My Amazon Reviews: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers "Hypnotic Eye"

Cast Your Spell Over Me
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Tom Petty may have been making albums for over 40 years now, but he never lost his will to rock. Even with the maddeningly uneven "Mojo," there was plenty of guitar to go around. Same with the "Mudcrutch" reunion. Now he's back in the studio after a tour that was comprised mainly of deep cuts from across all his albums and a couple of small theater residencies. All of this seems to have given Petty and the band a kick in the kiester, as "Hypnotic Eye" gets down to business and doesn't let up.

The first thing you hear is a great big fuzz blast and you know you're in for a good time. "American Dream Plan B" picks up where "American Girl" left off all that time ago, and brings her back with her boyfriend who still believes in the dream, but he's getting old enough to know it might never happen. But you'd never guess the song's a bit of a bummer because the band is laying done a sound that's pure retro Petty, organ and all. Speaking of retro, you might even feel a little Doors creep in on the next song, "Fault Lines."

All across "Hypnotic Eye," you'll find mesmerizing rock and more of the "Mojo" blues. There's a shuffling blues harp surfing the rhythm of "Burnt Out Town" and a bump and grinder nearly seven minute "Shadow People." What Petty also reminds himself here is that you can still deliver a knockout in under three minutes, and he gets that body blow in with "Forgotten Man" (dig those twin lead guitars featuring Petty and Mike Campbell) and "American Dream Part B." There's a little something for everyone here, and it's all good. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' "Hypnotic Eye" will cast its spell and you won't mind a bit.

    

My Amazon Reviews: Traveling Wilburys "Volume One"

A Really Super Supergroup
5 Out Of 5 Stars

Roy Orbison. Bob Dylan. George Harrison. Tom Petty. Jeff Lynne. A cross generational, odd musical but stunningly workable combination, they dubbed themselves The Traveling Wilburys and cut this one off, one of a kind album. Each man brought their A-game and checked their egos. Ultimately, "Volume One" became a surprise hit, going Top Ten and generating a hit single via "Handle With Care."

Even as odd as the combination seemed, the members all had connections. Dylan toured with Petty and the Heartbreakers, Harrison had just wrapped up "Cloud Nine" with Lynne at the helm as producer, who had also produced Orbison and Petty. "Volume One" somehow managed to use the best of each member, making the album a light, fun affair. It's easy to feel the joy the band gets as they plow through "Tweeter and The Monkeyman," which is so Dylan, it could be mistaken for a Dylan parody. Or Orbison's ranging vocal on "Not Alone Anymore," using that mammoth voice of his to enchant the listener.

But the capper is "Handle With Care," where each member gets a turn at the mic for an utterly charming piece of rootsy rock. Same with the second single, "End Of The Line." Given the amount of talent in the room, it's amazing just how seamless this all is. Lynne's polished production job makes the blending also feel effortless. There weren't many supergroups that could flaunt the title without having a shoving match for the spotlight, but "Volume One" was that rare triumph.

Sadly, Orbison died shortly after the album came out, and the surprise success pretty much guaranteed a second try, but the chemistry was not there and the self-referencing (like "The Wilbury Twist") became obvious instead of effortless. You can get "Volume One" without worry, "Volume Three" is a fielder's choice.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Dwight Twilley "XXI"

Twilley Mania
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Dwight Twilley has always been one of those artists that everyone expected to rocket to stardom. He bounced across four major labels, yet only two were ever able to break a single by Twilley into the top 40 (only one better than his former bandmate, Phil Seymour). In that period of 1979 to 1995, Twilley recorded so many should have been hits that "XXI" plays out almost as a singularly recorded album. The power pop hooks, the swinging guitar and Twilley's vocal style remain timeless, hits or not.

Twilley's two big records, "I'm On Fire" (1976) and "Girls" (1984), but struggled to get heard throughout his career. His sole album for Arista in 1979 had the Tom Petty meets the Beatles single "Out Of My Hands" (and the B-Side was an incredible live version of "Money - That's What I Want" that should have been here). Since Petty and Twilley were friends from their Shelter Records days (Twilley is in the background of Petty's debut), Petty gave Twilley some payback on the album "Jungle." That great chorus vocal helped Twilley get only his second top 100 album, the other being the Twilley Band's "Twilley Don't Mind." "Little Bit of Love" should have been a contender, as it had the same kind of longing vocal and a killer hook. But from there on out, Dwight Twilley kept making albums that seemingly disappeared on release. You still can't get "Jungle" or "Wild Dogs" on CD.

So this CD XXI, also ridiculously out of print, is the only place you'll find such gems as "Shooting Stars" or "Why You Wanna Break My Heart" (eventually earning Twilley some excellent royalties when it was covered by actress Tia Carrere in the chart topping soundtrack to "Wayne's World"). There's an unreleased anywhere else single, "That Thing You Do," which was inspired by but not used in the Tom Hanks movie of the same name. Combine it with the rockabilly "TV" or teenage heartache of "Sincerely" and wind it out with "The Luck's" "Grey Buildings," and you have a power pop collection every bit as essential as The Plimsouls and The Shoes, and a rocker whose star should have risen alongside of Tom Petty's.

Many of these tracks can be found on "Best of Dwight Twilley 1975-1984," only available on CD, not yet a download.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers "Mojo"

Tom Petty and The Blues Breakers

3 Out of 5 Hours

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers step into jamming me mode and get all laid back on "Mojo." It's so laid back that I was wondering if they should have renamed it "Slo-Mo," but I decided to give it a few more spins. Given the chance to grow on you, "Mojo" is a pretty good groove record. It keeps a pretty even pace, and The Heartbreakers are their usual top notch playing selves. Much like 2008's "Mudcrutch" reunion/debut, "Mojo" has that 'friends gettin' together' feel about it.

This is also the Tom Petty album that seems to owe the most to his Dylan/Dead days, also like Mudcrutch. There's more jam here than structure, which makes for some great moments, like Mike Campbell's blistering lead on "Good Enough" and the drawling "US 41." The rocking moments, like "I Should Have Known It" and "First Flash Of Freedom" are also prime Petty.

On the negative side, some studio jams should have been more developed. Both "Candy" and "Don't Pull Me Over" are almost painfully bad. The faux reggae of "Don't Pull Me Over" clones Eric Clapton's hit cover of "I Shot The Sheriff" as Petty whines that he hopes the cops don't pull him over because he's smoking a joint in the car. Which might be cool if you're a 20 year old (or Willie Nelson), but just sounds silly from a near 60 millionaire. It's too easy a song for an artist of Petty's caliber. After the more challenging "The Last DJ" exposed Petty's indignation with the industry he's basically grown up in, the hazy smoothness of "Mojo" is Okay. Having become acclimated to many, many great Tom Petty albums, I was just surprised at just average this is.