The Stash Jar: Shake, Rattle & Roll
By Martin Halo
The Outlook - November 2, 2005

Tom Petty: Wildflowers | Warner Brothers Records | 1994 | ★★★★½
Perfection is a power statement, and which is second solo release in close to five years Tom Petty reached a plateau that he could never achieve with the Heartbreakers, cover to cover perfection. Produced by Rick Rubin, Wildflowers is a testament t the artistic texture and feel of what a true American rock 'n' roll recording should sound like. Wildflowers brings home the feelings of now ghostly high school lovers, friends yet to be discovered and a reckoning between our own past and present. Tom Petty is a living, breathing American legend. On Wildflowers he proclaims, "It's good to get high and never come down," and for Tom Petty contentment for life is the never ending high.

Wildflowers is a career defining masterpiece. From the most well known track off the record, "You Don't Know How It Feels," t the driving "You Wreck Me," through the dreariness of "It's Good To Be King," the sting of "Honey Bee," and culminating with the majestic "Crawling Back to You," the record is a ride of emotion from the highest peak to the deepest valley leaving us back where we all belong, home.