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