3 keepers
keeper avg .272
The second and final album from this legendary super-group continued in the same vein of Vol.1 (1988), though the loss of Roy Orbison's velvet-y voice was certainly felt, and with no big single to propel sales the album was less successful than its predecessor. Either Petty ("Muddy") or Dylan ("Boo") sing most of the lead vocals throughout the album, leaving George Harrison ("Spike") as a relative bit player this time around; also, being produced by Tom Petty's go-to guy at the time (Jeff Lynn, identified as Clayton Wilbury in the liner notes) predictably contributes to the album sounding like one of his recent solo albums.
So what we have is a pleasant, mostly mid-tempo tour of retro music styles, including the Beatlesque "Inside Out," the Byrds folk-rock "The Devil’s Been Busy," bluesy "Cool Dry Place," faithfully doo-wop "7 Deadly Sins," the vaguely tropical "New Blue Moon," and the amusing, countrified "Poor House"****, all of which are unoffensively mid-tempo except for Petty's languid "You Took My Breath Away." The album is bookended by a couple relatively legit rockers, kicking off with the driving "She’s My Baby" and ending with the energetic rockabilly "Wilbury Twist"****, with each member contributing an absurdly comic verse (though Dylan's seems phoned-in compared to the others). Though most of Dylan's several contributions seem slight for such an important artist, "If You Belonged To Me"**** is up there with at least most of "Blonde On Blonde."
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