Over four decades after its debut, a deluxe edition of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ groundbreaking but often overlooked 1982 album, Long After Dark, will be released via Geffen/UMe on October 18. Pre-order/pre-save here.
The Petty Legacy archives will share previously unseen, newly remastered film and audio from 1982 to 1983 this year, beginning with a new video for the French TV version of “Straight Into Darkness,” featuring footage of the band performing at the Record Plant by award-winning director Alan Bibby—watch here and listen here.
“There was some music recorded for Long After Dark that didn’t get on the record, that I thought would’ve made it a better album,” said Tom Petty. “I left off… four things that I liked quite a bit. And probably a few more written that never even got in the door.”
Looking back on their third and final album together, legendary rock music producer Jimmy Iovine reflects, “Long After Dark, we thought we had it. Sounded like ‘Positively 4th Street,’ sounded like one of those records, you know. By the way, I think it is!”
Despite it being a golden era of The Heartbreakers playing at the height of their powers, Long After Dark is widely known as the band’s most misunderstood and underrated success. The album features an edgy collection of rock ballads and guitar anthems backed by the unmistakable sound of The Heartbreakers, including founding members Mike Campbell (lead guitar), Benmont Tench (keyboards), Stan Lynch (drums), and the new addition of Howie Epstein on bass and backing vocals.
Long After Dark (Deluxe Edition) will feature the songs that were lost in the debate over the album’s original direction. Notable highlights include Petty’s version of “Never Be You” — which became a #1 country hit for Rosanne Cash — the pop anomaly “Don’t Make Me Walk the Line,” and an up-tempo version of “Ways To Be Wicked,” which was previously covered by Lone Justice and recorded at Applewood Studios in Denver, Colorado.
Many of the additional tracks are taken from the French TV sessions, including acoustic gems like “Turning Point” and the Everly Brothers-influenced “Keeping Me Alive.”
Long After Dark was a commercial success by usual standards—Top 10 on Billboard, certified gold—and spawned three fan favorites: “You Got Lucky,” “Change of Heart,” and “Straight Into Darkness.” However, it remains an unsung gem compared to its predecessors, Damn the Torpedoes and Hard Promises. “It’s a good little rock & roll record,” Petty shared in Paul Zollo’s interview anthology, Conversations With Tom Petty. “But it was a tough record because I never knew if we were making the right decisions about songs.”
Long After Dark (Deluxe Edition) features the newly remastered original album from the original analog master tapes, plus 12 rediscovered bonus tracks newly mixed by Petty’s longtime engineer Ryan Ulyate. The packaging is designed by Grammy Award-winning designer Jeri Heiden and includes liner notes by legendary rock journalist and Tom Petty Radio host David Fricke, with commentary from Jimmy Iovine and Cameron Crowe, and iconic archival photographs by Dennis Callahan, Neal Preston, and Aaron Rapoport. The set will be released in a variety of configurations, highlighted by a limited edition TomPetty.com 2LP pressing on 180-gram red with black splatter vinyl, housed in a numbered foil tip-on jacket with an exclusive lithograph; a 3-disc set featuring 2 CDs and a Blu-ray audio disc with additional hi-res stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes of the album and bonus tracks, also mixed by Ulyate. Additional vinyl options include a 2LP on 180-gram black vinyl and a limited edition 1LP 180-gram turquoise color vinyl pressing (main album only) with a double-sided lithograph of Blaze Brooks’ illustrations, available exclusively at indie record stores.
The album will also be available on all streaming, download, and HD audio download platforms.
For more information, a complete tracklisting, and to pre-order the 2LP versions and 3-disc set, visit the official Tom Petty store.
LONG AFTER DARK (DELUXE EDITION) — TRACKLISTING
DISC 1
“A One Story Town”
“You Got Lucky”
“Deliver Me”
“Change Of Heart”
“Finding Out”
“We Stand A Chance”
“Straight Into Darkness”
“The Same Old You”
“Between Two Worlds”
“A Wasted Life”
DISC 2
“Stories We Could Tell (French TV)”
“Never Be You” *
“Turning Point (Original Drums Version)”
“Don’t Make Me Walk The Line” *
“I’m Finding Out (French TV)” *
“Heartbreakers Beach Party (Extended Version)”
“Keeping Me Alive (French TV)”
“Straight Into Darkness (French TV)”
“Ways To Be Wicked (Denver Sessions)” *
“Between Two Worlds (French TV)” *
“One On One” *
“Wild Thing” *
* previously unreleased
