Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs

Since the unexpected 2017 death of Tom Petty, longtime Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell has carried on with his band The Dirty Knobs. Joined by Lance Morrison (bass), Matt Laug (drums)and key new addition Chris Holt (guitars, keys, vocals), and recorded by Petty's former brain trust of producers George Drakoulias and Martin Pradler, the Knobs are guitar rock in the classic sense. Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits begins and ends with audience applause, starting with "The Greatest," Campbell's salute to his audience. Closer "Amanda Lynn" is a mandolin frolic originally meant as walk-out music for his live shows. While his voice can be eerily reminiscent of his old bandmate, Campbell is clearly his own man on this third Knobs album—anchored by a pair of well-written, wonderfully recorded numbers. Paced by strummed guitars and ex-Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone, "Angel of Mercy" is the tale of a dangerous femme fatale ("There's too much complication/ I can't figure out/ What she's leading up to/ What she's all about") whose charms are nevertheless irresistible: "Angel of mercy/ Wake me, shake me/ Take me all the way." That's followed by "Dare to Dream," where steady, chiming guitars give way to joyous choruses on which Graham Nash adds sublime vocal support.

Since the unexpected 2017 death of Tom Petty, longtime Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell has carried on with his band The Dirty Knobs. Joined by Lance Morrison (bass), Matt Laug (drums)and key new addition Chris Holt (guitars, keys, vocals), and recorded by Petty's former brain trust of producers George Drakoulias and Martin Pradler, the Knobs are guitar rock in the classic sense. Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits begins and ends with audience applause, starting with "The Greatest," Campbell's salute to his audience. Closer "Amanda Lynn" is a mandolin frolic originally meant as walk-out music for his live shows. While his voice can be eerily reminiscent of his old bandmate, Campbell is clearly his own man on this third Knobs album—anchored by a pair of well-written, wonderfully recorded numbers. Paced by strummed guitars and ex-Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone, "Angel of Mercy" is the tale of a dangerous femme fatale ("There's too much complication/ I can't figure out/ What she's leading up to/ What she's all about") whose charms are nevertheless irresistible: "Angel of mercy/ Wake me, shake me/ Take me all the way." That's followed by "Dare to Dream," where steady, chiming guitars give way to joyous choruses on which Graham Nash adds sublime vocal support.

Since the unexpected 2017 death of Tom Petty, longtime Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell has carried on with his band The Dirty Knobs. Joined by Lance Morrison (bass), Matt Laug (drums)and key new addition Chris Holt (guitars, keys, vocals), and recorded by Petty's former brain trust of producers George Drakoulias and Martin Pradler, the Knobs are guitar rock in the classic sense. Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits begins and ends with audience applause, starting with "The Greatest," Campbell's salute to his audience. Closer "Amanda Lynn" is a mandolin frolic originally meant as walk-out music for his live shows. While his voice can be eerily reminiscent of his old bandmate, Campbell is clearly his own man on this third Knobs album—anchored by a pair of well-written, wonderfully recorded numbers. Paced by strummed guitars and ex-Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone, "Angel of Mercy" is the tale of a dangerous femme fatale ("There's too much complication/ I can't figure out/ What she's leading up to/ What she's all about") whose charms are nevertheless irresistible: "Angel of mercy/ Wake me, shake me/ Take me all the way." That's followed by "Dare to Dream," where steady, chiming guitars give way to joyous choruses on which Graham Nash adds sublime vocal support.

Admittedly, Mike Campbell's first album with the Dirty Knobs two years ago passed me by to some extent. Although the songs of Tom Petty would not have been scalded without Campbell's pointed guitar playingthe same ones, of course, and also what he does on Don Henley's "The Boys Of Summer", for example, is terrific – but when accompanying musicians become bandleaders, it often doesn't turn out too exciting.