I haven't seen anything like what Tom Petty has recently launched. Tom Petty's Superhighway Tour is an online-only music experience that delivers 24 of the 48 tracks from the forthcoming Live Anthology as high-quality digital downloads and on-demand streams in advance of the Live Anthology's release.

The site is a venerable treasure trove of Tom Petty show reviews throughout the man's storied career. It has been quite an overwhelming experience, to be completely honest with you. I was lost for several hours, just streaming audio and going through old pictures from shows ranging from London in 1980 to Tom's Super Bowl appearance.

There are currently 24 tracks available for download in MP3 and FLAC formats. But the amazing thing is the audio sounds stellar even though some of these shows are from 1980. These tracks are older than I am, but haven't aged a day.

For instance, the Refugee song from the Irvine, California in 1983, highlights the jamming ability of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The song has a groovy bassline that I didn't even know existed in the song until this song...or more specifically until the Heartbreakers broke it down to only drums and bass. You can hear the interaction between Tom and the crowd, and by God, if it doesn't feel like you are actually there.

While you are listening to the songs in one browser, I highly recommend you flip through some of the pictures in another. Classic pictures from the venue, pictures of the band performing at the venue, and fan submitted photos from the show. The pictures are of the same quality as the audio you are listening to - HIGH!



The fun doesn't stop there. For every song, like Refugee, there is the official music video, audio commentary from the band, information about the song, press reviews of the night where the song was played, the setlist of the evening and the list goes on and on. You could literally spend hours upon hours just searching and reading the site. I know, because I have.

I was skeptical about this. "Oh it is just a gimmick for Tom to make more money from his fans." It's not! It is an absolute reward for his fans. This is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers giving back to the fans who have made him into a superstar. You could buy the upcoming Live Anthology, but without the virtual tour, it is just another live disc. The online tour is such a rich tapestry of old gems from the hall of fame career of a legendary artist.

We plan on giving away two free passes to the tour so stay tuned for your chance to win.