Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers open the vaults for an new collection that traces the band's evolution from its earliest recording sessions to its emergence as one of rock's biggest bands. Origins 1971-1978 celebrates the group's 50th anniversary with 51 tracks documenting Petty's formative first eight years, including 27 previously unreleased, live, extended and unheard recordings. Every track has been newly mixed from the original multitracks by producer and engineer Ryan Ulyate for a deep dive into the making of their first two albums.

At the heart of the collection is No Sleep Til L.A., 12 tracks chronicling the band's journey from its first studio session at Miami's Criteria Studios in 1971 through the Tulsa recordings and eventual arrival in Los Angeles. Seven tracks make their debut here, while five others receive new high-resolution mixes. No Sleep Til L.A. is also available as a stand-alone 1LP, 1CD, and limited edition Zoetrope.

The box set additionally features 50th-anniversary editions of the band's first two albums, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and You're Gonna Get It!, newly mixed and remastered from the original tapes. Both include extended versions of signature songs "American Girl" and "Breakdown."

Fans also get Live From the Record Plant 1977, presented as the complete, long-sought-after KSAN-FM broadcast recorded in Sausalito, California, plus The Cut Out Bin, which collects five recordings featuring Petty working with session musicians outside the Heartbreakers including his yacht-rock experiment with Leon Russell. The latter offers an interesting look into the songwriter's early experiences before he ultimately settled on the band as the ideal vehicle for his music. 

The collection concludes with the Heartbreakers' legendary 1978 appearance on the BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test, presented with restored audio and video. BBC presenter Bob Harris remembers it as one of the greatest performances the program ever witnessed, recalling a band playing "music from another planet" before a room packed with devoted fans.

Available in 5LP, 4CD and uber-deluxe configurations, Origins 1971-1978 is rounded out by an 88-page fanzine featuring essays and liner notes from David Fricke, Bud Scoppa and Harris, track-by-track commentary from original band members, archival photographs, memorabilia, postcards and collectibles. 

The deluxe editions also include a Blu-ray featuring all 51 tracks in high-resolution stereo, Dolby Atmos and 5.1 immersive audio, along with a DVD of the BBC performance. More than a simple commemorative trip through the archives, Origins 1971-1978 is an unusually intimate look at the years when Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were figuring out who they were going to be in real time.