The film will be available this fall
Warner Records will release Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free – The Making of Wildflowers on Blu-ray on September 12th. The 2021 documentary dives into the creation of Petty’s iconic 1994 album, Wildflowers. Directed by Mary Wharton, the film uses never-before-seen 16mm footage from 1993-1995 when Petty was working on the album, along with present-day interviews with his bandmates and producer Rick Rubin.
The documentary offers an intimate look at Petty’s creative process during a highly prolific and personally transformative time in his life, as he navigated the dissolution of important relationships within The Heartbreakers while crafting what he initially envisioned as a double album.
The new physical format will include 30 minutes of bonus content including outtakes and four music videos.
The film premiered as an Official SXSW 2021 Selection, where it won the Audience Award, and later had a limited theatrical release worldwide on October 20, 2021, coinciding with Petty’s birthday.
The film has been available digitally, including in 4K on Petty’s official YouTube channel.
Wildflowers was originally released in 1994 and was certified triple platinum nine months after its release. It was Petty’s fastest-selling album, but it wasn’t complete in his eyes. Petty had always envisioned Wildflowers as a double album, but Warner Brothers rebuffed, fearing the album would be too expensive to sell at the time, likely doubling the cost of a single CD. Petty was forced to whittle the 25 songs down to 15, which took several months. Among the cut tracks at the time was “Hung Up And Overdue,” a six-minute overture featuring The Beatles’ Ringo Starr on the drums and The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson on guitar.
In the fall of 2020, Warner released Wildflowers & All The Rest featuring the complete recording sessions, live tracks, demos, and alternate versions. The compilation was curated by Petty’s daughters, Adria and Annakim Petty and his wife Dana Petty.
