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Tom Petty's 1994 solo album Wildflowers yielded the instant classics "You Don't Know How It Feels," "You Wreck Me," and of course the enduring title track. But there was much more material from those sessions which ultimately sat on the shelves until last year's excellent Wildflowers & All The Rest box set. The highlight of the super-deluxe, most expensive configuration of the box set was Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions). The 16-song collection will now see a stand-alone release on CD or indie-exclusive 2-LP gold vinyl on April 16. Digital editions will go live the same day to stream or download, and a standard black vinyl edition will follow on May 7.
Petty's longtime engineer and collaborator Ryan Ulyate combed through nearly 250 reels of 24-track tape to compile this digestible compendium of alternate takes, forgotten cuts, and jams from the original Wildflowers sessions. The result gives fans a unique look into the creation of a beloved recording, presenting another side of the project as Petty intended.
To preview the collection, Warner Records and the Tom Petty Estate have released "You Saw Me Comin'," a recording from 1992. As Heartbreaker Benmont Tench recalls, "There's this kind of longing in the song, in the way that he wrote the chord structure, the melody and the lyrics. It's wistful, and it would have been the perfect way to end [Wildflowers]."
You can take a listen to the track below and pre-order your copy of Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions) from your favorite retailer.
Watch: Tom Petty, "You Saw Me Comin'" (Alternate Version)
Tom Petty, Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions) (originally released as part of Wildflowers & All The Rest: Super Deluxe Edition, Warner Records box set 093624893004, 2020 - reissued as standalone Warner Records LP 093624884941, 2021)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Tom Petty Online Store / Your Local Record Shop
2-LP gold: Tom Petty Online Store / Your Local Record Shop
2-LP black: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Tom Petty Online Store / Your Local Record Shop
Side 1:
- A Higher Place
- Hard on Me
- Cabin Down Below
- Crawling Back To You
Side 2:
- Only a Broken Heart
- Drivin' Down To Georgia
- You Wreck Me
- It's Good to Be King
Side 3:
- House in The Woods
- Honey Bee
- Girl On LSD
- Cabin Down Below (Acoustic Version)
Side 4:
- Wildflowers
- Don't Fade on Me
- Wake Up Time
- You Saw Me Comin'
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So... People who paid the ridiculous $100 extra for the super, ultra mega-box last year feel like suckers right about now. Don’t they?
*raises hand*
Thanks a bunch, Warner Bros.
Pretty sure I can hear Tom punching his casket right now. I’d love to know if Mike, Ben, or the Pettys had any say in this.
I know I do.
I specifically googled things like “Tom Petty Box Set Ripoff” and “Finding Wildflower Alternative No Box Set” just so I can find a forum where people were just as pissed about this as I am. People have warned me about being a vinyl sucker and boy do I feel like one now. Total money grab rip off!
Glad to not have $100 worth of swag I don’t want or a big box to store. Happy to have just the music (on physical product, of course) Patience & cheapness pays off most of the time.
I bought the 2cd set as the price per disc for the bigger set(s) was ridiculous in comparison and, as much as I like Wildflowers, i wasn't sure how much I would play it. I'll get this but definitely feel for those who thought the only way to get 'Finding' was the pricey big box.
I bought the double CD disc set. I have always loved the album Wildflowers, but I have to say, for me the extra tracks don't add much. I think the strongest album was the originally released single disc.