As bemused as Tom Petty appears in the cover photo of Long After Dark (released 11/2/82), he and the rest of the Heartbreakers look downright defiant in the group portrait on the back. And neither expression could be more appropriate to this four-decade-old album, a somewhat unsung entry into the band’s discography.
Containing “You Got Lucky,” it is not without cache, but neither that MTV-propelled hit, nor the other singles, “Change of Heart” and “Straight Into Darkness,” reaffirmed Tom Petty’s status as a household name. First established as such with the breakthrough of Damn The Torpedoes, it was consolidated two years later via Hard Promises LP. while the further confirmation of commercial (and video medium) acceptance arrived with 1985’s “Don’t Come Around Here No More” off Southern Accents.
Yet even as this fifth TP & Heartbreakers album constitutes flying under the proverbial radar, it is nevertheless one of the most consistent long-players in their discography, a seamless crafting of material and musicianship that may best represent Petty’s fundamental attitude of “I Won’t Back Down” (not to emerge for another seven years on Full Moon Fever).
A reconfigured bond for the band took shape with the enlistment of Howie Epstein on bass and vocals, replacing Ron Blair (who would return with The Last DJ in 2002). TP often spoke about what the former added in terms of his harmony singing, musicianly sensibility–he produced other artists including John Prine, Carlene Carter, and Eric Andersen–and overall group camaraderie (hence the sadness at his dissolution around the time of 1999’s Echo and tragic loss four years later). Epstein may be the linchpin to this record.
Certainly, the full-force impetus of Howie’s lock with drummer Stan Lynch adds thrust to “One Story Town.” The first chapter in a story that might well have been bestowed the overall title of “Deliver Me,” the cascades of guitars also ripple through “Change of Heart ” and come further punctuated with the pithy solos from Mike Campbell.
The Heartbreakers’ attack has rarely if ever sounded better-honed or passionate and for his part, the Florida-native frontman no longer recalls his vocal role models Bob Dylan and the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn: his drawl invariably captures ambivalence and purpose simultaneously on “Between Two Worlds.”
Yet the depth of feeling as articulated in the comparatively toned-down likes of “A Wasted Life” are appropriate to their more reflective tone and the generally introspective mood here. Petty and company aren’t just thrashing their way through this LP, but being careful to take stock of their position(s), even being so bold to conclude a contemplative note in the form of the latter, accentuated by Phil Jones’ percussion.
Petty’s not preaching to anyone here, but only sharing his experience(s), much of which arrives illuminated by the multiple, deceptively soulful textures of Benmont Tench’s keyboards. His playing is as economical in its own way as his guitar counterpart’s (and co-writer of four songs here including “Finding Out” and “Same Old You”); without ever overplaying, they are both able to instinctively find the space(s) to fill in an arrangement.
Long After Dark’s diamond-hard sound and production come courtesy of co-producer (with the band leader) Jimmy Iovine, aided and abetted by ace engineer Shelly Yakus (who worked with the widely disparate likes of John Lennon, Ramones, U2 and Van Morrison). The sound is a physical manifestation of the non-nonsense attitude at the core of much of this material and its relatively unadorned quality leaves the ensemble’s momentum unfettered even at the quiet(er) moments.
If, as a whole, this record isn’t as infectious as some of Tom Petty’s work with and without the Heartbreakers, then its mixed reception at the time of release four decades makes at least superficial sense. Still, hearing how “We Stand A Chance” uplifts after forty years, it’s hard not to wonder if those with mixed feelings might alter their opinions hearing the album from this extended perspective. They might discover some redemption, just as the artists seemed to, with what might stand as a microcosm of this whole album, “Straight Into Darkness.”
