Tom Petty Releases ‘Playback’ Rarities Discs to Digital Services

Tom Petty fans who've always wanted the rarities included in 1995's Playback box without springing for the entire set have finally seen their dreams come true.

Petty has released the two CDs' worth of material, titled Through the Cracks and Nobody's Children, to a list of digital distributors that includes Spotify, Amazon and Apple Music, expanding his online offerings to include a chunk of archival tracks spanning 1973 to 1993 — including recordings from his pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch as well as demos, alternate versions and covers.

Originally released in 1995, Playback put a capstone on Petty's long association with MCA Records, collecting the many hits he amassed during his tenure, as well as a healthy assortment of deep cuts. Along with 1993's massively successful Greatest Hits album, it offered a persuasive testament to Petty's nearly unparalleled gift for bridging the gap between AOR and Top 40 during the '80s and early '90s.

Earlier this year, Petty opened his vaults from the Wildflower era, releasing "Somewhere Under Heaven," a track from Wildflowers: All the Rest, an upcoming release collecting a second disc of material recorded for his 1994 solo LP.

There's still no official release date announced for All the Rest, perhaps because Petty is focusing on recording a follow-up to his 2008 album with Mudcrutch. He said he was "frantically working on material" over the summer, adding, "Some of the most fun I have is those Mudcrutch sessions. It was just so much fun, and I think that’s one of the better albums I was ever involved in. I’m hoping it’s something like that again."

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