Spins: Tom Petty • Wildflowers One-Step LP
Tom Petty
Wildflowers One-Step LP
(Because Sound Matters/Warner Bros.)
This review focuses on the quality of a new prestige-format vinyl pressing of Wildflowers. For this writer’s retrospective assessment of the songs on the album, search illinoisentertainer.com for the feature-length November 1, 2020, review of Wildflowers & All the Rest.
Wildflowers is a special album in the Tom Petty catalog. After being out of print on vinyl for many years, the 1994 album has received well-deserved attention since Petty’s untimely passing eight years ago. 2020 saw the album’s return to vinyl as part of a comprehensive sonic exploration of the album’s creation via Wildflowers & All the Rest. The set’s super deluxe version piled 55 revealing tracks on top of the original 15 album cuts. The expanded playlist completed the double album Petty originally envisioned, adding 10 additional gems, including “Harry Green” and “Leave Virginia Alone.” A 2021 documentary on the making of the album called Somewhere You Feel Free is newly available on Blu-ray. The true jewel for Wildflowers fans, however, is this pristine “One-Step” vinyl pressing of the original album.
Because Sound Matters is an audiophile label that aims to create definitive pressings of beloved albums, and this limited-edition release of Wildflowers doesn’t fall short. The album is spread across two premium vinyl platters. The material is sourced from original analog master tapes. Your faithful correspondent’s own source for comparison was the vinyl from Wildflowers & All the Rest. Playback was performed with a medium-high-grade system comprising a Linn Axis turntable, an Ortofon Blue stylus, a Music Hall amplifier, and an active Focal monitor speaker system.
2020’s Wildflowers & All the Rest pressing was meticulously made and is perfectly suitable for Petty fans. Still, this new pressing offers unprecedented clarity, detail, separation, body, and depth. Petty’s voice is rich, present, and natural. Howie Epstein’s bass and Steve Ferrone’s kick drum are present and full-bodied without being hyped or overbearing. Benmont Tench’s acoustic piano sparkles and brims with warmth against Michael Kamen’s lush but understated orchestration on the self-effacing “It’s Good to Be King.” Mike Campbell’s guitar snarls with life on rocker “You Wreck Me” and blues burner “Honey Bee.”
The One-Step vinyl is cut a touch hotter than the 2020 vinyl, without evidence of harmonic distortion. Playback speed is also subtly slower than the All the Rest pressing, presumably correcting to proper pitch and perhaps allowing a subliminal relaxation in the groove of mid-tempo rockers like the introspective “Crawling Back to You” or mellow “You Don’t Know How it Feels.” Quality control is evident. The platters I evaluated are dead flat and quiet.
My favorite song on this album is “Don’t Fade on Me,” an acoustic guitar duet between Petty and Campbell in which Petty expresses concern for a troubled friend. The live-on-the-floor performance is vivid and urgent, with a “you are in the room” presence. Some pitch warble is audible in the held final notes of the All the Rest pressing, but is mitigated on the new pressing.
Following my evaluation, I’ll say this: If you’ve got a system that allows you to discern nuances between pressings of familiar material, if you consider Wildflowers to be Petty’s masterpiece even above undeniable classics with the Heartbreakers like Damn the Torpedoes, and if you can afford to splurge for the premium price, this One-Step pressing is recommended. An album that was initially crafted as well as Wildflowers deserves to be heard this well by people who love the songs. (becausesoundmatters.net)
album and pressing: 10 of 10
– Jeff Elbel
