Tom Petty
Wildflowers & All The Rest Reviewed
80 minute long free music compilations featuring intriguingly mixed rock and rock-based music . Satisfying musical appetites around the globe since 2005
20 illinoisentertainer . com november 2020
A
fter seven gold and platinum-selling albums with the Heartbreakers , Tom Petty released his first solo album in 1989 . Chart favorites including “ Free Falling ” and “ I Won ’ t Back Down ” helped the Jeff Lynne-produced Full Moon Fever eclipse even the success of 1979 ’ s Damn the Torpedoes . When Into the Great Wide Open with Lynne and the Heartbreakers achieved respectable but lesser results , there was a natural interest in another release under Petty ’ s name alone . Petty took the opportunity to shake up his workflow , his lineup , and craft the most intimate and personal record of his career . In a catalog crowded with classic rock staples , many point to 1994 ’ s Wildflowers as the brightest jewel in Petty ’ s crown .
Wildflowers ’ 15 tracks introduced songs that remained Heartbreakers concert staples until Petty ’ s untimely passing in 2017 , a week following the conclusion of the band ’ s 40th-anniversary tour . Setlists had included the chugging and confessional “ You Don ’ t Know How it Feels ,” feral rocker “ You Wreck Me ,” wistful “ It ’ s Good to Be King ,” the broken but hopeful “ Crawling Back to You ,” and the doting and fatherly “ Wildflowers .” “ You belong somewhere you feel free ,” sings Petty on the latter . These songs joined the canon alongside smashes like “ American Girl ” and “ Refugee .”
Wildflowers find Petty weathered , weary , and occasionally anxious , but the album retains hope for better days , affection for loved ones , and revels in its chances to cut loose . While writing , the singer was recovering his footing amid personal landmines and navigating the waning days of his first marriage . Songs like “ To Find a Friend ” exercise a gift for songs wherein people recognize their own experience , even while Petty was working through his own mid-life crises . The song ’ s melancholy frame of mind is offset by Mike Campbell ’ s jangling guitars and Benmont Tench ’ s twinkling saloon piano . Even Petty ’ s downbeat songs offer comfort and perspective to himself and his listeners . “ Most things that I worry about never happen anyway ,” sings Petty during “ Crawling Back to You .”
The songs are the star attraction of the album , but Petty ’ s bandmates and collaborators shine . Tench ’ s understated piano on “ Crawling Back to You ” attains elegant and soulful perfection , while bassist Howie Epstein provides warm harmony vocals . Venerated drummer Steve Ferrone assumes the role of founding Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch , providing the elemental boom-crack of “ You Don ’ t Know How it Feels ” and setting its deceptively relaxed vibe . Co-Captain Campbell proves his worth as his generation ’ s finest rock and roll guitarist , unleashing taut riffs and licks on randy blues-rocker “ Honey Bee ” and playing haunting acoustic passages in duet with Petty on the intimate “ Don ’ t Fade on Me .” Tench and Campbell bring their collective magic to the saucy Carl Perkins-styled rockabilly raver “ Cabin Down Below .” Michael Kamen ’ s string arrangements never overpower as they provide emotional heft to songs like the album ’ s gentle title cut and the concluding “ Wake Up Time ,” wherein Petty finds himself reborn and ready to embrace life . “ Now it ’ s time to rise . And shine ,” he sings .
Petty and his team were formulating plans for Wildflowers ’ 25th anniversary in 2019 as the Heartbreakers ’ final tour concluded , but the artist ’ s sudden passing and subsequent estate-related affairs complicated progress . Originally planned as a 25-
By JEFF ELBEL
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