Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Long After Dark LP

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Long After Dark on 180g LP

It's been 40 years since Tom Petty and his extraordinary band, The Heartbreakers, unleashed their eponymous debut in 1976. In the subsequent decades, Petty - both as a solo artist and as leader of the band - has sold over 80 million records worldwide, earned 18 Grammy nods and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Petty's musical integrity and craft, not to mention his seemingly effortless flair for rapturous hooks, have remained constant despite ever-shifting musical trends, and his multi-generational fan base continues to swell. In the words of Rolling Stone's Alan Light, "The man's consistency is pretty astounding."

1982's Long After Dark is Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers' fifth studio effort and first with Howie Epstein (bass/backing vocals) who largely impacted the band's sound and remained in the fold for the next 20 years. Once again co-produced by Petty and Jimmy Iovine, the now famous group was a well oiled machine at this point and riding high after a string of successes, employing the use of synthesizers for the first time on record. Like every Tom Petty record there's no shortage of classics and here they come in the form of the catalog standouts "You Got Lucky" and "Change of Heart."