Long After Dark
Studio album by
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
ReleasedNovember 2, 1982 (1982-11-02)
Recorded1981–82
Studio
  • Record Plant (Hollywood)
  • Wally Heider's (Hollywood)
  • Crystal (Hollywood)
  • Rumbo (Los Angeles)
GenreHeartland rock
Length37:44
LabelBackstreet
Producer
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology
Hard Promises
(1981) 		Long After Dark
(1982) 		Southern Accents
(1985)
Singles from Long After Dark
  1. "You Got Lucky"/"Between Two Worlds"
    Released: October 22, 1982
  2. "Straight into Darkness"/"A Wasted Life"
    Released: 1982
  3. "Change of Heart"
    Released: February 1983

Long After Dark is the fifth studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released November 2, 1982, on Backstreet Records. Notable for the MTV hit "You Got Lucky", the album was also the band's first to feature Howie Epstein on bass and harmony vocals. Epstein's vocals are prevalent throughout the album and from that point on, became an integral part of the Heartbreakers' sound.

Two other singles from the album were released, "Change of Heart" and "Straight into Darkness". The first of these joined "You Got Lucky" in the Billboard top 40. In July 2018, "Keep a Little Soul", an outtake from Long After Dark, was released as the first single to promote Petty's box set An American Treasure. "Keeping Me Alive", another outtake from the sessions for the album,[1] was a Petty favorite, and was eventually released on his and the Heartbreakers' 1995 box set Playback, as well as on An American Treasure.

Reception

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2023)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[3]
Chicago Tribune[4]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
The Essential Rock Discography5/10[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tom Petty, except 2, 5, 8 and 9, co-written by Mike Campbell

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."A One Story Town"3:06
2."You Got Lucky"3:37
3."Deliver Me"3:28
4."Change of Heart"3:18
5."Finding Out"3:36
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."We Stand a Chance"3:38
7."Straight into Darkness"3:49
8."The Same Old You"3:31
9."Between Two Worlds"5:12
10."A Wasted Life"4:35
Total length:37:44

Personnel

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Additional musicians

Production

Chart performance

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2023)

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Long After Dark
Chart Position
Australian Albums Chart[11] 77
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[12] 17
New Zealand Albums Chart[13] 25
Swedish Albums Chart[14] 20
UK Albums Chart[15] 45
United States Billboard 200[16] 9

Certifications

Certifications for Long After Dark
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[17] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[18] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Zollo, Paul. Conversations With Tom Petty (2005): 81–83.
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ "Tom Petty: Long After Dark". Blender. Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  4. ^ Kot, Greg (1991-09-01). "Through The Years With Tom Petty". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  5. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: tom petty and the heartbreakers".
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2005. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  7. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 816. ISBN 978-1-84195-827-9.
  8. ^ "Long After Dark". Rolling Stone. 20 January 1983.
  9. ^ "Tom Petty: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  10. ^ "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Long After Dark". Discogs. 1982. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 37, No. 20". RPM. 1983-01-15. Archived from the original (PHP) on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  13. ^ "charts.nz — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Long After Dark". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  14. ^ "swedishcharts.com Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Long After Dark" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  15. ^ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Artist: Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  16. ^ "Allmusic: Long After Dark : Charts & Awards : Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  17. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Tom Petty – Long After Dark". Music Canada.
  18. ^ "American album certifications – Tom Petty – Long After Dark". Recording Industry Association of America.
Categories