Tom Petty - An American Treasure (Deluxe Edition) (2018)

When Tom Petty died in October 2017, he left behind a vault overflowing with hundreds of hours of unheard music. Much of it came from concerts, but there were also tons of demos, alternative versions of album tracks and even tunes he discarded completely over the years that have never been released. Once the initial shock of his sudden death subsided, his wife Dana, daughter Adria, producer Ryan Ulyate and bandmates Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench began poring through the material to create the upcoming four-CD box set An American Treasure, which arrives in stores on September 28th.

“We went back and listened to everything,” says Campbell. “We were like, ‘Is there anything in the vault that no one has heard before?’ Then we’d listen to a song and I’d go, ‘Hmmm, now I know why!’ [Laughs] But then we’d hear others and be like, ‘Oh, this is interesting. Let’s remix this and see if we can make it sound right.’ We were looking for gems that were overlooked.”

They were also looking to tell the story of Petty’s career, though big hits like “American Girl,” “Free Fallin'” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” that have been covered extensively on past releases were skipped in favor of lesser-known songs. When in doubt, Campbell tried to imagine what Petty himself would have included. “I just pretended he was sitting next to me,” he says. “I’d say, ‘Should we use this or not? Tom, what do you think?’ Yes? No?’ That became my barometer.”

Virtually the entire compilation is arranged chronologically, kicking off with “Surrender” from the 1976 Tom Petty sessions. “That song was like a Moby Dick that they were always chasing,” says Ulyate. “I don’t mean that in a John Bonham sense, but in the sense that they cut it again and again and were never happy with the results.” When Ulyate dug into the multi-tracks, he realized that the drums were squeezed onto a single track, creating a dull and distant sound. Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch overdubbed a separate drum track at the time to try and fix the problem, but it never quite lined up with the original recording. Using ProTools, Ulyate erased the overdubbed drums and simply raise the volume of Lynch’s original take. “All of a sudden it sounded great,” he says. “It came together beautifully.”

Other tracks, like an alternative take on “Louisiana Rain” from the Damn The Torpedoes sessions, required far less work. “I think it’s the take before the actual take we used for the record,” says Campbell. “And it’s great! We have overdubs on it and we put on guitars and harmonies. For some reason we decided, ‘No, we can do it better’ and we cut another track. The vocal on this one is little less studied and more spontaneous. I really love it.”

One of the more interesting songs on the set is “Rebels,” a Southern Accents tune that the group cut so many different ways that Petty eventually punched a wall in frustration and severely broke his left hand. The album version utilizes a drum machine that sounds very dated today. “We wanted to see if there was a better version of it and so I dumped every take – I think there was about 39 – into Pro Tools,” says Ulyate. “On one of them I found a live drum part that felt like it was a live pass by the Heartbreakers, and so I added it on. The version of it on the set has a completely different vibe than the vibe on the record. It’s just another perspective on the song.”

Ulyate also turned to lesser-explored areas of Petty’s career, like the Echo sessions in 1998 where he unearthed the outtake “Gainesville.” “Echo is supposedly his dark album,” says Ulyate. “‘Gainesville’ is this guy who is looking back on this early life with some nostalgia for a simpler time. I love the song. It’s just great, but I can see how it didn’t necessarily fit the vibe of Echo. There’s also ‘Bus To Tampa Bay’ from the Hypnotic Eye sessions. It’s a social commentary song, but the album ended up being a little edgier and so it didn’t fit.”

Most songs on the set come from the studio, though some of the best moments are concert recordings. A rare live rendition of “Southern Accents” from a 2006 show in Gainesville, Florida was included on 2007’s The Live Anthology, but the track’s supreme quality made it onto the new box set. “Any performer can sing a song earlier in their career and they can sing it later in their career and it’s got a whole different meaning,” says Ulyate. “In 2006, Tom was in a really different place than he was on 1985. It comes from a different place.”

The American Treasure curators were careful not to repeat anything from the 1995 box set Playback, which Petty curated himself. “It’s important that that thing sits out there on its own as its own statement,” says Ulyate. “It’s a statement where the guy is midway through his career, it’s the 1990s, and he’s able to look back a little bit. Obviously this a different perspective. This is the whole thing.”

Spending months listening to Petty’s voice coming out of the speakers was an emotional experience for everyone involved, but they’re glad they did it. “I miss him terribly,” says Ulyate. “He was the guy I worked with, but he was also my friend. In a really weird way, it felt like he was around when we were working on this thing. And the music holds up so well. I have even more respect for him now after doing this. It’s crazy.”

