Petty’s version just sounds more earnest, whether it’s the references to Georgia which fall much closer to home for the Gainesville native than the British Rod Stewart, or the way Petty’s southern twang bends “alooooone” in the chorus. Something you’d catch midday on VH1 or MuchMoreMusic, light fare for the stay-at-home crowd. Both mid-tempo adult contemporary hits with classic mid-90s production. On the surface, both versions are fairly similar. Petty’s manager gave Stewart the track to record after Petty dismissed it as too similar to another hit of his. ‘Leave Virginia Alone’ was originally released as a single recorded by Rod Stewart in 1995. The band plays it restrained and straightforward allowing the vocals to lead undistracted as Petty turns a phrase with a gypsy-tinged melody. ‘Something Could Happen’ shows Petty as a scratched optimist, laying out a seemingly untenable personality in the sauntering verses then cutting in with his open road idealism for the choruses. But now as legions of fans have fallen in love with the songs from that period, a flood of new material is a blessing. If Wildflowers was released as a double album in ’94, it may have come off as a self-indulgent, somewhat bloated double album for Petty fans who loved his succinct, to the point releases. In a way, this is the perfect way to release this. However, you can see why they might have been left off from a producer’s perspective because there was already another song occupying that same sonic space. However, this is no mere B-sides compilation, some of the songs outshine and surpass some of the original Wildflowers’ less interesting numbers. The disc embraces his quiet reflective mood during that period. There are no big bashing bangers like ‘Honey Bee’ or “old man boat dance numbers” (Petty’s own words) like ‘Cabin Down Below’. The second half of Petty’s originally intended double album falls on the softer side. It shows how songs can morph and evolve from demo through master, with some parts getting amputated from one song and reattached to another and some songs can end up miles away from where they began.
In all, you’re left with an all-encompassing look at one of the most vibrant periods in the artist’s life as well as an insider look into the songwriting process.
In addition to the remaster of the original Wildflowers album, this 9LP set contains the collection of tracks that were not included with the original release (All the Rest), Petty’s studio-grade home demos, a set worth of live recordings, and alternate takes from the original studio sessions. If you need to be caught up to speed, check out part one of our deep dive here. We have a lot of ground to cover so we’ll skip the introduction.
0 kommentar(er)
