Track Listing

1. Free Fallin'
2. I Won't Back Down
3. Love Is a Long Road
4. A Face in the Crowd
5. Runnin' Down a Dream
6. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better - Tom Petty, Clark, Gene [1]
7. Yer So Bad
8. Depending on You
9. The Apartment Song
10. Alright for Now
11. A Mind With a Heart of It's Own
12. Zombie Zoo

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2225 in Music
• Published on: 1989
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com essential recording
Ten years had passed since Petty's last solid outing (Damn the Torpedoes in 1979), and Full Moon Fever fully resuscitated the artist's career, which--some would say "arguably"--had been losing steam. With the album's four major hits and rave reviews from the critics (these things do not always go hand-in-hand), Petty must have breathed a sigh of relief. He left the Heartbreakers behind, hooked up with musician, writer, and producer Jeff Lynne, and rocked out with "Runnin' Down a Dream," got mellow and introspective on "Free Fallin'" and "A Face in the Crowd," and paid tribute (finally) to the Byrds with a cover of "Feel a Whole Lot Better." He perfected the sing-along guitar-pop song on "Yer So Bad" and had a wild time on "Zombie Zoo." Pure Petty perfection! --Lorry Fleming

Customer Reviews

Blame it On The Moon
After more than a decade of working with The Heartbreakers, Tom Petty took a breather and decided to fly solo. Well, sort of. "Full Moon Fever" is a Tom Petty album in name, but features songs co-written by Mike Campbell (who co-produced), and features Campbell, Howie Epstein and Benmont Tench on assorted songs.

What set this apart from the Heartbreakers' work was the impressive guest list. ELO's Jeff Lynne produced, Roy Orbison and George Harrison - three of the Traveling Wilburys - sang (and Del Shannon contributes 'barnyard noises'), along with a crack group of session cats. Lynne's fascination with roots rock hybrids (Dave Edmund's Information and some of his ELO songs) meshed perfectly with Petty's new direction, and Petty brought his strongest album's worth of songs since Damn the Torpedoes.

The result was an album that was consistent all the way through, with Petty sounding loose and relaxed. There's his terrific anthem "I Won't Back Down," the rocking "Running Down a Dream" and the powerful tribute to Los Angeles, "Free Fallin'," some of the best singles he's ever done. Finally, there's a serious affirmation of his influences with the Byrds' "Feel a Whole Lot Better" marking Petty's first cover.

The non-hits here carry "Full Moon Fever" to the top of the ratings. The single-acoustic guitar of "Alright For Now" was one of the simplest pieces Petty ever committed to tape and one of the most beautiful. "Zombie Zoo" is a lighthearted laugh of a rocker, and "Yer So Bad" has a great sense of humor in it. There really isn't a bad song in the bunch, with the weakest ("Apartment Song") still better than some of his other album tracks. It's a classic album from an artist that already had two five-star albums under his relatively young belt.

a mind with " LYRICS" of it's own. ????????
Of all the songs Tom petty has ever wrote, the song-"A MIND WITH A HEART OF IT's OWN", maybe the most AWSOME music i have heard him play. "BUT" This has the most terrible (STUPID) lyrics, I have ever heard -----and just shoot-downs the song. WHY? If you are ever going to change one song in your career TOM, keep the CHORUS line the same, and please rewrite the lyrics. This music to this song, and chorus line are awsome. Write, something like "my girl friend left me for a lawyer.....a mind with a heart of it's own......or I got into a fight with a boss....A mind with a heart of it's own.......My dog never barks....a mind with a heart of it's own......etc. Honestly the lyrics, in the song make everyone nut's------but----they love the song (music). It would be great to save this good song and rewrite the lyrics and put it on a REMASTER OF THIS ALBUM. HECK ! it would be another hit.SERIOUSLY, I aint the only one that agrees. This is the only mess-up ,in your collection.

Nice Variety
A pretty strong album from Tom Petty, Full Moon Fever offers up a great mix of harder, driving rockers and slower, more laid back numbers. The result is an album that never leaves a listener bored for lack of variety.