Tom Petty can do little wrong. Since he burst on the scene in the last 1970’s, his musical skills have been tested and proven worthy of praise.
Sure, Petty has little traditional singing talent. What he does have is the folk-rock-blues slacker persona down perfectly. He’s not good looking. Nor can his voice be described as anything more than nasally. The thing that draws listeners back to Petty time and time again are his songs. In addition, I’ve been told that his live shows are amazing.
Anyway…Tom Petty was born in Gainsville, Florida. It was there that the oats of his breakout band The Heartbreakers were sown. After much trial and error and Petty moving from band to band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their debut album in 1976. As with many bands, this all-American one was wholly ignored initially in America. They exported their talents to the more open minded England. After that success, the Petty and The Heartbreakers returned to the US.
From that moment on, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers found themselves on the top of the charts with a string of hit albums and singles. Songs like American Girl, Don’t Do Me Like That, and Refugee solidified the band’s place at the top. The 1980’s turned out to be a great decade for The Heartbreakers. Despite their not-so-good looks, MTV opened their arms to the theatrical videos released by the band. Songs like Don’t Come Around Here No More, I Won’t Back Down, and Runnin’ Down A Dream were all hits on both MTV and rock radio.
After continued success, Petty released a very popular solo album. 1994’s Wildflowers came in the wake of his band’s popular 1993 Greatest Hits release. From it’s initial release, Wildflowers was both a critical and commercial success. The album managed to sell an impressive three million copies. In addition, it topped out at the number eight position on Billboard charts. The album gave listeners no fewer than three classic tracks. They are very similar to some of the songs that made The Heartbreakers chart toppers. With fifteen striking songs, Wildflowers is a fair musical investment.
As I already mentioned, there were three songs that will forever be remembered as solo Petty classics. It’s Good to Be King, You Don’t Know How It Feels and You Wreck Me are all great tracks. Of those three, my favorite is the often-bleeped You Don’t Know How It Feels. A long and circular song, this second track will be forever remembered for the jumbled radio version of this line: Lemme get to the point, let’s roll another joint. That aside, the feel this track is country-rock. The harmonicas are brilliant in conjunction with light percussion and guitars.
You Wreck Me is reminiscent of tracks like Refugee. The tempo is fast and driven rather than soft and introspective. With simple chords, this Petty track will go down in folk-rock history as a classic. As a top ten track, this is the kind of song that is missing from music today. Simple and fun with a touch of pessimism to round out the equation. Petty can do no wrong. The final hit here was It’s Good To Be King. This is my least favorite of the three tracks I’ve mentioned thus far. With a delicate string and piano arrangement, this fifth track is introspective and careful. I honestly prefer more upbeat Petty tracks, but so far as musical content goes, this track is about as good as he gets.
Besides those three beautiful tracks, we have the title track. “Wow” is the best way to describe Wildflowers. This is the kind of beautiful, delicate, and thoughtful track that makes folk-rock wonderful and entertaining. Wildflowers is by far the most lovely and perfect song that Petty offers. It is, in fact, one of the best he has recorded to date. People who really despise his other tracks should force themselves to listen up for at least the time that Wildflowers plays.
Other songs of mention include the melodic, subtle, and Beatle-esque Only a Broken Heart. Heavily classic-rock influenced rock and roll Honey Bee is also an interesting track. A Higher Place is an example of one of Petty’s fun tracks. Open and relaxed, A Higher Place includes usual folk-rock traditions.
Overall, there’s nothing really bad I can say about Wildflowers. There are a few less interesting songs like Time to Move On. But, in all they are all above average tracks. I wholly recommend this album to folk rock/country rock fans. If you already enjoy albums from Petty or The Heartbreakers, this album is a no-brainer. These songs are classics in the waiting. Give Wildflowers a decade or so and fans and critics will even better recognize it’s instinctively obvious musical and lyrical merits. Sure Petty’s not a vocal master, but he is a musical master. Wildflowers is an easy 5/5 stars.
Track Listing:
1. Wildflowers
2. You Don't Know How It Feels
3. Time To Move On
4. You Wreck Me
5. It's Good To Be King
6. Only A Broken Heart
7. Honey Bee
8. Don't Fade On Me
9. Hard On Me
10. Cabin Down Below
11. To Find A Friend
12. Higher Place, A
13. House In The Woods
14. Crawling Back To You
15. Wake Up Time
* Wildflowers won a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Performance. It also earned a best Engineered Non-Classical Album. Finally, Petty’s album was nominated for Best Rock Album. Each of these three albums was deserved.
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