Watch Tom Petty’s New ‘Keep a Little Soul’ Video
Along with full details about An American Treasure, a new Tom Petty box set that puts a spotlight on lesser known and previously unreleased songs, came the collection's first single, "Keep a Little Soul," an outtake from the sessions for 1982's Long After Dark.
Prior to the official announcement, a segment ran on CBS This Morning that offered a preview of the track and video, which features never-before-seen footage of Petty and the Heartbreakers. Petty's widow Dana and daughter Adria reportedly found "a trove" of unreleased material while going through his storage and worked from there.
"The criteria was songs that we all felt really said something about dad," Adria told Anthony Mason on the show. "It's such a strange thing to lose someone like him. He was much cooler than people could imagine. And I think a lot of people thought he was pretty cool."
You can watch the video below.
In addition to Dana and Adria, who served as the box's executive producers, longtime Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench and Petty's engineer Ryan Ulyate compiled the track listing.
“Everyone involved in this project chose each track with tremendous care and deep respect for the body of work Tom Petty created over the course of 40 years," the Pettys said. "He also accumulated a wealth of unreleased music in his vaults, and we have collectively uncovered one gem after another that will keep us all listening and discovering new facets of Tom’s talent for many years to come. We can’t wait to share with Tom’s fans this musical portrait of an artist who deeply affected our culture and indelibly touched the lives of fans the world over.”
The Deluxe Edition of An American Treasure -- which arrives on Sept. 28 -- includes 60 tracks spread out over four CDs, with each devoted to a different decade. It includes a 52-page booklet with rare photos and track-by-track liner notes by Bud Scoppa, who drew upon previous interviews with Petty and new ones from his colleagues and family. A vinyl edition with six LPs will also be available on Nov. 23.
A Super Deluxe Limited Edition adds 32 pages of photos and essays, a lithograph of Shepard Fairey's artwork and replicas of Petty's handwritten lyrics to four of the collection's songs and a numbered certificate of authenticity. A two-disc Standard Edition contains 26 of the 60 songs, as well as Scoppa's notes.