Tom Petty Talks Working With Rick Rubin in Clip From ‘Wildflowers’ Documentary

Tom Petty and producer Rick Rubin talk about collaborating in a clip from Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers, a documentary about the recording of the classic 1994 LP. After screening for one-night-only in theaters on October 20th — Petty’s birthday — the film will head to YouTube Originals on November 11th.

“Rick loves music, and that’s really why I decided to work with him. It’s not because of his technical skill; he has no musical skill, he plays no instrument really, not even a guitar. He just loves music. He’s not a corporate man,” Petty says of the producer in voiceover. “I’ve found Rick to be very helpful and I think he made a great contribution to the album, and I feel in a way — and I don’t know if he intended to or not — he’s guided me back into a musical place where I feel very comfortable.”

Rubin added of his contribution, “What I have to offer is — as a fan — I can come in and say what I like and what I don’t like and I don’t necessarily know why. Just being true to my own taste, and really steer in a direction that feels natural and good to me.”

Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers features never-before-seen 16mm footage — all remastered in 4K resolution — from the fruitful 1993 to 1995 recording sessions that spawned the Wildflowers LP, as well as new interviews with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, and more.

The 90-minute documentary, directed by Mary Wharton, will arrive on Tom Petty’s YouTube channel on November 11th.