What a pleasant surprise on a Tuesday! I got up this morning prepared to face the usual January drudgery brought on by winter, in conjunction with my corporate masters (who have really upped their game this year) when a friend texted me that former Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers lead guitarist and “co-captain” (Petty’s words) Mike Campbell and his new band The Dirty Knobs had put out a new song, “Wicked Mind.” As most of you know, I was all in on the Dirty Knobs (Campbell, Jason Sinay on guitar, Lance Morrison on bass and Matt Laug on drums) after the release of their sensational debut album Wreckless Abandon. In fact, it made it onto my list of “best of albums” for 2020 a couple years back.

I guess the Dirty Knobs have been around since long before the untimely and sad demise of Tom Petty, who was a true American Treasure. Campbell met Sinay during a recording session and liked the way their guitars sounded together. Well, let me be the first to say – well, probably not the first to say – I love the way their guitars sound together. I was wondering what would happen to Mike Campbell after the Heartbreakers dissolved in the wake of the tragedy. He’s just too good a guitarist and songwriter to go idle. He co-wrote so many great songs with Petty. He also, and some don’t know this, co-wrote the Don Henley track “Boys Of Summer.” I think that was Henley’s biggest hit. I was glad to see him take the Dirty Knobs “mainstream,” (if you will) by actually recording Wreckless Abandon in 2020 versus keeping them in the shadows. Of course Campbell was part of the duo of musicians who joined Fleetwood Mac to replace Lindsey Buckingham (along with Neil Finn of Crowded House fame). I thought that would be interesting for Fleetwood Mac as Campbell would bring back that Peter Green era vibe for those guys – and he did end up playing some of that original Mac material. But it doesn’t look like that’s going to materialize into any new music from them.

I had no idea the Dirty Knobs were even recording. I really dug Wreckless Abandon. It was truly uncanny how much Campbell’s vocals sounded like Petty. His phrasing and vocal style are very similar… obviously Petty was a better singer but still his ghost was hanging all over that album… but maybe that was just me. Losing Petty blew a big hole in my rock n roll universe. Wreckless Abandon rocked a little harder than the Heartbreakers had in a while. Campbell himself described it as a more “loose limbed” affair, whatever that means. It was kind of Stonesy to me. Other than the rocking songs I also loved the ballad “Irish Girl.” They also showed their sense of humor with songs like “Fuck That Guy.”

“Wicked Mind,” from the upcoming March LP External Combusion picks up right where Wreckless Abandon left off. It’s a barrel house rocker. Campbell and Sinay twine their guitars together for a big riff with an acoustic guitar being strummed aggressively along just for fun…over the bedrock rhythm section of Morrison/Laug. This band is growing tighter and tighter. I love the lyrics, “High as a kite, hiding from a searchlight, I didn’t get home until way past midnight.” That sets the tone for the naughty good times on this record! “I’ve got a wicked mind with a heart of gold…” which is how I always thought of myself in the old days…well, maybe not just the old days. The guitar solo’ing on this song is out of the world. Campbell and Sinay torture those guitars. The song ends with them riffing until the end when a second fabulous guitar solo breaks out. Here is the track, everyone who digs guitar driven rock should check out:

All of us down here at B&V are looking forward to the new Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs LP, External Combustion. Between the new Mellencamp album that we’ve been listening to all week and this surprise single, it looks like 2022 is going to be a cookin’ year for rock n roll.

Cheers!