Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 2006…

#9 – Highway Companion – Tom Petty

Only three of Tom Petty’s 16 albums were solo releases while the other 13 were recorded with the Heartbreakers. Given that members of the Heartbreakers play on all three of the solo records, it’s arguably a meaningless distinction.

But whatever set apart those solo albums — creative control, general sound, studio atmosphere — it clearly made a difference. As much as I love Petty’s work with the Heartbreakers (including my favorite of his albums, Damn the Torpedoes), I have all three of his solo releases in my Tom Petty Top Five.

Full Moon Fever (1989) and Wildflowers (1994) are no-brainers, but the surprise is that his third, largely unheralded, solo album — Highway Companion — is a real treasure as well.

Produced by Jeff Lynne, the sound of this record nods back to Full Moon Fever, another of their collaborations. It’s bright, melodic pop music with a bit more of an edge than its predecessor — but just a bit.

Singles ‘Saving Grace’ and ‘Flirting with Time’ find Petty in a familiar groove, while ballads ‘Square One’ and ‘Damaged by Love’ have the aching quality of his more sentimental work. Other tracks, like today’s SOTD, fall somewhere in between, making wonderful use of Petty’s wit and wisdom.

Highway Companion didn’t reach the multi-Platinum success of his other solo efforts, but it was his last release to reach Gold status. It turns out he and the Heartbreakers had only a couple of albums left in them before Petty’s untimely death 11 years later.