Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers have launched The Superhighway Tour, a first of its kind online-only music experience that delivers 24 of the 48 tracks from the forthcoming Live Anthology as high-quality digital downloads and on-demand streams in advance of the Live Anthology’s release. “Ticketholders” will receive an insider’s view of those 24 tracks, through archived memorabilia reproduced on the site, new band commentary, classic reviews, and curated content from the Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers vaults. Fans will also be able to share their photos and stories from their favorite Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers shows. Then on the album’s November 24 release, ticketholders will receive the remaining 24 tracks on The Live Anthology, thereby completing the digital album.
Access to the Superhighway Tour will be available to fans that purchase “tickets” from Ticketmaster.com or through the Superhighway Tour box office. Tickets for the entire 8-week Superhighway Tour are on sale now through Ticketmaster.com and TomPettySuperHighwayTour.com. The price of a Superhighway Tour ticket includes all 48 The Live Anthology digital tracks plus the 8-week online experience for $24.98 without any additional service fees. Downloads will be available in 256kbps MP3 or FLAC formats – fan’s choice.
A FREE PREVIEW of the SuperHighway Tour is now available at http://www.tompettysuperhighwaytour.com and includes a FREE DOWNLOAD of a track from the 1981 run of shows at Los Angeles’ Forum.
The week of November 22nd Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and Reprise Records will release The Live Anthology, a multiple-disc set of recordings drawn from thirty years of live performances. The collection brings together material from 1978-2007 culled from hundreds of hours of live concert recordings covering every era of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ tours and represents the best tracks as chosen by producers Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Ryan Ulyate.
The release of The Live Anthology comes on the heels of two sold out tours, the Grammy winning documentary Runnin’ Down A Dream (directed by Peter Bogdanovich), and a headline performance at the Super Bowl XLII halftime show. Now, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – one of rock and roll’s greatest touring bands – will mark their unparalleled string of success with the release of this landmark collection of live recordings that is unlike anything previously available – the band’s story told through the music alone.
The producers made no fixes or overdubs, letting the newly mixed original recordings showcase the invention, spontaneity, craft, and the musicianship that has made Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers among the most celebrated live performers of their time. Along with powerful interpretations of their own classic hits and originals, The Live Anthology features the band tackling some of their best-loved cover material, from classics to obscure beauties to unexpected adaptations. The theme from Goldfinger, the Zombies’ “I Want You Back Again,” the Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil,” early Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well,” Booker T. and the MGs’ “Green Onions,” James Brown’s “Good, Good Lovin'” and many more. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers travel wide, paying their musical debts through song and showing just how confidently the band moves across genres and over time.
The Live Anthology will come in multiple configurations featuring artwork and packing by renowned contemporary artist Shepard Fairey (http://www.studionumberone.com, http://www.obeygiant.com). Included in the multiple configurations are, a 5CD collector’s deluxe box set available only at Best Buy that will include a first-of-its-kind audio-only Blu-ray disc, a four CD set of 48 tracks, a 48 track digital album, a seven LP vinyl box set of 51 tracks and the entirely unique Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Superhighway Tour (http://www.tompettysuperhighwaytour.com). The collector’s deluxe package will be in Best Buy stores on November 22nd. All other configurations will be in stores and available online on November 24th.
