Bidin' My Time

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It's hard to imagine a better producer for Chris Hillman than Tom Petty, who pledged a proud allegiance to the Byrds with his 1976 debut. That was the same year Hillman began his solo career, putting both the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers behind him, and if that record didn't burn up the charts, he wound up finding commercial success in the '80s as part of the Desert Rose Band. Once that group ran its course, Hillman and fellow Desert Rose Band member Herb Pedersen settled into a groove where they'd record and tour in a variety of configurations. Pedersen produced The Other Side, the 2005 album Hillman assumed was his farewell, but Pedersen convinced Petty to produce a new record and Hillman agreed, winding up with the warm, wonderful Bidin' My Time. Designed as an intentional stroll through Hillman's back pages, the album opens up with "The Bells of Rhymney," one of several Byrds songs here. "She Don't Care About Time," a song written by Gene Clark, is here alongside the rarity "Here She Comes Again," for which Hillman plays bass for the first time in decades. These are conscious evocations of the Byrds' signature jangle, but on the whole, Bidin' My Time's heart belongs to the burnished folk and country of Hillman's latter-day records. It's a cozy sound, one that feels as intimate as a front porch but is delivered with the precision of seasoned pros, and having old tunes -- including sweet covers of the Everly Brothers' "Walk Right Back" and Tom Petty's "Wildflowers" -- threaded in between the excellent new tunes from Hillman helps make Bidin' My Time feel like an understated summation of everything Hillman's accomplished in his long, varied career.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo