Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ massive 60-song collection of unreleased and rare music, An American Treasure, will be released next week. Two singles have been released already—the 1982 Long After Dark outtake “Keep a Little Soul” and the 2007 recording “You and Me (Clubhouse Version)”—and today we get our third taste of the epic boxset with the rollicking, folksy “Gainesville,” an ode to the late Petty’s Florida hometown. “Gainesville” embodies the kind of good-time, jam-band record that would be embraced by Florida’s panhandle and anyone else who loves a freewheeling bluesy bar song.
The track was originally recorded back in 1998 during Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ session for the 1999 album Echo. An American Treasure was compiled by Petty’s daughter Adria and wife Dana, along with Heartbreakers members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, and Petty’s former engineer Ryan Ulyate. The new compilation will include studio material and live recording that span Petty’s career with and without The Heartbreakers up until his death last year. The album will also feature covers of Petty songs by other artists. A number of An American Treasure boxset options are currently available for preorder here, and the album will be out on September 28. Listen to “Gainesville” below.
