"Highway Companion"

"Highway Companion"
Tom Petty
(American Recordings)
Grade: C
Tom Petty's clunky 2002 album, "The Last DJ," was the sound of a veteran trying too hard. Conceived as an attack on the corporatization of rock 'n' roll -- not an unfamiliar stance for the iconoclastic Petty -- it wound up a dry and preachy work, lacking the agile hooks and nuanced humor that have defined the best of his music during a three-decade career.
"Highway Companion" gets the 55-year-old musician firmly back on track, surely to the relief of the legion of devotees who see Petty as one of the last great hopes for traditional rock. Ruminative but wistful, mellow but not sluggish, the album finds Petty wielding a deft songwriting pen and maturing into his natural role as one of popular music's wise elder statesmen.
Produced by longtime collaborator Jeff Lynne, "Highway Companion" is the third Petty release billed as a solo album. Mike Campbell, contributing elegantly understated lead guitar, is the only member of Petty's Heartbreakers appearing throughout, on an album whose temperature is largely warm and acoustic.
Petty has long been a master of conveying simple imagery with a graceful poetic touch, and on "Highway Companion," brimming with stellar verses, he is atop his game. Songs such as "Down South" and "Night Driver" are literary in their scope, as Petty paints the tonal colors with words as much as with music.
Musically it's an album of subtle treasures: the tense swamp blues coursing through "Saving Grace," the deceptively rousing chorus of "Flirting with Time," the lilting melody of the album-closing folk tale "The Golden Rose."
There are few genuinely up-tempo moments throughout the dozen tracks -- "Big Weekend" is as frisky as they get -- but the album isn't plodding. A steady ganja-groove motion, prevalent in much of his music over the years, dominates the pace on an album that's good enough to sit side by side with Petty's top work since his 1976 debut.
--Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press
"One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This"
New York Dolls
(Roadrunner Records)
Grade: B
Thirty-two years is a long time to wait for a new album.
The New York Dolls' last studio release was 1974's "Too Much Too Soon." Countless compilations and live recordings have come out since then, but "One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This" is a collection of 13 fresh new songs, compositions that reflect the band's age but retain its edge.
With their straight-ahead style, flamboyant look and irreverent attitude, the Dolls have influenced rock music since they first formed in the '70s. This record reflects that history, with sounds reminiscent of the Sex Pistols and the Rolling Stones, and guest appearances by Michael Stipe and Iggy Pop.
The melodies are more sophisticated and musical than they used to be. Harmonica and saxophone decorate the tracks. It sounds like the evolution of surviving founders David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain. They're joined by guitarist Steve Conti, drummer Brian Delaney, Sami Yaffa on bass and Brian Koonin on piano.
The songs are built on a blues-rock foundation like they always were. "Runnin' Around" and "Punishing World" are classic examples. The snarly guitar (and sentiment) of "Gimme Love & amp; Turn on the Light," which features Pop singing backup, channels timeless punk rock. "Rainbow Store" is a jaunty rockabilly track and the single, "Dance Like a Monkey," makes you want to do just that.
-- Sandy Cohen, Associated Press
"Feedback"
Jurassic 5 (Interscope)
Grade: B+
Since their debut in 2000, Jurassic 5 has always made hip-hop that's groovy and gangsta-free.
The quintet's third album, "Feedback," is their best yet, celebrating classic '70s sounds, '80s West Coast rap and music's overall feel-good factor. Charlie 2na, Zaakir, Akil, Mark 7 and newcomer Nu Mark (who replaces longtime DJ Cut Chemist, who left in 2004) even mix it up with Latin rhythms, rocker Dave Matthews and super-producer Scott Storch.
The guys rhyme about discovering hip-hop in the '80s in "Radio," which sounds like a classic jam from that era. "In the House" samples from the L.A. Dream Team, an early Los Angeles hip-hop act. The '70s show up in "Gotta Understand," with a hook reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield, and "Turn it Out," which channels Parliament.
Matthews adds melody to "Work it Out," the kind of upbeat anthem that inspires spontaneous swaying. Storch works his magic on "Brown Girl," a sexy jam featuring reggae duo Brick & amp; Lace.
The rappers speak their minds most on "End Up Like This," which looks at the ill effects of abundant violence, and "Where We At," which upholds the value of smart rhymes and questions the popularity of gangsta rap.
Akil sings, "I refuse to bust gats and water down my raps."
-- Sandy Cohen, Associated Press
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.