Tom Petty's Estate Announces 'Wildflowers & All The Rest' Deluxe Reissue

At last, Tom Petty’s Wildflowers reissue will finally see the light of day.

Years after his tragic passing in October 2017, the late rocker’s wish to see his 1994 solo album be released in full form is coming true in the forthcoming multidisc set, Wildflowers & All the Rest, due out October 16.

In this special release, fans can expect to hear both alternate and live versions of Wildflowers songs, demo recordings, and unreleased tracks that were scrapped from the original album. The set, spanning five CDs and nine LPs, also features studio sessions as well as home recordings of beloved songs like “There Goes Angela (Dream Away)” and a rare demo of “You Don’t Know How It Feels.”

At the time of its initial recording, Petty had submitted Wildflowers to Warner Bros. as a double-album with 25 tracks. However, the label advised he trim the project down for a single-disc release, stowing away a trove of unreleased music to the archives. Apart from two deep cuts “Hung Up and Overdue” and “California” appearing on the movie soundtrack of 1996’s She’s the One, fans will finally be able to experience the LP as Petty envisioned.

According to Rolling Stone, the collection was curated by Petty’s wife, Dana, their daughter, Adria, her sister Annakim, and Petty’s fellow bandmate, Benmont Tench. As Adria describes, the set “helps you understand the magic of how my dad did something.”

Rick Rubin, who produced the iconic effort, also regarded Wildflowers archives as something that haunted Petty. "[Petty] very much wanted to re-release it,” he recalled on the Broken Record Podcast. “He thought it was really important because the legacy of the Wildflowers album loomed large in his career, and he knew that the second half of Wildflowers was an important statement.”  

Even so, Petty’s dream didn’t come without its battles, as the crooner’s surviving family had been embroiled in a contentious court battle over his estate that nearly thwarted the project.

Tom Petty's Wildflowers & All the Rest Track List:

Wildflowers

01. Wildflowers

02. You Don’t Know How It Feels

03. Time to Move On

04. You Wreck Me

05. It’s Good to Be King

06. Only a Broken Heart

07. Honey Bee

08. Don’t Fade on Me

09. Hard on Me

10. Cabin Down Below

11. To Find a Friend

12. A Higher Place

13. House in the Woods

14. Crawling Back to You

15. Wake Up Time

All The Rest

01. Something Could Happen

02. Leaving Virginia Alone

03. Climb That Hill Blues

04. Confusion Wheel

05. California

06. Harry Green

07. Hope You Never

08. Somewhere Under Heaven

09. Climb That Hill

10. Hung Up and Overdue

Home Recordings

01. There Goes Angela (Dream Away)

02. You Don’t Know How It Feels

03. California

04. A Feeling of Peace

05. Leave Virginia Alone

06. Crawling Back to You

07. Don’t Fade on Me

08. Confusion Wheel

09. A Higher Place

10. There’s a Break in the Rain (Have Love Will Travel)

11. To Find a Friend

12. Only a Broken Heart

13. Wake Up Time

14. Hung Up and Overdue

15. Wildflowers

Wildflowers Live

01. You Don’t Know How It Feels

02. Honey Bee

03. To Find a Friend

04. Walls

05. Crawling Back to You

06. Cabin Down Below

07. Drivin’ Down to Georgia

08. House in the Woods

09. Girls on LSD

10. Time to Move On

11. Wake Up Time

12. It’s Good to Be King

13. You Wreck Me

14. Wildflowers

Alternate Versions (Finding Wildflowers)

01. A Higher Place

02. Hard on Me

03. Cabin Down Below

04. Crawling Back to You

05. Only a Broken Heart

06. Drivin’ Down to Georgia

07. You Wreck Me

08. It’s Good to Be King

09. House in the Woods

10. Honey Bee

11. Girl on LSD

12. Cabin Down Below (Acoustic Version)

13. Wildflowers

14. Don’t Fade on Me

15. Wake Up Time

16. You Saw Me Comin’

Photo: Getty Images