Tom Petty fans will soon have a new prized piece to add to their collections: Wildflowers & All the Rest, a sprawling reissue of his 1994 album. In addition to cozy home recordings and fascinating alternate takes, the box set boasts a disc containing five previously unreleased songs. Today, one of those tracks has been unearthed, a contemplative yet optimistic tune titled “Confusion Wheel”.
“One of these days my old friend, you and I won’t have to worry no more/ One of these nights it’ll all wash away,” sings the music legend, as though comforting us and our weary, pandemic-worn souls from the grave. “And we’ll wake up singing a brand new song/ We’ll wake up singing a whole new song.”
The song’s corresponding visualizer looks like the inner workings of a mind curious about the truths of the past, present, and future. A colorful wheel of fortune specifically asks asks “how to love”, “who to trust”, and “why that is”.
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Take a spin and listen to Petty’s “Confusion Wheel” below.
Wildflowers & All the Rest arrives October 16th via Warner Records and was curated by Petty’s daughters, Adria and Annakim, and wife Dana, who described it as “many, many hours of pure sonic joy.” Pre-orders are ongoing. For more previews of the reissue, check out a demo of “You Don’t Know How It Feels”, the previously unreleased song “There Goes Angela”, and a solo home recording of “Wildflowers”.
