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 18th, 2024. The set, will be available on 2-CDs + 1-Blu-ray or on 2-LPs, The set features the newly remastered version of the original album taken from the original analogue master tapes, plus 12 rediscovered bonus tracks newly mixed by Petty’s longtime engineer Ryan Ulyate.
Despite it being a golden era of The Heartbreakers playing at the height of their powers, it 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), plus 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 finding Petty’s version of “Never Be You”—which was a #1 country hit for Rosanne Cash—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, recorded at Applewood Studios in Denver, Colorado.
Many of the additional tracks are taken from the French TV sessions, including acoustic gems, “Turning Point” and the Everly Brothers influenced “Keeping Me Alive.”
“Long After Dark” was a smash by the usual standards it spawned three fan favourites, “You Got Lucky,” “Change of Heart” and “Straight Into Darkness.” In the “making of” clip for the “You Got Lucky” video, Petty explains that he always wanted it to have “this Ennio Morricone – Clint Eastwood western feel. So when we went to write the movie, I really just wanted an excuse to go play around in the desert.”
“Long After Dark” remains an unsung gem amongst its predecessors, “Damn the Torpedoes” and “Hard Promises“. “It’s a good little rock & roll record” but also “a tough record because I never knew if we were making the right decisions about songs,
The Petty Legacy archives is sharing previously unseen newly remastered film and audio from 1982 to 1983 this year, beginning with a pair of new videos that were originally filmed for French TV.
First a version of “Straight Into Darkness” featuring footage of the band performing at the Record Plant by award-winning director Alan Bibby and the track “Between Two Worlds,” . “There was some music recorded for “Long After Dark” that didn’t quite get on the record, that I thought would’ve made it a better album. 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 Fourth Street,’ sounded like one of those records, you know. By the way, I think it is!”
The Fat Angel Sings 