Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Angel Dream (Songs And Music From The Motion Picture "She's The One") (LP) - Cobalt Blue Vinyl

Angel Dream is one of those reissues that actually earns its second life. First out as a limited blue LP for Record Store Day on 12 June 2021, then widely on 2 July, it reframes Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1996 soundtrack for Edward Burns’ film She’s The One as a straight-up band record from the Wildflowers era. The estate’s been careful with this part of the catalogue, and you can hear the same care that went into Wildflowers & All The Rest in the new mixes by longtime Petty collaborator Ryan Ulyate. It plays like a lost 90s Heartbreakers album, not a grab bag tied to a movie.

The core players are the classic unit that bridged Petty’s first decades and his 90s renaissance. Mike Campbell’s guitar parts gleam and bite, Benmont Tench colours everything with Hammond and piano, Steve Ferrone locks the groove with a steady, soulful snap, and Howie Epstein’s harmonies and bass lend that calm lift Petty’s songs love. Rick Rubin’s original production DNA is still here, but the sonics feel brighter and more focused, so the songs stand on their own. It is a tidy lesson in how a considered remix can shift context without losing character.

The title track, Angel Dream, floats in on a lilting rhythm and those weightless Petty chords that seem to arrive with a sea breeze. He sings with that gentle ache he did so well in the mid 90s, an older romantic now, not the hard-charging kid from the early LPs. The record’s surprises strengthen that feeling. 105 Degrees, previously unreleased, is a barroom rocker that breaks a sweat, the band sounding loose and hot as asphalt. One of Life’s Little Mysteries carries a light country lilt, all small details and a warm vocal that makes even the shrugging title feel tender.

Then there is French Disconnection, an instrumental that lets Tench and Campbell stretch out in minor-key mood, the rhythm section keeping things sleek and cinematic. Petty always had a knack for covers that felt like his own, and the rerelease keeps JJ Cale’s Thirteen Days, which shuffles with dusty ease. The band plays it like a road song you find on the radio between small towns, which suits the whole film-era origin of this music.

If you remember the original Songs and Music from She’s The One, you will notice the reshuffle. The estate pulled the focus toward the Wildflowers material and away from the more overt soundtrack cues, to present a consistent Heartbreakers record. It makes sense, and it lines up with what fans and critics have said for years, that the Wildflowers sessions were a deep well. After the big 2020 box set, this feels like the companion piece that lets some songs breathe without being dwarfed by the classic hits.

What really lands is the feeling in the performances. Ferrone had just joined the band in this period, and you can hear the pocket he brought, a relaxed but sure-footed pulse that gives Petty the space to lean into phrasing. Campbell’s tones are tasteful, never fussy, and Tench is as lyrical as ever, turning simple progressions into something glowing. Petty’s writing from this era balanced weary wisdom with plain-spoken hope, and these tracks hit that sweet spot.

On vinyl, the record is a pleasure. The RSD pressing turned heads, and the standard issue is clean and dynamic, which is exactly what you want if you are crate-digging for Tom Petty vinyl. If you collect Tom Petty albums on vinyl, Angel Dream earns a spot next to Wildflowers. And if you are hunting online rather than wandering into a Melbourne record store, it is the ideal gateway to buy Tom Petty records online without just doubling up on the radio staples. Angel Dream vinyl gives you both the familiar glow and a few corners you may not know by heart.

There is a quiet cultural footnote to all this. She’s The One was an Edward Burns film from the mid 90s, the era when Petty was navigating a new chapter, and the soundtrack originally felt a bit overlooked. This reissue corrects that. It is not a greatest hits set, and it is not pretending to be. It is a warm, carefully curated window into a band at ease with itself, still chasing the perfect take. For listeners in Australia still devoted to flipping through racks of vinyl records Australia can be proud of stocking, it is a no-brainer. Put it on, let the room fill with that glow, and you will hear why the Heartbreakers remain the standard for American rock craft, even in the cracks between the milestones.