The Traveling Wilburys

Petty exudes genuine pride as he debuts for Rolling Stone nine of the songs slated for Highway Companion, including “Square One” and “Turn This Car Around.” He began recording the album last year with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and fellow Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne. Each contributes guitar parts, Lynne plays keys and a Hofner bass, Campbell plays a hefty amount of slide guitar (”He’s never been better,” says Petty) and, for the first time on record, Petty plays drums. Though they all but finished recording in February, Petty says, “The only thing keeping me from wrapping things up is just going, ‘Well, I wonder if there’s one more in me?’”

Petty plans to incorporate some of these songs into the Heartbreakers tour this summer, which will kick off in June with openers including Pearl Jam, John Mayer, Trey Anastasio and, Petty hopes, the Strokes and the Allman Brothers Band. “I think we should do this tour and then put an end to doing national tours, and just play now and then where we want to play,” he says. “The idea of doing sheds or arenas . . . you turn into an animal by the time it’s done.”