April 24, 1989 - Tom Petty and Full Moon Fever

A month and a half after my last release another new artist joins my library when Tom Petty released his first solo album "Full Moon Fever" on April 24, 1989. But who is Tom Petty? He's a singer, guitarist and songwriter from Gainesville, Florida who gained fame as the frontman for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This is Perty's first solo album, though joining him on this album is his Heartbreakers bandmate Mike Campbell who plays lead guitar. Tom Petty was also in another band, supergroup The Traveling Wilbury's, and he's also joined by a bandmate from that band as Jeff Lynne plays bass, additional guitar and co-wrote most of the songs with Petty. Rounding out the line-up is Phil Jones on drums. This album would end up being a massive commercial success, spawning five singles and reaching #3 on the U.S. charts. This is the only full album I have by Petty in my library, but it's certainly a worthy inclusion. Let's check it out!

The album begins with "Free Fallin'" which opens with a simple but undeniably smooth and catchy acoustic guitar riff that drives this whole song. This would be the most succesful of the five singles released off this album, and it's easy to see why. Petty begins to sing the first verse and he has a smooth and soothing voice as he sings very nicely overtop the catchy acoustic riff. Jones starts up a simple drum beat as the band settles into the main riff and Tom continues to sing a solid verse. Once they reach the chorus he belts out "now I'm freeeeeee. Free fallin'" and he sounds pretty good singing with more passion in the chorus as well. It's still the same simple guitar riff, but even though it's nothing fancy it still sounds good and it instantly gets you hooked. After another verse and chorus Campbell adds a cool new guitar part, then it's off to the next verse. It's quieter than the rest and they nicely build up until the chorus hits again with Campbell and Lynne now singing some catchy backing vocals as Petty continues to nicely belt out the chorus until it eventually fades to an end. Up next is "I Won't Back Down", another very popular single with another simple guitar riff leading the way as Petty nicely sings the first verse, singing high at times and low at others and nicely keeping things fresh. The guitars pick up a bit in the chorus and Lynne and Campbell sing some decent backing vocals again as Petty sings nice and loud overtop. Petty and Lynne seem great at writing simple, catchy hooks that aren't technically difficult but they keep your head bopping and toes tapping. After another verse and chorus we hear a slow but decent solo from Campbell, then they jam out the chorus several times until the finish. Track 3 is "Love Is A Long Road" and Petty plays a light and repetitive rhythm guitar riff and Campbell plays some heavier, cool lead guitar overtop to set up this main riff. Once the rhythm section joins in Petty begins a solid verse and it leads into a similar chorus with Campbell playing some solid guitar and Petty nicely singing the name of the song in another catchy chorus. After another verse and chorus Campbell plays a decent little guitar solo that is nowhere near shredding but it's faster than the other solos and it sounds pretty good. They return to the beginning and rebuild the main riff before playing a final verse and a few final choruses to predictably end another decent song. The next song is "A Face In The Crowd", the least succesful of the five singles. It's driven by a slow and pretty sad acoustic guitar riff that is alright but certainly not as exciting as the upbeat acoustics on the opener. Petty sings sadly along to match the mood and this seems like a very odd choice for one of the singles as it's easily the least catchy song so far. The chorus is basically the same riff but with Petty singing the name of the song instead of new verses. Lynne's bass is decent in the background but most of this song is pretty unexciting. It's not bad, but it's unimaginative as they just slowly jam through this riff for the whole four minute song. Campbell tries to spice up the ending with some new guitar, but it falls pretty flat and doesn't add much. "Runnin' Down A Dream" on the other hand is the exact opposite of the last song as they kick right into a fast and catchy main riff led by some cool guitar. The lead guitar falls away as Petty begins a pretty epic verse and Campbell comes in and out with the lead guitar riff while Tom carries things with his smooth voice. The chorus is very catchy as well and it has some cool acoustic guitar along with the fast singing by Petty as this was yet another hugely successful single, and this one makes sense! Petty's lyrics about driving along are very relatable and he delivers them very well as he tells a story overtop the catchy upbeat music. After another verse and chorus Lynne and Campbell start singing "woo-ooh" in the background and it surprisingly sounds pretty good for such a simple part. They return for another verse, play the chorus a couple times through, and then start the "woo-ooh" part again that sets the stage for an epic guitar solo! Campbell plays a long solo that is fantastic with lots of wicked guitar that outshines everything we've heard so far. He really does an excellent job with this solo and it takes us all the way to what seems like the end of the song, but we hear Tom say "Hello CD listeners. We've come to the point in this album where those listening on cassette, or records, will have to stand up or sit down and turn over the record or tape. In fairness to those listeners, we'll now take a few seconds before we begin side two........ Thank you. Here's side two." I think it's a fun little extra bit.

