Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers‘ 1982 album Long After Dark has been updated with a host of rare material for a deluxe reissue due Oct. 18 from Geffen/UMe. A video clip from that era of the band performing “Straight Into Darkness” for French television is out now.
Although Long After Dark includes such hits as “You Got Lucky” and “Change of Heart,” Petty wrestled with the final track list and often said he wished to include other material on it. The new edition of Long After Dark attempts to set the record straight, as it includes seven previously unreleased songs from this time period.
Among them are the Petty originals “Never Be You,” which Rosanne Cash turned into a No. 1 country hit, and “Ways To Be Wicked,” which was recorded in 1985 by country rock group Lone Justice. Also featured is the pop-leaning “Don’t Make Me Walk the Line.”
In a 1989 interview with SPIN about his then-new album Full Moon Fever, Petty acknowledged his ambivalence towards Long After Dark. “With the exception of Let Me Up, it seems we’ve tried too hard to make albums,” he said. “Southern Accents and Long After Dark were very difficult projects, and though I like them, I think they’re pretty uneven records.” Petty also told interviewer Paul Zollo that Long After Dark was “a tough record because I never knew if we were making the right decisions about songs.”
The reissue will also include sessions taped for French television, recollections from original album producer Jimmy Iovine and journalists Cameron Crowe and David Fricke. Petty’s website will offer a limited two-LP red with black splatter color vinyl edition in a numbered foil tip-on jacket with an exclusive lithograph.
Petty, who died in 2017 at the age of 66 after an accidental overdose, is also in the spotlight at the moment thanks to the Apple TV+ show Bad Monkey. More than a dozen artists have covered his songs for the soundtrack, due Oct. 4, including Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, the War on Drugs, Jason Isbell, Weezer and Sharon Van Etten.
Here is the bonus disc track list for Long After Dark:
1. “Stories We Could Tell (French TV)”
2. “Never Be You” *
3. “Turning Point (Original Drums Version)”
4. “Don’t Make Me Walk The Line” *
5. “I’m Finding Out (French TV)” *
6. “Heartbreakers Beach Party (Extended Version)”
7. “Keeping Me Alive (French TV)”
8. “Straight Into Darkness (French TV)”
9. “Ways To Be Wicked (Denver Sessions)” *
10. “Between Two Worlds (French TV)” *
11. “One On One” *
12. “Wild Thing” *
* = previously unreleased
