"Love Is a Long Road" is a song by Tom Petty from his 1989 first solo album "Full Moon Fever". Although only released as the B-side to "Free Fallin'" in the UK, and not released as a stand-alone single, it received a fair amount of radio airplay. In the U.S., it peaked at No. 7 on the "Billboard" Album Rock Tracks chart.
Background.
The rock song was co-written by guitarist Mike Campbell, who was inspired by a motorcycle he owned. The musician told "I was really into that frame of mind. This feels like a motorcycle shifting gears." "Love Is a Long Road" appears on the 2000 double-disc compilation album "", as well as on the 1995 box set "Playback". 
Critical reception.
Another one of Petty's late-1980s songs which looks back at a fractured romance, AllMusic describes the song as sounding like a stripped-down version of the Who's classics "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again", and one of the most powerful rockers on the album. 
"Rolling Stone" ranked the song at No. 38 in a list of Petty's 50 greatest songs.
Media usage.
In 2023, the song was used in the first trailer for the video game "Grand Theft Auto VI". It led to a 36,979% increase in streams on Spotify, skyrocketing from less than 5 million to nearly 40 million streams within a span of a few months.
References.
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