Tom Petty's expanded reissue of Wildflowers is due to arrive this month, and the late artist's estate has shared yet another rarity from the set.
"Leave Virginia Alone" was penned by Petty in January of 1993, but was ultimately cut from Wildflowers ahead of the album's release in 1994. He would then give the song to Rod Stewart, who would include it on his 1995 album A Spanner In the Works, but we can now hear Petty's version as part of the forthcoming reissue.
The original song arrives alongside a music video, co-directed by Mark Seliger and Petty's daughter Adria, starring actress and dancer Casimere Jollette. "Leave Virginia Alone" follows the previously shared demo versions of "Wildflowers" and "You Don't Know How It Feels," and previously unheard tracks "Confusion Wheel" and "There Goes Angela (Dream Away)."
"We were very resourceful about trying to create a character that could be assigned to anyone. That's why Virginia in this video is very mysterious but she has her little glimpses of characters," Adria Petty told David Fricke yesterday (September 30) on SiriusXM's Tom Petty Radio. "We really worked to cast someone authentic — that felt like they were really feeling their feelings and someone that you could believe."
Adria Petty added that she and Seilger, "really wanted the song to do the heavy lifting in this video, and sort of step out of the way and just give it something to breathe with." The co-director added, "The one idea that kept coming back to both of us is that we really want Tom to be narrating the story. We really want to hear his voice as he runs you through this journey that this woman is having."
Wildflowers & All the Rest — which pairs Petty's original album with a mass of previously unreleased songs, demos, home recordings, live cuts and alternate versions — arrives October 16 via Warner.
"Leave Virginia Alone" was penned by Petty in January of 1993, but was ultimately cut from Wildflowers ahead of the album's release in 1994. He would then give the song to Rod Stewart, who would include it on his 1995 album A Spanner In the Works, but we can now hear Petty's version as part of the forthcoming reissue.
The original song arrives alongside a music video, co-directed by Mark Seliger and Petty's daughter Adria, starring actress and dancer Casimere Jollette. "Leave Virginia Alone" follows the previously shared demo versions of "Wildflowers" and "You Don't Know How It Feels," and previously unheard tracks "Confusion Wheel" and "There Goes Angela (Dream Away)."
"We were very resourceful about trying to create a character that could be assigned to anyone. That's why Virginia in this video is very mysterious but she has her little glimpses of characters," Adria Petty told David Fricke yesterday (September 30) on SiriusXM's Tom Petty Radio. "We really worked to cast someone authentic — that felt like they were really feeling their feelings and someone that you could believe."
Adria Petty added that she and Seilger, "really wanted the song to do the heavy lifting in this video, and sort of step out of the way and just give it something to breathe with." The co-director added, "The one idea that kept coming back to both of us is that we really want Tom to be narrating the story. We really want to hear his voice as he runs you through this journey that this woman is having."
Wildflowers & All the Rest — which pairs Petty's original album with a mass of previously unreleased songs, demos, home recordings, live cuts and alternate versions — arrives October 16 via Warner.
