Why Tom Petty ‘Origins 1971-1978’ Isn’t Your Normal Box Set: ‘The Important Thing Was Making a Good Album’

Adria Petty says the 50th anniversary of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ debut was worth marking because it offered a chance to recognise the surviving band members and tell the story of how the group developed. The new archival collection, *Origins 1971-78*, traces the musicians’ early experiments and the influences that shaped their sound.

Released on 6 November, the multi-disc set includes new mixes of the first two Heartbreakers albums, a previously unreleased 1977 concert and 1978 BBC performances. Its centrepiece, *No Sleep Til L.A.*, gathers 12 early recordings from 1971-77 by Mudcrutch, Petty solo and the Heartbreakers; five more appear on *The Cut Out Bin*. Producer Ryan Ulyate says he catalogued more than 100 multitrack tapes for the project.