Palace Studio in Los Angeles. The map point sits at the city center, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Highway Companion: third and final solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Petty
• Released July 25, 2006
• Charted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200
• Produced by Jeff Lynne
• Released through American Recordings and Warner Bros. Records

Background

• Jeff Lynne was a former Traveling Wilburys bandmate of Petty
• Lynne also produced Full Moon Fever, Petty's first solo album
• Lynne also produced Into the Great Wide Open, the next album by the Heartbreakers
• Petty had been under a Warner Bros. Records contract since Wildflowers, his second solo album, which Rick Rubin produced
• American Recordings is Rick Rubin's label
• It ended up being Petty's only album for American Recordings; that label moved to Columbia Records distribution in 2007
• Warner Bros. kept the rights to Petty and later reassigned him to its subsidiary Reprise Records
• A streaming version was available on numerous websites before release
• The iTunes release included a live version of 'Saving Grace', its video, and an interactive media booklet
• 'Saving Grace' and 'Big Weekend' were released July 4, 2006 on the iTunes Music Store
• In an interview, Petty stated that this would be his last solo album

Recording

• Recording and mix engineer: Ryan Ulyate
• Additional engineer on 'Square One' and 'Jack': Steve McGrath
• Mastering: Brian Gardner
• Session supervision, equipment and guitar tech: Alan 'Bugs' Weidel

Cover

• Cover art: Robert Deyber

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Thomas Earl Petty was born October 20, 1950, in Gainesville, Florida.
• He grew up in the Northeast Gainesville Residential District, known locally as the Duckpond.
• His interest in rock and roll began at age ten, when he met Elvis Presley on the set of Follow That Dream.
• After seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, he decided he wanted to be in a band.

Formation

• He formed the Epics, which later evolved into Mudcrutch.
• Their only single, "Depot Street" (1975, Shelter Records), failed to chart.
• Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Ron Blair and Stan Lynch formed the first lineup of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Members

• Core lineup: Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Ron Blair (replaced by Howie Epstein in 1982), Stan Lynch.
• Lynch's last recorded performance with the band was for the Greatest Hits package.

Career

• Hits with the Heartbreakers include "American Girl", "Don't Do Me Like That", "Refugee", "The Waiting", "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Learning to Fly".
• Solo hits include "I Won't Back Down", "Free Fallin'" and "You Don't Know How It Feels".
• In 1988 he was a founding member of the Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne.
• The Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
• He sold more than 80 million records worldwide.
• He died October 2, 2017, of an accidental prescription drug overdose.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: 73 out of 100, based on generally favorable reviews
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine disliked that some songs seemed made for the road while others were not
• Erlewine felt Jeff Lynne's production differed from 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 still a reliable record
• The A.V. Club's Noel Murray stated it was arguably the fourth best album Petty has made, and that the title was appropriate
• The Guardian's Dave Simpson said the album was a good way to say goodbye to music, 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 thought Petty was taking his music down a peg
• Music Box's John Metzger gave it four stars out of five and felt it was no less powerful than Petty's previous albums
• Rolling Stone's Alan Light said it was not as good as Petty's two previous solo efforts, but combined their styles successfully and was worth listening to

Records

• Billboard 200: No. 4

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The credits list Alan 'Bugs' Weidel for session supervision, equipment and guitar tech, and also for coffee and tea transportation for Tom Petty.
• The album was issued in a digipak.
• The iTunes release added a live 'Saving Grace', the video for 'Saving Grace', and an interactive media booklet.
• Petty did not go through with the retirement plans the Guardian review mentioned.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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