WLSO.FM

ROCKOLLECTIONS: TOM PETTY’S HIGHWAY COMPANION PT.2 END

It took a while after I began playing Rock & Roll at the radio station for record companies to begin sending us CD’s.
But they did- not too many- after all, I was the only one playing our music (still am), and only for one hour once a week- but enough to keep Engineer Ken Stanley and I fairly up to date with new releases.
We’d split them and take them home to listen.
Occasionally we would play one of these NEW albums all the way through on a show, not an old classic one, just for something different.
Well, Tom Petty’s 3rd solo album Highway Companion in 2006, caught Engineer Ken’s ear.
So he suggested we do that one.
As I recall, I hadn’t even ever heard any of it, but I went along with it.
Hey it was an easy show, any dope can play an album straight through…not much thought goes into that, lol!
As things turned out, we took the chance and the CD was a successful one.
Produced excellently by Jeff Lynne from ELO & The Traveling Wilburys, etc., it topped out at # 4 on the Billboard charts.
It was different from Petty’s previous releases, with songs about the road (as suggested by the title) and aging- they were darker but still rocked.
What we have here is a show from 2006, when this album was new, and we will be playing the songs in their arranged order.
Here is the closing half of what turned out to be a fun time for me, with a rather light-hearted, humorous presentation.
And because I never used to pre-read the copy, out of nowhere I came upon a word I was in no way expecting and not prepared to pronounce- if I had taken a moment to slow down it would have been easy, but no, not me.
So listen for the battle between me and that word…the word won, lol!

Mike

Tags: 2006, Billboard, ELO, Engineer Ken Stanley, Jeff Lynne, Rock & Roll, The Traveling Wilburys

ROCKOLLECTIONS: TOM PETTY’S HIGHWAY COMPANION PT.1

It took a while after I began playing Rock & Roll at the radio station for record companies to begin sending us CD’s.
But they did- not too many- after all, I was the only one playing our music (still am), and only for one hour once a week- but enough to keep Engineer Ken Stanley and I fairly up to date with new releases.
We’d split them and take them home to listen.
Occasionally we would play one of these NEW albums all the way through on a show, not an old classic one, just for something different.
Well, Tom Petty’s 3rd solo album Highway Companion in 2006, caught Engineer Ken’s ear.
So he suggested we do that one.
As I recall, I hadn’t even ever heard any of it, but I went along with it.
Hey it was an easy show, any dope can play an album straight through…not much thought goes into that, lol!
As things turned out, we took the chance and the CD was a successful one.
Produced excellently by Jeff Lynne from ELO & The Traveling Wilburys, etc., it topped out at # 4 on the Billboard charts.
It was different from Petty’s previous releases, with songs about the road (as suggested by the title) and aging- they were darker but still rocked.
What we have here is a show from 2006, when this album was new, and we will be playing the songs in their arranged order.
Here is the opening half of what turned out to be a fun time for me, with a rather light-hearted, humorous presentation.

Mike

Tags: 2006, Billboard, ELO, Engineer Ken Stanley, Jeff Lynne, Rock & Roll, The Traveling Wilburys

ROCKOLLECTIONS: WILBURY THEM PT.4 CONCLUSION

The final chapter of the Wilburys that Travel.
Heading right to the music, I’ll open open with Inside Out- the state of the world today, or maybe just the state of my life, lol!
Getting back to that question of why Vol.3 followed Vol.1, the official word was that Vol.3 was recorded by a different group of brothers.
All the remaining members, Dylan, Lynne, Harrison, Petty, took DIFFERENT Wilbury names.
In other words, a Vol.2 could NEVER be done, out of respect for the death of Roy Orbison.
Moving on with the music, got one for my inevitable trip to the Poor House.
The Traveling Wilbury’s CD’s were out of print for many years, mainly because George Harrison owned the rights, and died before he could renew them.
I have an outtake by George. A terrific song called Maxine.
I’ll be quoting from a very perceptive article by a guy named Phil Reed.
Then a song that may have slipped through the cracks, the Travelers contributed the title song on the children’s album, the Romanian Angel Appeal Benefit Album.
Engineer Ken accidentally played Roy Orbison’s last posthumous hit instead.
But we got it all straightened out.
I’ll take it all home with another outtake that is so good I can’t believe it wasn’t released- appropriately called I’m Gone (and I am in more ways than one, lol!)
Just a great rocker!
I owe a great debt of thanks to my pal Mike Hennessy for his contributions to this series.
So I do so publicly- Thanks Mickster!
This last episode is a good one. Hope you like it.

