Wildflowers (Tom Petty album)

Wildflowers is the second solo album by American musician Tom Petty, released in November 1994 (see 1994 in music). The album was the first released by Petty after signing a contract with Warner Bros. Records (where he had recorded as part of the Traveling Wilburys) and the first of three albums produced by Rick Rubin.

Three singles were released from the album between 1994 and 1995, the most successful of which, "You Don't Know How It Feels", reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Album Rock Tracks chart for one week.

The album features all members of the Heartbreakers with the exception of drummer Stan Lynch, who left the band earlier in 1994. Steve Ferrone plays drums on Wildflowers and would join the band officially the following year. However, the album was not credited to the Heartbreakers because, in Petty's words, "Rick (Rubin) and I both wanted more freedom than to be strapped into five guys."^[3] Freedom notwithstanding, Petty chose to use most of his regular band as session players, demonstrating his comfort with that format. Rolling Stone placed Wildflowers at number 12 on their list of the best albums of the nineties.^[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Tom Petty, except where noted.

1. "Wildflowers" – 3:11
2. "You Don't Know How It Feels" – 4:49
3. "Time to Move On" – 3:15
4. "You Wreck Me" (Petty, Mike Campbell) – 3:22
5. "It's Good to Be King" – 5:10
6. "Only a Broken Heart" – 4:30
7. "Honey Bee" – 4:58
8. "Don't Fade on Me" (Petty, Campbell) – 3:32
9. "Hard on Me" – 3:48
10. "Cabin Down Below" – 2:51
11. "To Find a Friend" – 3:23
12. "A Higher Place" – 3:56
13. "House in the Woods" – 5:32
14. "Crawling Back to You" – 5:05
15. "Wake Up Time" – 5:19

"Girl on LSD" was also recorded for the album, but was removed by Warner Bros. due to its drug-related lyrics, and was instead released as the B-side to the "You Don't Know How It Feels" single. Many songs on the She's the One soundtrack album were initially recorded for this album.

Personnel

• Tom Petty - 12 and 6-string acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica, piano, organ, vocals
• Mike Campbell - 6 and 12-string guitars (bass, slide, electric, acoustic), harpsichord, coral sitar
• Benmont Tench - harmonium, pianos, organ, mellotron, zenon
• Howie Epstein - supporting vocals, bass
• Steve Ferrone - drums
• Michael Kamen - orchestration, conductor
• Ringo Starr - drums on "To Find a Friend"
• Lenny Castro - percussion
• Phil Jones - percussion
• John Pierce - bass
• Jim Horn - saxophone on "House in the Woods"
• Brandon Fields - saxophone on "House in the Woods"
• Greg Herbig - saxophone on "House in the Woods"
• Kim Hutchcroft - saxophone on "House in the Woods"
• Marty Rifkin - pedal steel guitar on "House in the Woods"
• Carl Wilson - backing vocals

References