SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio channel broke the news on July 10 that An American Treasure, a new box set of 60 previously unreleased studio recordings and live material, rarities and more from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers would be released on September 28.
On October 1, one day before the first anniversary of Petty’s passing, a new video from the collection was released. Watch it (and listen to many of the previously unreleased tracks below.)
An American Treasure is available in a variety of physical formats: a Super Deluxe 4-CD box set; deluxe 4-CD box set; a standard 2-CD set (with 26 songs) and a 6-LP vinyl box set (coming Nov. 23). [Order the U.K. release: 4-CD or 2-CD.]
On July 11, the video for a previously unreleased track, “Keep a Little Soul,” premiered. The song, recorded in 1982 during the Long After Dark sessions, features Petty (electric piano), Mike Campbell (guitar), Benmont Tench (guitar, organ), Howie Epstein (bass, backing vocals) and Stan Lynch (drums, backing vocals). At the song’s conclusion, Petty can be heard saying in the studio, “That was fun.”
“Keep a Little Soul” hit #1 on the U.S. Triple A radio format in September.
“Saving Grace,” which originally appeared on the 2006 album, Highway Companion, is represented in the new collection with a previously unreleased live version recorded at the Malibu (Calif.) Arts Center on July 26, 2006.
Related: Gainesville, Fla. is honoring its native son
Watch the video for “Gainesville,” filled with footage of Petty from various stages in his life including as a young boy and teenager in his hometown
Petty’s social media pages had been teasing an announcement in the previous 24 hours with various images. Suddenly, at 5:45 p.m. Eastern on July 10, came the final tease of a “very special announcement today at 3PM (Pacific)!” At that time, a live version of Petty’s “The Waiting” played, followed by the revelation about the new collection.
An American Treasure includes a track, “Two Men Talking,” that was recorded during the 2012 Hypnotic Eye sessions but not included on the album.
From the original announcement: “The Super Deluxe edition features all 60 tracks on 4-CDs (plus a digital download version). It contains an 84-page hardbound book expanded from the Deluxe Edition to include many additional photographs and an essay by author Nicholas Dawidoff – written especially for An American Treasure – that speaks to Petty’s presence in our lives and influence on our culture for more than 40 years. The package also includes a newly created lithograph of Shepard Fairey’s cover artwork, as well as custom reproductions of Petty’s handwritten lyrics to four songs featured in this collection and a numbered certificate of authenticity.”
Listen to an alternate version of an uptempo favorite from 1979’s Damn the Torpedos
The box set is a collaboration between Petty’s wife, Dana, his daughter, Adria Petty, Heartbreakers bandmates Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, and Petty’s longtime studio collaborator, Ryan Ulyate.
Adria Petty told CBS This Morning’s Anthony Mason: “The criteria was songs that we all felt really said something about dad… It’s such a strange thing to lose someone like him. He was much cooler than people could imagine. And I think a lot of people thought he was pretty cool.”
Benmont Tench has been performing his beautiful piano intro on “A Woman in Love (It’s Not Me) for decades. Listen to the band’s previously unreleased performance from June 28, 1981
The collection’s Friday, Sept. 28 release date essentially marks the first year anniversary of Petty’s death on Oct. 2, 2017. (New recordings are released on Fridays worldwide.)
Since the teaser campaign began, Petty fans had been speculating that a much-discussed expanded edition of his Wildflowers album was about to be reissued.
Petty was just 66 when he died, one of the youngest of the great rock and roll generation’s stars. He and the Heartbreakers had just completed a 40th Anniversary tour, with a final concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 25, 2017.