Mike

Tags: Bob Dylan, Engineer Ken, George Harrison, I'm Gone, Jeff Lynne, Maxine, Mike Hennessy, Phil Reed, Poor House, Romanian Angel Appeal Benefit Album, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Traveling Wilburys

ROCKOLLECTIONS: WILBURY THEM PT.3

Sorry for the delay, I had computer problems- this baby has been ready to go for days.
And it is a STRONG episode!
I’ll start with the Wilburys trading vocals on the opening track to their Vol.3.
What happened to Vol.2?
Well, there are 3 theories.
One, it is more of that quirky Wilbury humor.
Two, Vol.2 is now considered to be Tom Petty’s album Full Moon Fever- produced by Jeff Lynne and featuring Lynne, Harrison and Orbison (only one missing was Dylan).
Three, it had to do with the loss of Roy Orbison, and I will have more about that next chapter.
At any rate, I thought I’d play a cut from the Petty LP, dedicated to the approaching anniversary of 9/11.
When I was preparing these shows, I remember hearing a Wilbury song and thinking it could have been done by the Beatles, or Buddy Holly, or the Diamonds or a group like that from the 50’s.
I will play that one, and follow it with a doowop style song from Bob Dylan called 7 Deadly Sins- that’s right, count ‘em- 7.
Though it is a wonderful album, Orbison was sorely missed on Vol.3.
And during the period between the 2 albums, they could have called themselves the Traveling Circus.
They singly or in groups appeared on other people’s records.
I have a great example with George Harrison playing slide guitar on the album Duane Eddy, His Twangy Guitar & The Rebels.
It is an instrumental called The Trembler, and comes with a VERY interesting story about how George brought it to the session, having to do with Ravi Shankar.
After that, an outtake of a song you should know, by the boys and Del Shannon, rumored to take Roy Orbison’s place in the group.
Strangely, he instead took his own life.
We will go out on a happier note, with a great instrumental (?) version of New Blue Moon, that was a B-side to Wilbury singles TWICE!
As I said, a STRONG episode, and an equally good one coming next to close the series out.
Mike

Tags: 7 Deadly Sins, 9/11, Beatles, Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, Del Shannon, Duane Eddy, Full Moon Fever, George Harrison, His Guitar & The Rebels, Jeff Lynne, New Blue Moon, Ravi Shankar, Roy Orbison, The Diamonds, The Trembler, Tom Petty, Traveling Wilburys

ROCKOLLECTIONS: WILBURY THEM PT.1

I am going to start this whole thing out rockin’- and rightly so.
All things considered, the Traveling Wilburys were probably the greatest supergroup ever!
Certainly the greatest unoffical supergroup- they didn’t even use their real names.
But we know who they are.
The group came into existence because George Harrison needed a B-side for a single.
And what a freaky way it all fell into place, which I will most assuredly be talking about.
They did that B-side (ultimately replaced by another song), but the result was way too good to toss away as filler.
And they had so much fun recording that one song, they decided to record a full album together using pseudonyms as half-brothers, instead of their real names.
Those real names were, and get this, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne of ELO, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan.
What a lineup- it’s Murderer’s Row!
As I said, I will open up rocking and go from there.
Included in this chapter, is a cutely sexy song by Dylan using car jargon- Bob has never been so lecherous and funny at the same time.
And if you listen closely near the end, he sings what was ALMOST the band’s name.
Of course, I will be telling you how they happened to pick their name, Traveling Wilburys.
And how it relates to what I have named this Series.
If you are a rocker, these Pods will be fun.

Mike

Tags: Bob Dylan, ELO, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Traveling Wilburys