Wildflowers (Tom Petty album)

Wildflowers is the second solo studio 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. The album was certified 3× platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Wildflowers
Studio album by
Tom Petty
ReleasedNovember 1, 1994 (1994-11-01)
Recorded1992–94
StudioLos Angeles, California at Sound City and Ocean Way Recording
Genre
Length62:48
LabelWarner Bros.
Producer
Tom Petty chronology
Greatest Hits
(1993)		 Wildflowers
(1994)		 Songs and Music from "She's the One"
(1996)
Singles from Wildflowers
  1. "You Don't Know How It Feels"
    Released: October 1994
  2. "You Wreck Me"
    Released: 1995
  3. "It's Good to Be King"
    Released: 1995
  4. "A Higher Place"
    Released: 1995
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Consumer GuideB−[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[4]
The Guardian[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
NME8/10[7]
Pitchfork8.8/10[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Uncut8/10[10]

Background

The album features all members of 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."[11] 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.[12] Guitar World placed the album at number 49 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[13]

Four singles were released from the album between 1994 and 1995, the most successful of which, "You Don't Know How It Feels", reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Album Rock Tracks chart for one week. It was followed by "You Wreck Me", "It's Good to Be King" and "A Higher Place" which reached Nos. 2, 6, and 12 respectively on the Mainstream Rock chart.[14]

In April 2015, when Petty's back catalog was released in High-resolution audio, this was one of only two albums not included in the series (Songs and Music from "She's the One" was the other one), but a hi-res version was available on Pono Music.

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

Outtakes
  • "Girl on LSD" was released as the B-side of the "You Don't Know How It Feels" single (1994).
  • "Leave Virginia Alone" was another song written and recorded during the sessions and left off the finished album. It was given to Rod Stewart for his album A Spanner in the Works (1995).
  • Several outtakes were included on the She's the One soundtrack album (1996).
  • In 2015, Petty released the track "Somewhere Under Heaven" as promotion for a 20th anniversary two-disc Wildflowers re-release, which has yet to materialize.
  • In 2018, outtake "Lonesome Dave," recorded July 23, 1993, was released on Petty's posthumous box set An American Treasure.
  • In 2020, a demo version of "You Don't Know How It Feels" was released as promotion for the previously shelved Wildflowers special edition set.
  • August 5, 2020 Heartbreakers’ keyboardist Benmont Tench and engineer George Drakoulias joined SiriusXM host David Fricke to unveil a never-before-heard Tom Petty song, “There Goes Angela (Dream Away).” This song is another home demo from the forthcoming Wildflowers project. [15]

Personnel

Musicians

  • Mike Campbell – 6-string guitar, 12-string guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, bass guitar, harpsichord, coral sitar
  • Lenny Castro – percussion
  • Howie Epstein – backing vocals, bass guitar on "You Wreck Me", "Honey Bee" and "Cabin Down Below"
  • Steve Ferrone – drums except on "To Find a Friend"
  • Brandon Fields – saxophone on "House in the Woods"
  • Greg Herbig – saxophone on "House in the Woods"
  • Jim Horn – saxophone on "House in the Woods"
  • Kim Hutchcroft – saxophone on "House in the Woods"
  • Phil Jones – percussion on "You Wreck Me" and "Cabin Down Below"
  • Michael Kamen – orchestration, conductor on "Wildflowers", "Time to Move On", "It's Good to Be King" and "Wake Up Time"
  • Tom Petty – 12-string guitar, 6-string guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, harmonica, piano, Hammond organ, vocals
  • John Pierce – bass guitar on "Hard on Me"
  • Marty Rifkin – pedal steel guitar on "House in the Woods"
  • Ringo Starr – drums on "To Find a Friend"
  • Benmont Tench – harmonium, piano, Hammond organ, mellotron, orchestron, zenon
  • Carl Wilson – backing vocals on "Honey Bee"

Production

  • Joe Barresi – assistant engineer
  • David Bianco – engineer
  • Mike Campbell – producer
  • Richard Dodd – engineer, mixer
  • Steve Holyrod – assistant engineer
  • Kenji Nasai – assistant mixer
  • Tom Petty – producer
  • Rick Rubin – producer
  • Jim Scott – engineer
  • Jeff Sheehan – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly Charts

Chart (1994) Peak

position

US Billboard 200 8[16]
UK Album Charts (OCC) 36[17]

Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1994 You Don't Know How It Feels US Mainstream Rock Chart 1[18]
1995 US Billboard Hot 100 13[18]
"You Wreck Me" US Mainstream Rock Chart 2[19]
"It's Good to Be King" 6[20]
"A Higher Place" 12[21]

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[22] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Wildflowers – Tom Petty". AllMusic. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  2. Christgau, Robert (2000). "Tom Petty: Wildflowers". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Petty, Tom, and the Heartbreakers". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2005. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  4. Browne, David (November 4, 1994). "Music Reviews: 'Wildflowers' and 'You Got Lucky'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  5. Sullivan, Caroline (November 4, 1994). "Tom Petty: Wildflowers (Warner)". The Guardian.
  6. Willman, Chris (October 30, 1994). "Tom Petty 'Wildflowers' Warner Bros". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  7. "Tom Petty: Wildflowers". NME. November 19, 1994. p. 48.
  8. Sodomsky, Sam (October 10, 2017). "Tom Petty: Wildflowers". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  9. Gardner, Elysa (November 3, 1994). "Tom Petty: Wildflowers". Rolling Stone. No. 694. pp. 95–97. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  10. Deusner, Stephen (December 2017). "Major Tom". Uncut. No. 247. p. 83.
  11. Petty, Tom: Conversations with Tom Petty, page 142. Omnibus Press, 2005.
  12. "100 Best Albums of the Nineties: Tom Petty, 'Wildflowers' | Rolling Stone | Lists". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  13. "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  14. Tom Petty discography
  15. https://blog.siriusxm.com/hear-the-all-new-tom-petty-song-there-goes-angela-dream-away-on-siriusxm/
  16. "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Wildflowers Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  17. "wildflowers | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  18. "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers You Don't Know How It Feels Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  19. "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  20. "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers It's Good To Be King Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  21. "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers A Higher Place Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  22. "American album certifications – Tom Petty – Wildflowers". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 

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