Tom Petty Wildflowers 30th Anniversary One-Step Vinyl Review

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Tom Petty's 1994 album Wildflowers, Because Sound Matters has released a special One-Step edition of the record. Mastered from the original analog master tapes, Chris Bellman cut seven lacquers to use as the source for this one-step pressing, which is limited to 6,000 copies. In addition to bypassing the need for the usual two additional steps in producing these records, they were pressed on Neotech VR900-D2 180g High Performance Vinyl with the aim of obtaining the lowest noise floor possible. The two discs arrived perfectly clean and flat inside of BSM-labeled rice paper sleeves withthe heavy gatefold cover from Stoughton Printing housed in an equally sturdy outer slipcase. The entire package, while not an over-the-top presentation like Analogue Productions UHQR series, has the feeling of understated elegance and should please nearly any vinyl collector.

L to R: Tom Petty, Rick Rubin

In preparation for this review, I listened to my original 2LP vinyl pressing from 1994, mastered by Stephen Marcussen as well as the more recent 2020 vinyl reissue, mastered by Chris Bellman of Bernie Grundman Mastering. The original 2-LP 1994 vinyl, released at a time that vinyl was all but dead and CDs predominated the market, was a decidedly standard effort, with a cover made from light card stock, plain paper inner sleeves, and a mastering that was serviceable but by today's standards sounds overly strident, at times venturing into sibilance. Given the price these originals still command, I can't see any reason to seek one out unless you're the most ardent Petty completist.

The 2020 vinyl reissue, mastered by Chris Bellman, is a very good sounding record. Gone is the stridence and sibilance from the Marcussen mastering. There is a realism to Petty's vocals and a balanced tonality that presents both the acoustic guitars and the chiming electrics equally well. Most audiophiles will likely find the current available iteration of the 2020 reissue, which includes a third disc of bonus tracks to more than suit their needs. However, if you are a big fan of this album--and you have a system that is highly resolving of detail, then keep reading as you will want to seriously consider this limited edition One-Step.

From the opening title track, there are "wow" moments throughout the four sides that will have you hearing this fantastic record as you've never heard it before. Petty's voice has a realism--that in the room with you feeling that eclipses the other pressings. The kick and snare both have an increased immediacy and authority in You Don't Know How it Feels, piano notes seem to hang in the air before you in It's Good to Be King, and the Gibson acoustic and especially the electric Rickenbackers are simply thrilling to listen to on Higher Place--you can suddenly turn it up louder and it remains free of distortion.

L toR: Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Howie Epstein

During the several weeks of listening to this amazing pressing, I've been trying to figure out how they managed to make it sound so great--and I've come to the conclusion that the One-Step procedure results in more musical information on the vinyl and the lower noise floor of the Neotech compound allows for the longer decay of notes. But having listened to quite a few examples of Bellman's work over the years, this stands out as having a superbly liquid midrange--especially upper-mids, that bring the guitars and vocals an additional dimension. I can only surmise that the vinyl formulation and one-step process gave Bellman some additional confidence that he could push the mids beyond his normal comfort range, knowing that the result would be devoid of any grain or harshness.

In a the audiophile world, the listener is often chasing incremental improvements--and I can say that this One-Step pressing is a solid ten percent better than the 2020 Bellman remaster. I give this reissue my highest recommendation.

Very Highly Recommended

Click here to purchase on Amazon

Recommended

Click here to purchase on Amazon