Wildflowers

Tom Petty | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 1, 1994)
• Original Release Date: November 1, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros.
• ASIN: B000002MUN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (135 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,810 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As you listen to Wildflowers, Tom Petty's first new album in three years and his first ever for Warner Bros., you may be struck by a certain quality, new for Petty but nonetheless familiar. The predominance of the twangy rhythm guitar; the high-pitched, nasal singing; the irresistibly catchy pop hooks; and the melancholy lyrics straining for a spiritual significance just beyond their grasp--all these elements make Petty sound as if he were a Beatle imitating Bob Dylan. Then you may realize that Wildflowers resembles nothing so much as a George Harrison solo album. That's not such a bad thing; Harrison (Petty's old bandmate in the Traveling Wilburys) has a knack for giving moody spiritualism a pop tunefulness. It's just that Harrison on his own is a second-tier rock & roll figure whose best work is long behind him, and that's pretty much the case with Petty as well. Only with appropriately reduced expectations can one enjoy Wildflowers for what it is. --Geoffrey Himes

Product Description

PETTY TOM & THE HEARTBREAKERS WILD FLOWERS

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's His Best, Folks October 20, 2001

By Ben C-F

Format:Audio CD

This is Tom Petty's finest album. He made it at a time when he realized he wasn't getting any younger, his midlife crisis work with Jeff Lynne past him, battling the end of his marriage; all those strange feelings were condensed and channeled through his songwriting, and the result was the magnificent WILDFLOWERS. It's Petty's first album produced by Rick Rubin (who had already lent his talents to the Heartbreakers' teriffic "Mary Jane's Last Dance" the previous year), and the earthy, crisp sound is a perfect compliment to both Petty's voice and his songs. The beauty of Tom Petty's music is both the casual ease he seems to effortlessly slip into, and the way his songs just manage to stick in your head. At first listen, you'll always find one or two songs that stand out, and certainly the others are good, but not necessarily great. But then, they get stuck. Try as you might, you simply can't get them out of your head. And it's at this point that you realize, all these other songs are just as great. And by that time, you realize just how beautiful the album is. WILDFLOWERS is no exception. The simple instrumentation (powered by Steve Ferrone's minimal drumming) hides the complexity of the work.

Lyrically, this is also Petty's strongest album to date. "You Don't Know How It Feels" and "Hard On Me" deal with the pain of isolation, the fear of loneliness. Songs like "Only A Broken Heart" and the title track are almost reassurances, like he's saying it's okay to feel this pain, you're headed somewhere better. "A Higher Place" and "It's Good To Be King" have a twinge of cynicism beneath their ideologies, while "To Find A Friend" and "Crawling Back To You" are about the pain of a relationship (the latter especially touching). And in "Wake Up Time," a very fitting coda, Petty especially confronts his age, with wisdom, reflection, even a little pessimism and wonder ("You were so cool, back in high school, What happened?").

Musically, while most of the Heartbreakers did end up contributing a lot towards the album (certainly much more than on FULL MOON FEVER), this is a Tom Petty solo album, so it allows for more creative arrangements, and plenty of guest stars. Ringo Starr plays drums on "To Find A Friend," the wonderful slide guitarist Marty Rifkin is buried deep in the mix on "House In The Woods," and Petty himself even takes his hand at lead guitar on a couple of numbers. There are a few absolute get-yer-yayas-out jam tunes, "You Wreck Me" and especially "Honey Bee," sort of the sweatier, swampier second-cousin to "Mary Jane's Last Dance." Petty would continue to record teriffic music, more or less with his fellow Heartbreakers, but he'd never quite reach this level of sophistication and artistry again. A must-own.

51 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Who the F*** is Geoffrey Himes?! February 2, 2005

By Robert Workman

Format:Audio CD

"It's just that Harrison on his own is a second-tier rock & roll figure whose best work is long behind him, and that's pretty much the case with Petty as well."

George's best work came out not too long before this and was succeeded by an equally towering achievement after he died. As for Petty, he's far shy from having one foot in the grave as a creative artist. Criticism is subjective, to be sure, but these comments are not only way off base they're offensive.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Himes June 9, 2007

By David A. Kotwicki

Format:Audio CD

Dear Amazon,

Mr. Himes review of Mr. Petty's work is snarky and shallow. His characterization of Petty & George Harrison (two of the all-time greats) as "second tier" is condescending and uninformed. As a frequent customer who is a Harrison & Petty centric rock fan, it's a turn-off to read drivel such as this.