After spending the better part of the 1980s as a solo acoustic troubadour,
Byrds cofounder
Roger McGuinn landed a contract for a solo album with Arista Records at the turn of the 1990s. Featuring
Tom Petty,
Mike Campbell, and ex-
Byrds David Crosby and
Chris Hillman, the resultant album had a strangely modern feel, although it was primarily driven by McGuinn's trademark Rickenbacker 12-string. Songwriting had never been McGuinn's strong suit, and on this album he wisely chose some excellent material by
Jules Shear and
Tom Petty, who provided the album's unexpected hit, "King of the Hill." ~ Matthew Greenwald