Best Travelling Wilburys Podcasts (2025)

1
Won't Last Long 23:46

3d ago23:46

23:46

I’d said in the closing to last week’s episode that I get a strong connection between this song and the Jeff Lynne era of Tom’s work. So, close your eyes, listen to the first four bars, and imagine coming out of Too Good to Be True and into this song. It feels as natural a transition as anything in the catalogue to me. I think it’s partially the bl…

1
Depth of Feel 1:05:06

7d ago1:05:06

1:05:06

"Photography is truth. The cinema is truth 24 times per second." -- Jean-Luc Godard "What use is having a great depth of field, if there is not an adequate depth of feeling?" -- W. Eugene Smith In this episode, Antonio and Ward catch up amid packing tape and camping plans. Antonio talks through the experience of unearthing old cameras—including a p…

1
Echo 27:00

10d ago27:00

27:00

This is a very grown up song and as we discussed on Wildflowers, it’s a song that wouldn’t resonate as much with a person in their teens or early twenties as it would with someone who has lived and lost. You need that weight of experience to truly feel the bone-weariness that Tom projects at times and the hesitant accusations he ends with. It’s a c…

1
Accused of Love 23:38

17d ago23:38

23:38

In Conversations with Tom Petty, author Paul Zollo tells Tom that he finds the song has “kind of a British, early Beatles sound” to which to Tom replies “Yeah. It’s funny how you see these influences go round and round, because I was thinking of Don Everly, that sort of melody. But it does have a mid-Sixties British sound. And he was obviously infl…

1
The Good Stuff Takes Time 1:24:31

23d ago1:24:31

1:24:31

"It’s more important for a photographer to have very good shoes, than to have a very good camera." -- Sebastiao Salgado "I met somebody at the gallery. And he said to me, I own a photograph of yours. And when I get up in the morning, I look at it and it makes me happy. And I thought that was very nice. It meant I wasn't completely useless." -- Saul…

1
Swingin' 24:03

24d ago24:03

24:03

Lyrically, we get this short story, in typical Tom fashion where he’s just giving us the outlines and parts of a narrative. We start out standing by the highway in boots and silver spurs. And we end on the interstate across the Georgia line, which is maybe a teeny nod back to Tweeter and the Monkey Man. In fact, here’s an idea, maybe the protagonis…

1
Lonesome Sundown 18:05

29d ago18:05

18:05

I love the line “She’s a sweet young thing. Brings me dreams in a box she made for me”. That’s a very Petty-esque little piece of imagery that he throws in early to add to the very dreamy quality of the piece. In Conversations with Tom Petty, Tom tells author Paul Zollo that “The words changed several times in that song. But I finally got it to whe…

1
Free Girl Now 22:19

1M ago22:19

22:19

The song is a powerful push back against an abusive relationship on behalf of the woman Tom loved. The way the lyrics are organized, with the verses describing the abuse in the past tense and the uplifting chorus being in the present tense really drives home that idea that “No longer will you be a slave. No longer will you have to crawl”. It’s a ce…

1
The Traveling Wilburys 1:31:32

1M ago1:31:32

1:31:32

"I do not try to find myself in what I 'shoot,' but perhaps I want to see the position of the world I am in." -- Daido Moriyama "Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts." -- Minor White In this episode, Antonio and Ward catch up …

1
Counting on You 21:13

1M ago21:13

21:13

Sonically, you could definitely hear this one sitting happily on Mojo. But I also sometimes feel that this is the most Wildflowers-sounding of all the songs on Echo. If you found out that it was another of the songs that hadn’t been included on that album, it wouldn’t really surprise you. In Conversations With Tom Petty, the only thing that Tom tel…

1
Room at the Top 22:24

2M ago22:24

22:24

I, along with I’m sure many of you Pettyheads, consider this one of Tom’s finest works. It’s an absolute masterpiece in songwriting, lyrical precision, and arrangement. As Tom tells Paul Zollo, “It was a great example of The Heartbreakers at work. On my own I would have never arrived at that arrangement of the song. But they really took it somewher…

1
The Pigeon 1:03:51

2M ago1:03:51

1:03:51

"I don't come as a photographer. I come as a friend." -- Alfred Eisenstaedt "I didn't decide to be a photographer; I just happened to fall into it." -- Berenice Abbott With Ward heading off to Japan, he and Antonio hand the mic to their friend Keith Goldstein for this special episode. Keith takes over hosting duties and turns the tables by intervie…

1
The Same Sad Echo 10:52

2M ago10:52

10:52

Like Songs and Music for She’s The One, somewhere around half of the songs on Echo were never played live. Tom tells Paul Zollo “I was kind of glad to get to another place after Echo. I was kind of glad to get somewhere else. I don’t know why, but I kind of felt like we came back into the sun after that.” And this idea of a darkness hovering over t…

