Chris Hillman - Bidin' My Time (2017)

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Chris Hillman - Bidin' My Time (2017)

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Chris Hillman, whose credits include co-founding Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Byrds, as well as the Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas and Desert Rose Band, is truly one of the architects of American music. His newest solo work, Bidin' My Time, produced by Tom Petty and executive-produced by Herb Pedersen, captures a rarity: an icon who has never sounded better, making music with old friends for the sheer love of it. Collaborators and admirers from Hillman's storied career appear throughout the record: Tom Petty; Hillman's Byrds bandmates David Crosby and Roger McGuinn; the Heartbreakers' Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell, and Steve Ferrone; Desert Rose Band's John Jorgenson, Pedersen, and Jay Dee Maness; premier upright bassist Mark Fain; singer/guitarist Josh Jové; and fiddler Gabe Witcher. The album kicks off with a new recording of Pete Seeger's and Welsh poet Idris Davies' 'The Bells of Rhymney,' which the Byrds recorded for their debut. 'Here She Comes Again' was co-written by Hillman and McGuinn and, until now, had only been recorded on a live Byrds album in Australia. 'She Don't Care About Time' was written by Byrds co-founder Gene Clark, and was the original B-side to 'Turn! Turn! Turn!' Covers of the Everly Brothers' 'Walk Right Back' and Petty's 'Wildflowers' round out this understated yet undeniable masterpiece. Folk, rock and roll, bluegrass and the unmistakable country-rock Hillman himself helped pioneer come together seamlessly on the triumph that is Bidin' My Time.

Chris Hillman's new album, the Tom Petty-produced Bidin' My Time "really fell into my lap" according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.

Hillman – a veteran of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Desert Rose Band and more – releases his latest solo set, and first in 12 years, on Sept. 22. Truth be told it came as something of a surprise to Hillman, who figured the recording part of his career was finished.

"I didn't think I would ever make another record – and that wasn't coming out of any kind of bitterness or whatever," Hillman tells Billboard. "I had some songs that I had not recorded, but I was sort of winding down. It was, 'OK, I've had a great 54-year career,' and looking at the way the business is at this point there was no reason to do another (album). I was very comfortable going out and doing shows with Herb (Pedersen)." Pedersen and Petty, meanwhile, had other ideas once they heard some of Hillman's songs.