It has been almost nine years since we lost Tom Petty, and it has been almost 50 since Petty and his Heartbreakers released their self-titled debut album. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers will have its half-century birthday this November, and Petty's estate will celebrate the occasion with the release of Origins 1971-1978, a new box set that'll include previously unreleased tracks from Petty's earliest days.
The Origins box set will include newly remastered versions of that self-titled debut album and You're Gonna Get It!, the band's 1978 follow-up, that'll include extended versions of 11 tracks, including the all-timers "American Girl" and "Refugee." It'll also include Live From The Record Plant 1977, a recording of the band's live broadcast from the legendary Sausalito studio, with a guest appearance from Al Kooper.
Perhaps the box's biggest selling point is the rarities collection No Sleep Til L.A., which will also be available as a standalone release. It collects music that Petty made when he was figuring out his sound, from his older band Mudcrutch to the earliest days of the Heartbreakers. Seven of that disc's 12 tracks are previously unreleased, including the newly shared single "Parade Of Loons." That one's got a video that Peter Sluszka directed, and it stars Iain Armitage from Young Sheldon. Good song! Check out the video below.
One other disc included in the Origins box is The Cut Out Bin, another rarities collection that features tracks that Petty made with session musicians, including what a press release describes as "a yacht rock track with Leon Russell." The box also has a live-album version of the Heartbreakers' 1978 appearance on the British show The Old Grey Whistle Test. The most deluxe of the many versions of the box set also has a Blu-Ray, a DVD, and an 88-page fanzine with liner notes from David Fricke and Bud Scoppa, track-by-track annotations from the band, and other stuff.
Origins 1971-1978 is out 11/6. You can find all the details on the box-set and pre-order it here.
In related news, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at tonight's Americana Awards, and surviving members Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Stan Lynch, and Ron Blair will reunite to perform with country star Chris Stapleton, who has covered Petty a few times. Two other Heartbreakers, Steve Ferrone and Scott Thurston, will join in for a final song. The Americana Awards air tonight on CBS, and the show will stream on Paramount+.