1
Songs and Music from She's The One (with John Paulsen) 1:01:12

2M ago1:01:12

1:01:12

After a little bit of a false start, John and Kevin settle into a fun chat about soundtrack composition, how Ed Burn managed to lock in Wildflowers era-Tom Petty to be his musical director, why Tom took over the project wholesale and why this may just be the most underappreciated album in Tom's catalogue! Do we need two versions of two different so…

1
Weapon of Choice 1:15:45

2M ago1:15:45

1:15:45

"You know, the camera is not meant just to show misery." "The subject matter is so much more important than the photographer." -- Gordon Parks In this episode of Street Shots, Antonio and Ward dive into the life and legacy of the iconic photographer Gordon Parks. They explore his remarkable journey from humble beginnings in Fort Scott, Kansas, to b…

1
Airport 20:10

2M ago20:10

20:10

Airport is a tight little bundle of keyboard virtuosity from Benmont Tench with a lazy, groove-soaked accompaniment from Howie Epstein and Chris Trujillo in the rhythm section. This piece is hugely interesting in two different, very interesting ways. First of all, I’m pretty sure (given the credits in the album liner notes) that Tom didn’t play on …

1
Hung Up and Overdue 22:04

3M ago22:04

22:04

It's curious that the two songs that reference California were both left off the final Wildflowers release; perhaps Tom being self-conscious about being too prescriptive and direct in that vein. Hung Up and Overdue has a very simple, very direct lyric which sits atop a wonderful arrangement and doesn’t need to do too much of the heavy lifting. It’s…

1
Typologies Redux 1:03:35

3M ago1:03:35

1:03:35

Antonio opens this month’s episode with a personal message explaining that it’s going to be a rerun instead of a new show. After losing his beloved cat of 19 years, Eddie, Antonio just wasn’t in the right headspace to record. He shares how much Eddie meant to both him and his late wife, and why saying goodbye was so tough. For the rerun, Antonio pi…

1
Walls (No. 3) 19:05

3M ago19:05

19:05

I don’t think I’ve ever hidden or tried to hide the fact that Walls is one of my very favourite Tom Petty compositions. I think it’s essentially a perfect song. And this version is, as I say, an exercise in showing how to simplify and condense an arrangement to be as tight as you can make it without losing an ounce of its beauty. Long time listener…

1
Hope on Board 18:20

3M ago18:20

18:20

I would love to know if an extended version of this arrangement exists anywhere on the cutting room floor. I know that there was only one violinist, Lili Haydn, who I’m hoping to have on the podcast as it happens, and two cellists, Gerri Stutyak and Michael Severens. But I think if you kept building this into a full orchestral string arrangement wi…

1
A Day at the Races 1:23:05

3M ago1:23:05

1:23:05

Walk up to sentimentality but don’t become it. -- Larry Sultan If you like something that someone is doing, tell them! -- Todd Hido In this episode, Antonio kicks things off with a hands-on review of the Fujifilm X-M5, a compact, feature-packed mirrorless camera that’s quickly become a favorite. He shares his impressions after testing it during the…

1
Bad Monkey + Petty Country 1:17:25

3M ago1:17:25

1:17:25

John and I got together to discuss the Petty Country and Bad Monkey Soundtrack releases and built a 16 track playlist that gives you a good idea of what to expect from each disc. We discussed what makes a good cover version, which contemporay artists are doing the best job of interpereting Tom's work and we also talk about covers not on either albu…

1
California 22:58

3M ago22:58

22:58

There’s a quality to this song that I’ve only really experienced once before. It makes me homesick for a place I’ve never lived in. The other time this has happened to me was, coincidentally, also California. If any of you are Van Halen fans or even just rock n roll fans with an interest in the Pasadena scene in the 70s, you have to read the superb…

1
Supernatural Radio 20:09

4M ago20:09

20:09

This one begins with piano as the main melodic focus, with Benmont Tench playing a lounge player style lick over top of a sumptuously dark and foreboding rhythm section. The drums are dry and present and Howie Epstein’s bass guitar adds the bottom end colour to a scene that feels like a dimly lit hotel bar. If you want to check out the song ahead o…

1
A Manhatta State of Mind 1:16:44

4M ago1:16:44

1:16:44

"The artist's world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It is always on his doorstep." "I think of myself as an explorer who has spent his life on a long voyage of discovery." -- Paul Strand In this episode of Street Shots, Antonio chats with guest co-host Keith Goldstein about the changing world of s…

