Tom Petty, "Wildflowers"
Don won't back down on his quest to be king
Don’s Pitch:
Back in 1994, I lived in a gentrified old mill building set on a river, a short distance from a classic New England town center. I was not quite engaged, living alone, killing time, learning guitar. On Wednesdays, I’d carry my Martin acoustic on a walk along the water to see my instructor at his studio not far away. But I was just going through the motions, barely practicing scales in between lessons. I was faking it.
Tuesdays were for cramming after a week of procrastination. It was also the day of the week when new albums were released. One night I threw the new Tom Petty record on my stereo and all of a sudden something clicked. I picked up my guitar and played it by ear. The song was “Wildflowers.” It was easy.
Boy, was I in for a surprise, because Wildflowers is perhaps his most complex work. Sure, the songs are predominantly spare, relying mostly on straightforward arrangements, basic chords and his trademark, accessible melodies. But upon further listening, it’s a deep, sprawling journey of reflection, regret, hope and wistful freedom.
Wildflowers is a “solo” Petty album untethered from The Heartbreakers, yet most of the band plays on nearly every tune. The whole thing is ironic, given he’s less than a year from divorce, himself heartbroken. There is a sense of self-awareness that didn’t strike me back then, but I recognize now that I’m 50 and have lived a little myself.
The album includes familiar staples of Petty’s catalog. In addition to the title track, there are several mainstream rock hits: “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” “You Wreck Me,” “It’s Good To Be King,” and “A Higher Place.”
Yet the songs that stand out most to me this time around are the more intimate, hidden gems. Such as “Don’t Fade On Me,” co-written with Mike Campbell, which is so evocative of Nick Drake that I had to double-check it wasn’t a cover. It’s so, so good.
(Aside: this is the third essay in which I’ve mentioned Drake; maybe I should just get it over with and write about him next.)
Normally a 15-song album would be bloated, full of filler. But this one finishes even stronger than it starts, with 4 simply great songs that capture Petty’s midlife catharsis.
The finale, “Wake Up Time,” is the natural bookend to the title track. I always wondered whether the opening “Wildflowers” -- seemingly about a girl – was actually a hidden or even unwitting self-portrait (“you belong where you feel free”). Well, “Wake Up Time” removes all doubt. Rick Rubin’s production is majestic, strings bringing gravity to the lyrics, some of which Petty utters as spoken words. It’s a naked confessional yet somehow a pep talk to himself.
'Cause it's wake up time
Time to open your eyes
And rise and shine
The best of the best records reveal something new with each revolution. I loved this album the day it was released. And here I am nearly 30 years later discovering it anew. I think I’m going to pick up that guitar again and see where it takes me. I’m ready now.
Mitch’s Response:
I took Tom Petty for granted. Maybe we all did.
If you ever asked me 'who my favorite artist was' or 'who’s the best American songwriter' or ‘which rocker would I want to go gator hunting with on an airboat’ I never would have said Tom Petty. I wouldn’t even have thought of him.
But Tom was always there throughout my entire life, with great song after great song. I remember getting Damn The Torpedoes on vinyl for my birthday. I loved Southern Accents and those trippy videos after the cable man finally came to town. I adored him as part of the Traveling Wilburys (side note: The Traveling Wilburys and The Highwaymen are the only bands legally allowed to be called “supergroups”). Best of all, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers was the first concert that I went to with my eldest son Nate (Fenway Park, 2014). Based on all that I should probably have a Tom Petty tattoo (sadly, I can’t get a tattoo because I suffer from extreme softness), but I just never really appreciated TP until he was gone way too soon.
Even though EONS is all about album appreciation, I secretly believe that all artists have a certain number of great songs within them. Sometimes that number is 1. That’s awesome. One is one more than me! Most well known artists have a handful of great songs - that’s why they’re well known. The rare superstars often have a dozen or more great songs - enough to fill a greatest hits album or two.
Wildflowers, one of Tom Petty’s great albums (one of many great albums by him) has eight great songs. EIGHT. On one album. The other seven songs are good, too, not a clunker among the bunch.
Wildflowers is beautiful. Tom Petty was amazing. And it’s a welcome reminder not to take the good things in life for granted.
