Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – External Combustion (2022) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

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. The songs on EXTERNAL COMBUSTION have not become innovative either, but, and this is the crucial thing, they are well done. In the lyrics: classic American motifs – sitting blind with love in the greyhound bus, demons in the There was a hole in the head and in the heart, big enough for a semi-trailer to pass through. Plus heartland rock, British Invasion, hints of heavy rock, a blues shuffle in between. “State Of Mind” is a pretty Americana ballad, with country singer Margo Price singing along and using soulful winds towards the end, in the lost-looking “In This Lifetime” the drums are just caressed, we hear a slide guitar. The songs have something, yes, touching about them – that’s what distinguishes Campbell from so many younger Americana epigones, who only pretend authenticity and depth.

Genius (or at least style) rubs off. Musicians who spend their lives in a band with a strong leader often end up sounding similar when they go solo. The Replacements’ Tommy Stinson comes to mind. And so does Mike Campbell—or does he? It’s a matter of discerning how much of the Heartbreakers sound actually came not from Petty but Campbell, his friend, longtime collaborator and, sometimes co-writer. On first listen, it’s striking as it was on his 2020 Knobs debut Wreckless Abandon how close the timbres are; it’s like hearing one part of a single voice. External Combustion also makes clear how much Campbell’s songwriting influenced Petty, and vice versa, points writ large here. The album opens with the strongest song, “Wicked Mind” a close cousin of the Heartbreakers’ “Running Down a Dream,” which aligns the Knobs mindset in a similar space to Petty’s chosen vibe: “I’m a sinner with a rebel soul/ Got a wicked mind with a heart of gold.” Seasoned and wise from his Heartbreaker years, Campbell’s brought back Rick Rubin protege George Drakoulias (who also worked on Wreckless Abandon), to co-produce these sessions. Tracked over three weeks in during the summer of 2021 at Campbell’s home studio, Hocus Pocus Recorders in California, Eternal Combustion was recorded, as Drakoulias says, “off the floor” in just a few whole band takes, during which bassist Lance Morrison says Campbell “was showing us the song as we were recording.” Guitarist Jason Sinay has said that Campbell “loves it when the band doesn’t totally know the songs. Wide-eyed, freaking out, ears open—that’s the magic.” The sound which emphasizes loud and is certainly a bit squashed, is no worse than any of Drakoulias-produced Heartbreaker records. Drummer Matt Laug, for example, is not overly prominent in the mix. While the spectrum of styles here is wider than the band’s debut, the songwriting modes are not surprising or risky. “Brigitte Bardot” is a blues shuffle. The title track’s rapid fire chorus rhythm smooths out into a Heartbreakers-like song story in the verses. The guest list present also marks Campbell as a sage judge of talent. Ian Hunter adds a vocal turn to the second verse of the album’s other catchy crash-and-bash single, “Dirty Job.” The only other Heartbreaker on the record, keyboardist Benmont Tench, has fun pounding along à la Jerry Lee Lewis on the roots rock, slide guitar workout, “Lightning Boogie.” Strings, saxophones and a trombone appear in “State of Mind” Campbell’s neo-country duet with Margo Price, his most contemporary guest. While the frontman may be gone, the Heartbreakers’ sound and attitude carries on thanks to the other most consequential member of that beloved band. – Robert Baird

Tracklist:
1-01. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – Wicked Mind (03:54)
1-02. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – Brigitte Bardot (03:23)
1-03. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – Cheap Talk (04:38)
1-04. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – External Combustion (04:11)
1-05. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – Dirty Job (Feat. Ian Hunter) (04:12)
1-06. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – State Of Mind (Feat. Margo Price) (04:18)
1-07. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – Lightning Boogie (03:59)
1-08. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – Rat City (04:01)
1-09. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – In This Lifetime (03:36)
1-10. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – It Is Written (03:52)
1-11. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – Electric Gypsy (04:35)

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