1
Asshole 21:38

4M ago21:38

21:38

Beck’s Asshole is quite tender in places with a certain rustic charm and it’s not something you’d expect a middle aged rocker to want to explore. But when you really delve into it and rummage around in there, you discover its hidden depths and while at first it can come across as unappealing, a close inspection reveals a rather time-worn vulnerabil…

1
Hope You Never 18:11

4M ago18:11

18:11

Hope You Never is a fairly dark, bleak cut from a difficult album for Tom. It fits the timbre of the movie in places and you can see why it was chosen as one of the songs to transfer over to this release. The production is, as always, absolutely superb. The parts are all expertly crafted and arranged and Tom’s vocal delivery has that quiet confiden…

1
Need Some R&R 1:09:56

4M ago1:09:56

1:09:56

"I've learned over the years not to make big decisions based on short-term emotions because feelings aren't facts and they will pass or at least change.” "Give yourself permission to begin again." -- Sean Tucker In this first episode of 2025, Antonio and Ward discuss what keeps the creativity alive when the motivation runs on low. Of course, revisi…

1
Angel Dream 22:51

4M ago22:51

22:51

“I dreamed you, I saw your face. Caught my lifeline, went drifting through space”. What an incredible way to say “I fell in love with you the moment I saw you and my life would never be the same again”. I was talking with my pal Corey on our show The Ultimate Catalogue Clash about lyrics a couple of episodes ago and we’ve had an ongoing discussion …

1
2024 In Review + Favourite Albums 1:00:54

5M ago1:00:54

1:00:54

I wanted to say a quick (well, not that quick!) goodbye to 2024 before kicking off the new year and figured I'd follow the lead of a great many music podcasters by telling you about some of the albums that I discovered this year that I've been enjoying a lot! I own 7 of the 8 on vinyl and have a very close relationship the one I don't through sligh…

1
Stuff That Stuck 1:02:55

5M ago1:02:55

1:02:55

“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” – Imogen Cunningham "Life is my subject matter." – Trent Parke Happy New Year, Everyone! So, in this end-of-year episode, Antonio and Ward just sit down and have a really thoughtful, easygoing chat about everything that stuck with them over the past year—photographers who…

1
Christmas All Over Again 17:11

5M ago17:11

17:11

It’s a wonderful little piece of fluffy Christmas fare. There’s no big message here, it’s just a nostalgic, whimsical throwback type song and I’m almost surprised that it wasn’t a co-write with Jeff Lynne because it has a bigger ELO feel to it than it does a Heartbreakers feel! And with the addition of all those additional musicians, I do wonder if…

1
Matt Jaffe (Gone Enough To Miss) 1:19:14

5M ago1:19:14

1:19:14

The second installment of my Artist Conversation Series sees Matt Jaffe return to the show to talk about his fantastic new album, Gone Enough To Miss. It was a joy to nerd out over broad aspects as well as details of the album and our conversation took in some excellent diversions regarding Tik Tok, superstition (not the Stevie Wonder song!) and ho…

1
"Distant Presence" 1:09:54

5M ago1:09:54

1:09:54

Antonio and Ward kick off this episode of Street Shots by chatting about some recent photography finds. Ward got his hands on a Godox Lux Junior flash, a small, retro-style unit that’s easy to use and sparks creative fun. Antonio talks about his latest book pick, Segregation Story by Gordon Parks, praising the powerful color photos that vividly dep…

1
Change the Locks 20:24

5M ago20:24

20:24

First of all, Changed The Locks by Lucinda Williams is a fantastic song and her delivery of it is sublime and very intimate - a tone that is enhanced by the arrangement that is used on that recording. The Heartbreakers amp up the anger by speeding the track up slightly, making the guitar tones heavier, and adding in that extra guitar phrase. So you…

1
Climb That Hill 21:00

6M ago21:00

21:00

This song was a little bit of a grower for me and it’s one that’s definitely gone up a little since I sat down to pull it apart to see what secrets it’s hiding. The fact that, yet again, there is a density to the guitars on this song along with a real simplicity to the parts themselves all accentuated by Tom’s excellent, at times forceful at times …

1
Color Voice 1:12:59

6M ago1:12:59

1:12:59

In this episode, Antonio and Ward explore the idea of a “color voice” in photography—a personal and intentional use of color that can shape a photographer’s visual identity. They discuss how color choices can influence the emotional impact of an image, creating a mood or enhancing the story being told. From vibrant, high-contrast palettes to more s…

1
Zero From Outer Space 19:35

6M ago19:35

19:35

“You think that you're above me. You think that you're so big. Well, I saw you kick that dog. When the wind blew off your wig” This is Tom’s brilliant whimsy, channeled through Dylan’s cynicism to fantastic effect. It really means nothing at all, just a very broad way of saying “you’re kind of a dick!” Again I’d love to have notes on this one from …

