Tom Petty, the legendary singer and songwriter of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, is loved by fans around the world. Most of his music is praised by critics and fans alike, but Petty himself was often his toughest critic. He didn’t always think his own music was good enough.
Even though albums like Damn the Torpedoes and Wildflowers are considered classics, Petty sometimes dismissed his work. For example, he didn’t think much of the Heartbreakers’ fifth album, Long After Dark. Speaking to Rolling Stone, he said it “felt like treading water.” Similarly, his 1999 album Echo came at a difficult time in his life. Petty had just gone through a divorce, and band member Howie Epstein was facing serious problems. Even though the album was completed, Petty looked back on it without fondness.
One of the albums he disliked the most was the soundtrack for the 1996 movie She’s The One. Petty explained in Men’s Journal that he only took the project because he hadn’t been recording much and wanted to get back to work. He used outtakes from his previous album Wildflowers, but they were poorly mixed and unfinished. “I hated that record, the whole idea of it offended me,” he said. He admitted it was a mistake, though one of the songs, Walls, was even nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Original Song in 1997.
These examples show that even the most successful artists aren’t always happy with what they create. For Petty, perfection was hard to reach, and he held himself to extremely high standards. But even when he disliked a project, he didn’t stop making music. Albums he wasn’t proud of didn’t prevent him from moving forward and continuing to share his talent with the world.
Tom Petty’s story is a reminder that creativity isn’t always smooth or perfect. Even legends have work they wish they could redo. But that doesn’t stop them from creating—and that’s what fans love most.