Related: Our recap of that final concert
“Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Brand new rock ‘n’ roll. Check it out…”
An American Treasure 4-CD Track Listing
CD 1
Surrender (Previously unreleased track from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sessions—1976)
Listen To Her Heart (Live at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA—November 11, 1977)
Anything That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll (Live at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA—November 11, 1977)
When The Time Comes (Album track from You’re Gonna Get It!—May 2, 1978)
You’re Gonna Get It (Alternate version featuring strings from You’re Gonna Get It! sessions—1978)
Radio Promotion Spot (1977)
Rockin’ Around (With You) (Album track from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers —November 9, 1976)
Fooled Again (I Don’t Like It) (Alternate version from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers—1976)
Breakdown (Live at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA—November 11, 1977)
The Wild One, Forever (Album track from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers—November 9, 1976)
No Second Thoughts (Album track from You’re Gonna Get It!—May 2, 1978)
Here Comes My Girl (Alternate version from Damn The Torpedoes sessions—1979)
What Are You Doing In My Life (Alternate version from Damn The Torpedoes sessions—1979)
Louisiana Rain (Alternate version from Damn The Torpedoes sessions—1979)
Lost In Your Eyes (Previously unreleased single from Mudcrutch sessions—1974)
Listen to “Walkin’ From the Fire,” a previously unreleased track from 1985’s Southern Accents
CD 2
Keep A Little Soul (Previously unreleased track from Long After Dark sessions—1982)
Even The Losers (Live at Rochester Community War Memorial, Rochester, NY—1989)
Keeping Me Alive (Previously unreleased track from Long After Dark sessions—1982)
Don’t Treat Me Like A Stranger (B-side to UK single of “I Won’t Back Down”—April, 1989)
The Apartment Song (Demo recording with Stevie Nicks)—1984)
Concert Intro (Live introduction by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, The Forum, Inglewood, CA—June 28, 1981)
King’s Road (Live at The Forum, Inglewood, CA—June 28, 1981)
Clear The Aisles (Live concert announcement by Tom Petty, The Forum, Inglewood, CA—June 28, 1981)
A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me) (Live at The Forum, Inglewood, CA—June 28, 1981)
Straight Into Darkness (Alternate version from The Record Plant, Hollywood, CA—May 5, 1982)
You Can Still Change Your Mind (Album track from Hard Promises—May 5, 1981)
Rebels (Alternate version from Southern Accents sessions—1985)
Deliver Me (Alternate version from Long After Dark sessions—1982)
Alright For Now (Album track from Full Moon Fever—April 24, 1989)
The Damage You’ve Done (Alternate version from Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) sessions—1987)
The Best Of Everything (Alternate version from Southern Accents sessions—March 26, 1985)
Walkin’ From The Fire (Previously unreleased track from Southern Accents sessions—March 1, 1984)
King Of The Hill (Early take with Roger McGuinn)—November 23, 1987)
The collection includes a much slower version of Petty’s iconic “I Won’t Back Down,” recorded live at The Fillmore in San Francisco in 1997.
CD 3
I Won’t Back Down (Live at The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA—February 4, 1997)
Gainesville (Previously unreleased track from Echo sessions—February 12, 1998)
You And I Will Meet Again (Album track from Into The Great Wide Open—July 2, 1991)
Into The Great Wide Open (Live at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena—November 24, 1991)
Two Gunslingers (Live at The Beacon Theatre, New York, NY—May 25, 2013)
Lonesome Dave (Previously unreleased track from Wildflowers sessions—July 23, 1993)
To Find A Friend (Album track from Wildflowers—November 1, 1994)
Crawling Back To You (Album track from Wildflowers—November 1, 1994)
Wake Up Time (Previously unreleased track from early Wildflowers sessions—August 12, 1992)
Grew Up Fast (Album track from Songs and Music from “She’s the One”—August 6, 1996)
I Don’t Belong (Previously unreleased track from Echo sessions—December 3, 1998)
Accused Of Love (Album track from Echo—April 13, 1999)
Lonesome Sundown (Album track from Echo—April 13, 1999)
Don’t Fade On Me (Previously unreleased track from Wildflowers—sessions—April 20, 1994)
CD 4
You And Me (Clubhouse version—November 9, 2007)
Have Love Will Travel (Album track from The Last DJ—October 8, 2002)
Money Becomes King (Album track from The Last DJ—October 8, 2002)
Bus To Tampa Bay (Previously unreleased track from Hypnotic Eye sessions—August 11, 2011)
Saving Grace (Live at Malibu Performing Arts Center, Malibu, CA—June 16, 2006)
Down South (Album track from Highway Companion—July 25, 2006)
Southern Accents (Live at Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Gainesville, FL—September 21, 2006)
Insider Live (with Stevie Nicks at O’Connell Center, Gainesville, FL—September 21, 2006)
Two Men Talking (Previously unreleased track from Hypnotic Eye sessions—November 16, 2012)
Fault Lines (Album track from Hypnotic Eye—July 29, 2014)
Sins Of My Youth (Early take from Hypnotic Eye sessions—November 12, 2012)
Good Enough (Alternate version from Mojo sessions—2012)
Something Good Coming (Album track from Mojo—July 15, 2010)
Save Your Water (Album track from Mudcrutch 2—May 20, 2016)
Like A Diamond (Alternate version from The Last DJ sessions—2002)
Hungry No More (Live at House of Blues, Boston, MA—June 15, 2016)
[easy_sign_up title=”Sign up for the Best Classic Bands Newsletter”]