1
Grew Up Fast 23:39

6M ago23:39

23:39

“We grew up fast and no-one seemed to notice. We grew up fast and we grew up alone”. All of us latch key kids can relate very easily to what he’s communicating here. Even though our parents loved and supported us, quite often we were just left to our own devices. During school holidays, once I was 9 or 10 years old we were just left at home, left t…

1
The Frame That Time Forgot 1:08:13

6M ago1:08:13

1:08:13

“When I photograph, what I’m really doing is seeking answers to things.” -- Wynn Bullock “If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff.” -- Jim Richardson In this episode, Antonio and Ward reflect on photography’s unique role in preserving memories and stories. They discuss the importance of visual media literac…

1
Walls (Circus) 25:54

6M ago25:54

25:54

“Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky”. There’s something so brilliantly grand and epic about that line. The ocean and the sky are both vast and hint at the complexity of being human. You also have the contrast between something that is heavy, and anchored to a point in the ocean and the wide open, limitless possibilities of the sky. We’ve all sa…

1
The Heartwood Soundstage Crew (Live from Gainesville with Pete Nester) 21:19

6M ago21:19

21:19

Pete Nester is down in Gainesville at the Tom Petty Weekend, subbing in for me as I can't be there. He's been doing a fantastic job of connecting me with the weekend via messages, video clips, and photos and he's even gone the extra mile and interviewed a few folks down there! As well as some of the artists, he caught up with some of the amazing cr…

1
Jake Thistle + Jared Hart (Live from Gainesville with Pete Nester) 26:06

6M ago26:06

26:06

Another roving report from our man on the ground out at the Tom Petty Weekend in Gainesville. This time, my pal Pete Nester catches up with the main man, Jake Thistle, and also chats to Jared Hart, singer and guitarist with the best-named band you're gonna hear in the next ten years; Lowly Worm and the Fantastic Beverages! Sit back, relax and enjoy…

1
MADWOMAN (Live from Gainesville with Pete Nester) 25:25

7M ago25:25

25:25

Surprise! Here's a special episode for you. My pal and roving reporter Pete Nester, from the Honest and Unmerciful Record Review Podcast, is down in Gainesville and grabbed some time with the brilliant MADWOMAN, who blew him away. The conversation talks focuses heavily on artistry, community, and collaboration. This is a fun, breezy, enjoyable chat…

1
10 Questions with Shawn Murphy 16:48

7M ago16:48

16:48

Today’s bonus episode is the second part of my conversation with the wonderful Shawn Murphy. We dug down into which opening act he'd like to see at a Heartbreakers show and his choice for which artist to cover which of Tom's songs is an absolute firecracker! Sit back, relax and enjoy my ten questions with Shawn Murphy. Check out the Tom Petty Trail…

1
Shawn Murphy 1:01:13

7M ago1:01:13

1:01:13

Today’s special episode is part of a fantastic conversation I had with the brilliant Shawn Murphy, a lifelong Pettyhead who built and maintains the amazing Tom Petty Trail.com website. Shawn and I chatted about being an outsider growing up and how music can help us through those difficult formative years as well as his recent battle with cancer and…

1
Uneasy Street 54:23

7M ago54:23

54:23

"Serendipity plays an enormous role in my work. I create the possibilities for accidents to happen."-- Robbert Flick "I’m very interested in the uncanny and a way to find something mysterious or terrible within everyday life."-- Gregory Crewdson In this episode, Antonio and Ward start, as usual, by discussing recent book acquisitions, including boo…

1
Ten Questions - Walls (Circus or No 3) 37:28

7M ago37:28

37:28

Before we kick off the season proper, let's listen to which version of Walls my guests so far have picked! When I wrote the question, "Which do you prefer, Walls (Circus) or Walls (No. 3), I assumed everyone would pick that latter. It didn't turn out that way!" Guests included, in order; Dallas Heliker, Jake Thistle, Gwen Jones, Janet Lovell, Jeff …

1
Season 11 Intro - Songs and Music from the Motion Picture "She's The One" 17:53

7M ago17:53

17:53

I enjoyed previewing season ten and talking about Wildflowers before we started digging into the songs and figured, “you know what, let’s do that for each season moving forward!” So I’m going to split this episode into two halves. The first half is a little bit of an intro to this album, in case you’re not familiar or you’re less familiar with it. …

1
Mark Our Words 1:17:45

7M ago1:17:45

1:17:45

"What I'm always trying to do is to make a picture that goes beyond a story." "If you can shoot on the street, you can shoot anything." -- Mary Ellen Mark In this episode, Antonio and Ward begin with some "light" conversation about the aurora making a rare appearance in New York. Antonio reflects on the quiet satisfaction of finally catching a glim…

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Travelling Wilburys Podcasts

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