Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ formative years are documented across unreleased recordings, restored live performances and new mixes in a major archival collection due November 6.
by Paul Cashmere
The Tom Petty Estate has announced Origins 1971-1978, a major archival collection documenting the development of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from Petty’s early recording years through the band’s emergence on the international stage. The collection will be released November 6 through UMe, coinciding with the 50th anniversary period of the band.
The six-disc set draws on recordings made in Miami, Tulsa and Los Angeles, following Petty from the earliest days of Mudcrutch through the formation of the Heartbreakers and the band’s first major recordings. The material covers a broad range of styles including country, folk, punk, reggae, rock and soul, while also documenting Petty’s work with musicians and producers including Al Kooper, Leon Russell, Jim Gordon and Emory Gordy.
The announcement comes as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are being recognised with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Americana Awards. Original Heartbreakers Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Stan Lynch and Ron Blair are scheduled to reunite for a performance with Chris Stapleton, with Steve Ferrone and Scott Thurston joining for the final song.
At the centre of Origins 1971-1978 is No Sleep Til L.A., a 12-track collection containing seven previously unreleased recordings and five tracks presented in new high-resolution mixes. The material documents the period between Mudcrutch’s earliest recordings and the establishment of the Heartbreakers as Petty’s principal musical vehicle.
Among the previously unheard recordings is “Parade of Loons”, recorded in 1978. The track is the first preview from the collection and is accompanied by an animated music video directed by Peter Sluszka and featuring Iain Armitage, known for Young Sheldon.
The collection also includes 50th anniversary editions of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and You’re Gonna Get It!, the band’s first two albums. Both have been newly mixed and remastered from the original multitrack tapes by longtime producer and engineer Ryan Ulyate. Eleven tracks across the two albums receive extended versions, including “American Girl” and “Breakdown”.
Live From the Record Plant 1977 presents the band’s early live sound in a complete high-fidelity recording made for San Francisco radio station KSAN-FM at the Record Plant in Sausalito. The performance includes an appearance by Al Kooper and captures the Heartbreakers before their international breakthrough.
Another archival component, The Cut Out Bin, contains five recordings made by Petty as he worked with session musicians while developing his direction. The tracks include a collaboration with Leon Russell and provide an alternative view of the period before Petty settled on the Heartbreakers as the band best suited to his material.
The collection concludes with the Heartbreakers’ 1978 appearance on the BBC’s The Old Grey Whistle Test. The performance has been restored by Ulyate and is presented in high definition. BBC broadcaster Bob Harris, who contributes an essay to the Blu-ray booklet, recalled the performance as a defining early appearance by the band.
Origins 1971-1978 will be issued as a five-LP box set, four-CD box set and an expanded deluxe edition. The physical editions include an 88-page fanzine with contributions from David Fricke and Bud Scoppa, track-by-track annotations from the original members, album credits, archival photographs and memorabilia. The Blu-ray contains all 51 songs in high-resolution stereo, Atmos and 5.1 immersive mixes, while the DVD includes the BBC performance.
The vinyl release of No Sleep Til L.A. will also be available separately, including a limited “Galaxy” colour edition. A standalone CD will be released alongside it, while a limited-edition Zoetrope version is scheduled for November 20.
Petty’s recording history extended well beyond these formative years. He ultimately made 13 studio albums with the Heartbreakers and three solo albums, including Full Moon Fever, Wildflowers and Highway Companion. He was also a member of the Traveling Wilburys and returned to Mudcrutch later in his career for two further albums.
Petty died in 2017, shortly after completing the Heartbreakers’ 40th anniversary tour. His estate has continued to draw on an extensive archive of recordings, while maintaining a programme of philanthropic activity connected to causes Petty supported during his lifetime.
Origins 1971-1978 therefore focuses on a specific and consequential period rather than attempting to summarise Petty’s entire career. The recordings document the process through which a developing songwriter assembled the musicians, musical vocabulary and recording approach that would define one of America’s enduring rock bands.
The set’s release also places the early Heartbreakers catalogue in the context of a renewed interest in archival editions and high-resolution restoration. With unreleased studio recordings, complete live material and newly mixed versions of the first two albums, Origins 1971-1978 provides multiple perspectives on the band’s emergence.
The collection will be released November 6 through UMe, with the standalone Zoetrope edition of No Sleep Til L.A. following on November 20.
Tracklisting
Origins 1971-1978
LP1: No Sleep Til L.A.
Parade of Loons
You’re Gonna Learn
Another Lonely Night
I Can’t Fight It†
Depot Street†
Sin City
Wild Eyes†
Unheard of Kind of Hero
Up in Mississippi Tonight†
Satisfy Yourself
Since You Said You Love Me†
Long Way
LP2: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (50th Anniversary Edition)
Rockin’ Around With You
Breakdown
Hometown Blues
The Wild One, Forever
Anything That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll
Strangered in the Night
Fooled Again (I Don’t Like It)
Mystery Man
Luna
American Girl
LP3: You’re Gonna Get It! (50th Anniversary Edition)
When the Time Comes†
You’re Gonna Get It†
Hurt
Magnolia
Too Much Ain’t Enough
I Need to Know
Listen to Her Heart
No Second Thoughts
Restless
Baby’s a Rock ‘N’ Roller
LP4: Live From the Record Plant 1977
Pre-Show
Surrender
Jaguar and Thunderbird
Band Intros
American Girl
Al Kooper, Denny Cordell Intro
Fooled Again
Luna
How We Doin’ on Tape?
Listen to Her Heart†
I Need to Know
Strangered in the Night
Dog on the Run
(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66
LP5: The Cut Out Bin
Save Me
Making Some Noise
The Ballad of Harry, Neil & Tillie
Cry to Me†
Lost in Your Eyes
DISC 6: Live on the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test 1978
9 performances in HD and restored audio • Running time: 41 minutes • 48kHz 24-bit PCM stereo Picture: 4:3 Pillarbox / 29.97 fps • NTSC All Region
Extended version
†New mix of previously released version
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