Pitch Successful
CJ’s Response:
In 1994, Stevie Nicks, fresh from a stint in rehab, asked her dear friend and sometime collaborator, Tom Petty, to write a song for her. Petty told her, in short, that she was a talented individual who was more than capable of writing her own song and to get her shit together and do so. Inspired, Stevie went on to write the song “Hard Advice” and would be forever grateful for the tough love Tom gave her.
I’m telling you this story because I think tough love is about as perfect a description of Tom Petty’s music as I can imagine. Nothing comes easy in Petty’s world. It’s all hard promises, changes of heart and breakdowns. And nowhere is that tough love more prevalent than in his masterpiece, Wildflowers.
The opening track (and title cut) feels like Petty is reluctantly letting someone go on to better things. That done, he spends the balance of the album at war with himself. At times he wallows in self-pity (“You Don’t Know How It Feels” and “Only A Broken Heart”). At others, he’s full of regret (“Don’t Fade On Me” and “Crawling Back To You”). Then again, he’s resilient (“Time To Move On”, “A Higher Place” and “Wake Up Time”). These are all expressions of love that has been torn, battered and raked over the coals.
Even a smirky rocker like “Honey Bee” has undertones of deceit:
Don't say a word about what we're doin'
Don't say nothin', little honey bee
Don't tell your momma, don't tell your sister
Don't tell your boyfriend, little honey bee
Even though Wildflowers is autobiographical, each of us feels the pain. That’s because Tom Petty does what only the best artists can do. He takes your innermost feelings, expresses them better than you ever could and then shows them to the world.
It’s the kind of tough love we all need from time to time.
Pitch Successful
Ken’s Response:
I really intended to write a manifesto about how this amazing artist is the best thing to ever come out of the lawless swamp we call Florida, but that seemed a bit petty.
Instead, let’s talk about an album that has all the signature pieces of a great Tom Petty album (with or without the Heartbreakers). It has Tom’s unique, grainy voice, that unmistakable bright sound of his Rickenbacker guitar, fantastic backing vocals, a great rhythm section, piano, organ, a couple of saxophones, a pedal steel, and even a harmonium. Tom always liked to mix it up a bit. What stands out on Wildflowers is not only the incredible production work of the legendary Rick Rubin, but the maturity of the songwriting.
While I don’t find Wildflowers to be Petty’s most entertaining album, it is by far his most autobiographical. Going through some really rough times at this point in his life, struggling with a broken marriage and some reported addiction issues, Petty managed to channel his pain and his battle into some of the most indelible songs in his catalogue. Songs like “Time to Move On” and “Only A Broken Heart” aren’t what you normally get from him. Until this album was released, I always thought (much like Springsteen) that Petty had a knack for making poignant observations about the real world around him, but he rarely if ever put his own life on display through his music. Wildflowers changed that.
While it took him 18 years to finally let us in on the person behind the blond hair and the suede jacket, great things come to those who wait. And as he already told us, the waiting is the hardest part.
Pitch Successful
Don’s pitch was legendary and Tom Petty’s Wildflowers has been added to the Newbury St. Collection.
Don’t be a face in the crowd as we’re counting on you to drop on by the comments section and breakdown Tom Petty’s Wildflowers.
Be careful what you wish for, CJ, as next week Mitch takes us on a stroll through the seedy side of town with Tom Waits’ 1985 experimental classic Rain Dogs.
My first read of Exile has shown me what I have wanted to do ever since writing my first and only book, some 12 yrs ago. Combining two of the things I love both dearly, writing and music, Newberry St has put a destination on my dream going forward. I am not sure where this journey will lead me, but thanks for opening the door.
Tom Petty, on the other hand, has always been in the pantheon of great American singer songwriters. Somehow though, for myself and many of my generation, his existence has somehow been disguised; lurking only in the background of the Melody, providing the harmony with lead voices, his magic revealed only if one is able to dive deeper into albums like Wildflowers, after briefly experiencing the initial burst from Torpedoes.
Only then could I honestly put Toms’ contribution to classic rock, and beyond, Into proper perspective.
Upon reflection, and continued exposure, if Tom Petty lives in a warm place in my belly like fine wine, or a favorite place in the woods, then wildflowers speaks to the pain and joy in all of us in an almost personal confrontation of his truth. For that , he earns and deserves, high praise from all of us who listen.
I listen to this album regularly and love it. It's timeless! But the lyrics to "Honey Bee" always give me the creeps. Why does honey bee have to keep everything a secret? Anyone else?