“It’s emotIonal”

Heartbreaker Benmont tench steers Uncut through the highlights of the american treasure boxset

“Keep a lIttle soul” (Long After DArk outtaKe, 1982)

“this was the most moving one for me. i’d had it on cassette back when we first made Long After

Dark. i listened to the rough mix over and over again, and i didn’t understand why they left it off the record. i found it again last year. there’s something about the way tom sings the line ‘Don’t be afraid to live what you believe’ that really gets to me.”

“surrender” (tom Petty AnD the heArtbreAkers outtaKe, 1976)

“We put out a few versions of ‘surrender’, but it’s not on any of the official albums. it’s a song we tried to record several times. i don’t actually remember cutting it for the first record, i thought we did it for the second, but this version is from the first album sessions. We thought at the time it wasn’t strong enough, but it’s actually really great. ”

“sIns of my youth” (alternate VersIon, 2012)

“from our final record, Hypnotic Eye. on the album, it’s a brief, latin thing, but i’d forgotten we’d recorded a different version. this version is slow, it’s emotional, and the lyrics seem to have an entirely different intent. it’s more of a classic heartbreakers sound, with the guitars and the organ. it’s really terrific.”

“the Bus to tampa Bay” (hyPnotic eye outtaKe, 2011)

“it’s a story, but also a florida snapshot. tom is writing about when he was young and working in the tampa area, around st Petersburg. he worked for an undertaker for a while! there are some great bits: ‘There’s a map of Osceola and his raiders, fighting off invaders/They chopped them up and fed them to the gators…’ fantastic! tom speaking up for the people who fought against that awful genocidal behaviour. it’s delightful, moving and poignant, but also pretty funny.”

“you & me” (rehearsal VersIon, 2007)

“this is a song from The Last DJ. i didn’t remember that we had rehearsed it once in the clubhouse, and the tape was rolling. it was to play at a benefit, i think. it’s just me and tom. my piano; tom singing and playing acoustic guitar. i’m listening closely to him, trying not to get in the way, trying to follow his swing. i can’t do that any more. it’s a huge loss.”