Side two features much shorter songs, starting with "Feel A Whole Lot Better" which is a cover of The Byrds. It's driven by yet another simple but catchy guitar riff that goes on and keeps the pace for the whole song. Petty sings nicely along to the music as they quickly jam through a few verses. Campbell adds a cool guitar bit overtop that isn't quite a solo but sounds pretty cool and then they play a final verse before Campbell returns to play out the end of the song. Up next is "Yer So Bad", the final very succesful single. A cool acoustic guitar riff leads the way as Petty nicely songs overtop. The chorus is very catchy as we hear some decent guitar alternating with Tom's singing. His smooth voice sounds pretty good and it's hard not to like these breezy and catchy songs. All the shorter songs on this side establish their mood and riff and then basically just jam it out for a couple minutes. There's not much more than the verse and chorus being repeated but when it's a short and catchy song like this it works just fine. They keep rolling along with "Depending On You" which fits the same mold as the song is carried by a light and breezy acoustic riff. Petty sings lightly in the verse but picks up the volume to sing the chorus. Lynne plays a decent bass riff in the background to keep the pace as they jam through another verse and chorus before Campbell plays a light but solid solo. Then it's back to the main riff for a final verse and chorus to close it out. Track 9 is "The Apartment Song" and it has a very upbeat, toe-tapping main guitar riff and Petty sings nicely along about living in a crappy apartment when he was younger. They quickly jam along this catchy riff for a couple verses then Jones picks up the pace with some pretty good drums in a brief bridge, but then "the whole thing starts again", a pretty fitting description!  There's some cool piano at the end, but it fades out in the middle of it, boo! The next song "Alright For Now" is the shortest song at just two minutes and it's a soft and quiet one with some light acoustic and electric guitar. Together it sounds pretty calming and Petty sings a fitting verse to match this calm and peaceful music. They slowly play a couple verses in this short song and while it's not a headbanger, it was a cool little song. Track 11 is "A Mind With A Heart Of It's Own" and a fast-paced and catchy acoustic guitar riff drives the song and most of this album could've been singles! Petty sings a nice verse overtop and the chorus has Tom singing the name of the song while Campbell and Lynne provide some more catchy backing vocals. It makes for another catchy song but they just repeat this formula and Tom never seems to really experiment too much. The album concludes with "Zombie Zoo" and some cool keyboards open the song and are present throughout as Petty leads another upbeat verse. It's a typical main riff but the keyboards give things a fresh feel actually. Petty's lyrics are about a teenager rebelling and it's another undeniably catchy song. You can't help bop your head along to this commercial beat and I like when everything slows down and Tom sings "she shows up with her friends half alive". It's another repetitive song, but in this case, and most of Petty's cases on this album, the song is so damn catchy that you don't care. A fun way to end this album.

That is the end of "Full Moon Fever" and I thought that despite being a very commercial and accessible kind of rock, Tom Petty delivers a pretty good album! All the songs have great hooks and there are several very memorable songs, with my favourite easily being "Runnin' Down A Dream". It's my only full album by Petty in my library, but he will show up again with a few more undeniably catchy songs!