Don’t have to sell me. Tom Petty is hands down the GOAT American rocker ever. Second isn’t even close. I suppose Bruce but blah. Petty to me is number one globally too. I saw him six times and his Full Moon Fever album cover signed graces my wall. I can’t deny how great this album is. It’s in the top 4 Petty albums. If we move beyond rock, the US has had great people in rap and R&B too.
None of them were huge solo stars before Cream and CSNY, whereas Traveling Wilburys and Highwaymen were all solo stars that teamed up to form a super group. It's like the X-Men vs. the Justice League man.
You'll all prob. be thrilled that I'm sparing you the long, overwrought response on this one...because selling people on WIldflowers is like "selling" people on food, pizza, sex and/or oxygen. That these 15 songs made the cut and those on "All the Rest" (8 unreleased songs that ALMOST made the album & 24 unreleased alt versions) did NOT, shows how amazing the 15 are. And if you haven't heard this Zane Lowe interview with Rick Rubin about Petty/making of Wildflowers, it's amazing. https://podcasts.apple.com/lv/podcast/rick-rubin/id1461515071?i=1000495847633
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?
Mar 20, 2021Liked by CJ Kaplan, Ken Warshaw, Don Lane
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.
That's a wonderful comment, Roger. As a reward, I'm going to give you a little peek behind the EONS curtain. The truth is, we fought like hell about featuring this album. When Don first told us he was going to do it, I argued against it. Since we all love Wildflowers, I reasoned that four fawning reviews of a much-loved multi-platinum album wouldn't make for very engaging reading. I advocated for doing a more challenging TP album like Hard Promises. Well, I was wrong. Turns out that it's possible for people to love a piece of music for different reasons (no kidding, right?) and to be able to articulate that love in ways that keep it interesting. Thanks for finding us, Roger. We're glad you're here.
I have tried over the years to create and generate discussion of musical topics on several platforms, but only ended up mostly with a juke box style hit list from utube as reply’s. Not even little Stephens underground garage Generates this kind of thoughtful, in depth, analysis of album rock music.
I thought Mitch nailed it about Tom Petty. It's exactly what I thought - didn't realize how good he was until he was gone. I preferred his live albums over studio versions though.
Don’t have to sell me. Tom Petty is hands down the GOAT American rocker ever. Second isn’t even close. I suppose Bruce but blah. Petty to me is number one globally too. I saw him six times and his Full Moon Fever album cover signed graces my wall. I can’t deny how great this album is. It’s in the top 4 Petty albums. If we move beyond rock, the US has had great people in rap and R&B too.
But TOM (Petty, Brady) = GOAT
Mitch, I have Ginger Baker on line 1, and Graham Nash on line 2. They'd both like to have a word with you about supergroups.
None of them were huge solo stars before Cream and CSNY, whereas Traveling Wilburys and Highwaymen were all solo stars that teamed up to form a super group. It's like the X-Men vs. the Justice League man.
You'll all prob. be thrilled that I'm sparing you the long, overwrought response on this one...because selling people on WIldflowers is like "selling" people on food, pizza, sex and/or oxygen. That these 15 songs made the cut and those on "All the Rest" (8 unreleased songs that ALMOST made the album & 24 unreleased alt versions) did NOT, shows how amazing the 15 are. And if you haven't heard this Zane Lowe interview with Rick Rubin about Petty/making of Wildflowers, it's amazing. https://podcasts.apple.com/lv/podcast/rick-rubin/id1461515071?i=1000495847633
I like how pizza is a separate category from food. Pizza: definitely a Wilbury!
HA yes, pizza is its own separate, glorious entity.
And that Petty and Dylan were the final word on who and who is NOT "a Wilbury," says it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxxY62qhxK0
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?
I'm with you, Anna. Why the treachery, Tom? Why the deceit? Still a great song, though.
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.
That's a wonderful comment, Roger. As a reward, I'm going to give you a little peek behind the EONS curtain. The truth is, we fought like hell about featuring this album. When Don first told us he was going to do it, I argued against it. Since we all love Wildflowers, I reasoned that four fawning reviews of a much-loved multi-platinum album wouldn't make for very engaging reading. I advocated for doing a more challenging TP album like Hard Promises. Well, I was wrong. Turns out that it's possible for people to love a piece of music for different reasons (no kidding, right?) and to be able to articulate that love in ways that keep it interesting. Thanks for finding us, Roger. We're glad you're here.
I have tried over the years to create and generate discussion of musical topics on several platforms, but only ended up mostly with a juke box style hit list from utube as reply’s. Not even little Stephens underground garage Generates this kind of thoughtful, in depth, analysis of album rock music.
I thought Mitch nailed it about Tom Petty. It's exactly what I thought - didn't realize how good he was until he was gone. I preferred his live albums over studio versions though.