Tom Petty regarded 1994’s Wildflowers as the best record he and the Heartbreakers had made, despite it being formally released as a solo album. The article argues that the album successfully balanced Petty’s individual songwriting vision with the band’s contribution, avoiding the creative tensions found on some earlier collaborations.

Produced with Rick Rubin, Wildflowers was initially conceived as a double album before being shortened, leaving songs including ‘California’ and ‘Hung Up and Overdue’ off the final release. Keyboardist Benmont Tench recalled that Petty described it as a band record, while the article places it in the context of Petty’s long-running emphasis on direct, honest rock songwriting.