Tracklist:
CD 1
1 Surrender Previously unreleased track from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sessions—1976
2 Listen To Her Heart Live at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA—November 11, 1977
3 Anything That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Live at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA—November 11, 1977
4 When The Time Comes Album track from You’re Gonna Get It!—May 2, 1978
5 You’re Gonna Get It Alternate version featuring strings from You’re Gonna Get It! sessions—1978
6 Radio Promotion Spot 1977
7 Rockin’ Around (With You) Album track from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers —November 9, 1976
8 Fooled Again (I Don’t Like It) Alternate version from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers—1976
9 Breakdown Live at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA—November 11, 1977
10 The Wild One, Forever Album track from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers—November 9, 1976
11 No Second Thoughts Album track from You’re Gonna Get It!—May 2, 1978
12 Here Comes My Girl Alternate version from Damn The Torpedoes sessions—1979
13 What Are You Doing In My Life Alternate version from Damn The Torpedoes sessions—1979
14 Louisiana Rain Alternate version from Damn The Torpedoes sessions—1979
15 Lost In Your Eyes Previously unreleased single from Mudcrutch sessions—1974

CD 2
1 Keep A Little Soul Previously unreleased track from Long After Dark sessions—1982
2 Even The Losers Live at Rochester Community War Memorial, Rochester, NY—1989
3 Keeping Me Alive Previously unreleased track from Long After Dark sessions—1982
4 Don’t Treat Me Like A Stranger B-side to UK single of “I Won’t Back Down”—April, 1989
5 The Apartment Song Demo recording (with Stevie Nicks)—1984
6 Concert Intro Live introduction by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, The Forum, Inglewood, CA—June 28, 1981
7 King’s Road Live at The Forum, Inglewood, CA—June 28, 1981
8 Clear The Aisles Live concert announcement by Tom Petty, The Forum, Inglewood, CA—June 28, 1981
9 A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me) Live at The Forum, Inglewood, CA—June 28, 1981
10 Straight Into Darkness Alternate version from The Record Plant, Hollywood, CA—May 5, 1982
11 You Can Still Change Your Mind Album track from Hard Promises—May 5, 1981
12 Rebels Alternate version from Southern Accents sessions—1985
13 Deliver Me Alternate version from Long After Dark sessions—1982
14 Alright For Now Album track from Full Moon Fever—April 24, 1989
15 The Damage You’ve Done Alternate version from Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) sessions—1987
16 The Best Of Everything Alternate version from Southern Accents sessions—March 26, 1985
17 Walkin’ From The Fire Previously unreleased track from Southern Accents sessions—March 1, 1984
18 King Of The Hill Early take (with Roger McGuinn)—November 23, 1987

CD 3
1 I Won’t Back Down Live at The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA—February 4, 1997
2 Gainesville Previously unreleased track from Echo sessions—February 12, 1998
3 You And I Will Meet Again Album track from Into The Great Wide Open—July 2, 1991
4 Into The Great Wide Open Live at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena—November 24, 1991
5 Two Gunslingers Live at The Beacon Theatre, New York, NY—May 25, 2013
6 Lonesome Dave Previously unreleased track from Wildflowers sessions—July 23, 1993
7 To Find A Friend Album track from Wildflowers—November 1, 1994
8 Crawling Back To You Album track from Wildflowers—November 1, 1994
9 Wake Up Time Previously unreleased track from early Wildflowers sessions—August 12, 1992
10 Grew Up Fast Album track from Songs and Music from “She’s the One”—August 6, 1996
11 I Don’t Belong Previously unreleased track from Echo sessions—December 3, 1998
12 Accused Of Love Album track from Echo—April 13, 1999
13 Lonesome Sundown Album track from Echo—April 13, 1999
14 Don’t Fade On Me Previously unreleased track from Wildflowers—sessions—April 20, 1994

CD 4
1 You And Me Clubhouse version—November 9, 2007
2 Have Love Will Travel Album track from The Last DJ—October 8, 2002
3 Money Becomes King Album track from The Last DJ—October 8, 2002
4 Bus To Tampa Bay Previously unreleased track from Hypnotic Eye sessions—August 11, 2011
5 Saving Grace Live at Malibu Performing Arts Center, Malibu, CA—June 16, 2006
6 Down South Album track from Highway Companion—July 25, 2006
7 Southern Accents Live at Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Gainesville, FL—September 21, 2006
8 Insider Live (with Stevie Nicks) at O’Connell Center, Gainesville, FL—September 21, 2006
9 Two Men Talking Previously unreleased track from Hypnotic Eye sessions—November 16, 2012
10 Fault Lines Album track from Hypnotic Eye—July 29, 2014
11 Sins Of My Youth Early take from Hypnotic Eye sessions—November 12, 2012
12 Good Enough Alternate version from Mojo sessions—2012
13 Something Good Coming Album track from Mojo—July 15, 2010
14 Save Your Water Album track from Mudcrutch 2—May 20, 2016
15 Like A Diamond Alternate version from The Last DJ sessions—2002
16 Hungry No More Live at House of Blues, Boston, MA—June 15, 2016