From ‘Wildflowers’ to ‘All The Rest’: How Tom Petty’s 1994 Album Returned in 2020
Tom’s vision of the project became a reality due to the commitment of his loving family, bandmates, and collaborators.
Mike Campbell, Adria Petty, and Ryan Ulyate spoke with David Fricke on SiriusXM about “Wildflowers & All The Rest” and premiered “Wildflowers (Home Demo)” on Tom Petty Radio. Listen to exclusive soundbites from their conversation below.
Wildflowers
“Wildflowers” in many ways changed Tom Petty’s creative life — as a recording artist, collaborator, and band leader — while a profound, personal crisis transformed the stories and emotional thrust in his songs. Tom ultimately wrote more songs than he could release at the time. In fact, Tom, Rick Rubin, and Mike Campbell completed the album as a double CD with 25 songs, nearly two hours of music, but Tom’s label advised restraint.
Released on November 1, 1994, “Wildflowers” (a single CD with 15 songs, still more than an hour in length) was Tom’s most acutely confessional album to date.
The resurrection of “Wildflowers” has been a long time coming. In a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone, Tom detailed his plans for the reissue, telling the magazine, “I broke through to something else. My personal life came crashing down, and it derailed me for a while. But I was at the top of my game during that record.”
Then again, in 2016 on SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio, he discussed his desire for a “Wildflowers” tour to coincide with a reissue. During his final interview with the Los Angeles Times, as the triumphant 40th anniversary tour with The Heartbreakers was coming to an end, he announced that his next big focus would be to finally revisit the album.
Tom had always intended to release the second half of “Wildflowers,” a collection he named “All The Rest,” featuring 10 songs from the “Wildflowers” recording sessions that were left off the original version and five unreleased tracks. (Different versions of four other songs would appear on the soundtrack to the 1996 film “She’s The One.”)
Wildflowers & All The Rest
“Wildflowers & All The Rest,” the long-awaited “Wildflowers” reissue and comprehensive collection, will be released on October 16, 2020, via Warner Records.
Tom’s vision of the project is becoming a reality due to the commitment of his loving family, bandmates, and collaborators who helped unearth many previously unheard gems. The compilation was curated by Tom’s daughters, Adria and Annakim Petty, and his wife, Dana Petty, who call it “many, many hours of pure sonic joy,” as well as Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, and was produced by Tom’s longtime engineer and co-producer Ryan Ulyate. Together, they stewarded the warmth Tom created through his music and relationship with his fans.
Wildflowers (Home Recording)
“Wildflowers (Home Recording),” a solo demo version of the classic title track, premiered alongside a video featuring never-before-seen footage of Tom at his home, shot by Martyn Atkins during the recording of “Wildflowers.” The video was co-directed by Alan Bibby and Jonny Kofoed and produced by Assembly.
The significance of the song was revealed in David Fricke’s essay written for the liner notes of the collection: “It would be some time before he understood the complexity of ‘Wildflowers.’ It was, he realized, ‘me singing about me.’”
