Set for release on October 16th is the long-awaited Tom Petty box set, Wildflowers & All The Rest. According to the press release for the set, “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.'”
Assisting the family were Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, with the project produced by Petty's longtime engineer and co-producer Ryan Ulyate.
The Wildflowers & All The Rest “Deluxe Edition” features 15 home studio recordings made by Petty and is rounded-off with 14 live performances of songs from Wildflowers, recorded on various tours from 1995 to 2017, along with 16 studio recordings of alternate takes of Wildflower's songs.
Back in June, Tom Petty's daughter Aida Petty told Rolling Stone, “My dad’s demos were always really awesome. They were a good guiding light in the Wildflowers sessions. And this one has a right-out-of-the-box feeling to it. . . The family and all our engineers and the Heartbreakers have been circling around this project and making it as delightful and completist (sic) as possible. We’re really pleased to be able to share the second half of the Wildflowers double album.”
Not long before his 2017 death, Tom Petty admitted it took a while for him to fully appreciate the awards and accolades that came his way over the years: “I think when you get to my age, you kinda have a different view of them. Y'know, when I was younger, I didn't really put much stock in them, or pay much attention to it. And then as you get older, you kinda go — or you've been doin' it a long time — you go, 'Oh, that was kinda nice, y'know, that someone noticed that we've been around a while doin' good work.'”
