Tom Petty's Wildflowers will finally get the double-disc treatment 3 years after his death
Late rocker Tom Petty had very different intentions for the Rick Rubin co-produced Wildflowers, his second solo album. The 1994 15-track LP, which peaked on the Billboard 200 at No. 8, was originally submitted to Warner Bros. as a double album with 25 songs. It was a collection of beloved tracked that would ultimately be truncated (with two songs—“California”and “Hung Up and Overdue”—finding a new home on the She’s The One soundtrack two years later) at the suggestion of the label. Regarded by those close to him as his most beloved project, Petty died before he ever got the chance to witness Wildflowers in its intended form. But three years after his death, his dream work is getting a reissue called Wildflowers & All the Rest, which will present his vision in full via a box set.
Rolling Stone reported the news in August, but today, the outlet shared Petty’s lengthy journey with this particular collection, including a moment in 2012 when he excitedly told the outlet that he was planning a reissue with all of the ousted songs and original demos. “We’re going to put out the songs from the other record as well,” he informed Rolling Stone. “We recorded quite a lot of songs and dug them out, and the songs are just so cool.” The reissue was curated by daughter Adria Petty, her sister Annakim Violette, his wife Dana Petty, and Heartbreakers bandmates Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench.
Petty died on October 2, 2017 due to an accidental overdose of his prescribed pain medication. The project was largely held up in a legal battle over Petty’s estate, which, according to the surviving family, stemmed from a vague will. Both sides—wife Dana versus daughter Adria—settled the dispute in 2019. Wildflowers & All The Rest is due for release October 16.