A Tom de force

This album is an artistic triumph for Tom Petty - a zenith of his musical livelihood, and a tireless album that defies contemporary rock par by actually delivering a product worthy of one's record-listening time from beginning to end. "Wildflowers" features a mellowed Petty, relaxing a bit after the garage-fueled energy that sprung from almost two decades worth of efforts such as the spirited "Damn the Torpedoes" (1979) or the pleasant, anthemic "Full Moon Fever" (1989). Here we see a Petty of vastly greater introspective reflection, considering a variety of topics that range from his usual underdog-fighting-for-his-piece attitude to melancholic ruminations upon his troubled marriage.



The title track is a simple, alluring number - the type of song Petty has nailed with consistency in the second half of his career (i.e. "Angel Dream," "Learning to Fly," etc.). "You Don't Know How it Feels" is the type of song only he can sing, driven by his light, inimitable voice and blithe persona, it becomes an instant radio classic and spirit-of-youth mainstay, like so many of his past singles. Songs like "Time to Move On," "Only a Broken Heart," and "To Find a Friend" are tranquil and mature recordings that feature an artist who has moved beyond the pomp and exhilaration of youthful rock-stardom and taken a careful, near-poetic/near-philosophic interest in his work. At the same time, however, "Honey Bee" and "Cabin Down Below" deliver the kind of stripped-down, grassroots rock-`n'-roll that has made Petty an endless provider of young-at-heart "hipness" and energy. This is to say nothing of "You Wreck Me," a brisk and dynamic track of quintessential Petty laughing-exuberance, and the complex orchestrations and almost detached guitar cool (vis-à-vis "Mary Jane's Last Dance") of "It's Good to be King."



Simply put, what "Wildflowers" does, perhaps better than any album since, is offer fifteen tracks that stand alone as endurable play-list singles, but attain a higher overall substratum of glittering assembly when taken as a whole. What Petty does here, as everywhere, is best described as visual music - the storytelling of an underdog in whose mind dreams come to life, and an album of that rare timeless capacity both mechanically and conceptually.

His best? Not even close.

If you can honestly listen to this, then listen to _Damn the Torpedoes_ or _Hard Promises_ or _Southern Accents_ or _Long After Dark_ or even _Let Me Up_ and tell me that this holds a candle, I will still respect you -- but I will still beg to differ.



I recognize that I'm in the minority here, but Tom really did phone it in on this one. I will grant you that "Time To Move On," "Crawling Back To You," and even "You Wreck Me" are terrific songs, but three terrific songs does not a five-star album make. I would take one "Runaway Trains" over every song on this album combined, any day of the week.

One of the Best Albums of all Time!!

I absolutley love this album. Tom Petty became very popular with me when I first heard this album in the 5th grade. I have allways enjoyed putting it in and rockin' out. As I was thinking about it, I can not pick out a song that I like the most, I like them all, well love them all, not one of them do I not like (which is rare in any album). It is has a very up-beat, positive, go-with-the-flow, hippie feel on every track, it's great! Tom Petty's best album and possibley the best album of all time. It is a true gem!!