Wildflowers (Tom Petty album)

Wildflowers
Studio album by Tom Petty
Released November 1, 1994
Recorded 1992–94
Studio Los Angeles, CA at Sound City and Ocean Way Recording
Genre Heartland rock
Length 62:48
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Rick Rubin, Tom Petty, Mike Campbell
Tom Petty chronology

Greatest Hits
(1993)		 Wildflowers
(1994)		 Songs and Music from "She's the One"
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Robert Christgau B–[2]
The Essential Rock Discography 7/10[3]
MusicHound [4]
NME 8/10[5]
Rolling Stone [5][6]
Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music [7]

Wildflowers is the second solo album by American musician Tom Petty, released on November 1, 1994. 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 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, with the exception of drummer Stan Lynch. 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."[8] 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 1990s.[9] Guitar World placed the album at number 49 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[10]

A 20th anniversary edition (2 discs, with 10 previously unreleased songs) has been planned for 2014.[11]

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. and was instead released as the B-side to the "You Don't Know How It Feels" single. Several songs on the She's the One soundtrack album were initially recorded for this album. "Leave Virginia Alone" was another song written and recorded during the sessions and left off the finished album, and was given to Rod Stewart for his album, A Spanner in the Works.

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  3. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 816. ISBN 978-184195-827-9.
  4. ↑ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 870. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Album reviews at CD Universe
  6. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  7. ↑ "Tom Petty Wildflowers". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  8. ↑ Petty, Tom: Conversations with Tom Petty, page 142. Omnibus Press, 2005.
  9. ↑ "100 Best Albums of the Nineties: Tom Petty, 'Wildflowers' | Rolling Stone | Lists". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  10. ↑ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  11. ↑ http://www.stereogum.com/1672517/tom-petty-readies-new-heartbreakers-album-hypnotic-eye-deluxe-wildflowers-reissue-live-lp/news/. Missing or empty |title= (help)