TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS: Long After Dark (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

In October 2017, one of our rock heroes succumbed to cardiac arrest. Author of a fascinating and prolific discography with his band The Heartbreakers, Tom Petty was an elusive musician. Seven years after his death, his record label wanted to pay tribute to him by re-releasing his fifth album, “Long After Dark,” originally released in 1982, and adding a bonus CD.

Let's go back to 1982: the previous year, the Floridian and his gang of heartbreakers released “Hard Promises,” which included “Insider” featuring a certain Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac). The album was well received, as evidenced by its fifth place ranking on the Billboard charts. The recording of a new album was announced, and Tom Petty casually pulled a trump card out of his sleeve: Howie Epstein. The bassist had caught the band's eye a few years earlier, and his arrival as Ron Blair's replacement (who was still present on one track) gave the band an excellent bassist and an outstanding vocalist. Tom Petty always landed on his feet with the grace of a cat. In just under forty minutes, he takes the listener on a thrilling journey in which each track is a little surprise. Beginning with the catchy “A One Story Town,” the sun, without fading away, gives way to bitter storms (“You Stand A Chance”). Benmont Tench's organ or piano tempers the bubbling energy of the guitars. The raw, sensitive voice invites you to listen to his confessions. “You Got Lucky,” with its new wave accents, will delight MTV, offering its creator a hit.

The bonus tracks give a glimpse of the artist and his band at work. The live tracks were recorded in France, with emotion at the heart of the project (‘Stories We Could Tell’) and a self-deprecating detachment (in the intros or at the end of songs, as in the self-parodying ‘Heartbreakers Beach Party’). The studio outtakes and other unreleased tracks will be of interest to rock archaeologists. Also included is a version of Roseanne Cash's ‘Never Be You’, a song originally written by Benmont Tench and Tom Petty. The bonus disc ends with an enjoyable cover of ‘Wild Things’ by The Troggs.

Long After Dark is one of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' best productions and is well worth a listen (or another listen), but the high-quality bonus CD also allows you to appreciate the generosity and talent of an artist who left us too soon but who left his mark on America alongside Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. - Official website

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS

LONG AFTER DARK

AUTRE LABEL

ROCK