Tom Petty

With producer Rick Rubin behind the dials and a studio crowded with LA ringers, Wildflowers -- Tom Petty's second record without the Heartbreakers -- is the most sophisticated, subtle presentation of his songs. "Don't Fade On Me" and "Only A Broken Heart" are delicate and reflective without being overly so, and tunes like "Honey Bee" and "You Wreck Me" prove that he can still kick out an aggressive, hook-heavy rocker. But the stuff between those two extremes -- mid-tempo gems like "It's Good To Be King" and "You Don't Know How It Feels" -- is as comfortable as well-worn denim.

It's easy to take Tom Petty for granted. Among his generation of heartland-rock heroes he's
conspicuous for not having cultivated a clear public persona. Neither a blue-collar poet
like Bruce Springsteen nor an outspoken maverick like Neil Young, Petty is most familiar to
us in the dryly goofy, self-effacing guises he adopts in his videos – the Mad Hatter
haplessly burping into the camera or the adoring oaf dragging around Kim Basing... More >

If he were a flower, he'd be wilted, but since he's really more a dick, call him torpid. That Rick Rubin, what a laid-back guy. (Grade - B-)