Tom Petty
Full Moon Fever

THE REVIEW

In 1989, the singer-songwriter Tom Petty, famous all over America since 1976, decided to step away from his backing band, The Heartbreakers, for a while to pursue (if it can be called that) a solo career, which would last in name for a few albums. "Full Moon Fever" is the first of these albums, but not only that: it is also the evidence of Tom Petty's artistic maturity, of his complete musical and, in a sense, spiritual harmony. Perhaps it's because he is accompanied by guests of enormous caliber such as Roy Orbison and George Harrison or the bassist of E.L.O. (with whom he would later form the Traveling Wilburys), or perhaps it's just the fact that he put his heart into writing this work: and when Tom puts his heart into something, you simply cannot be disappointed.

What characterizes Full Moon Fever compared to previous albums is the sound: you can indeed perceive a slight shift towards the Eighties, towards a less rough and more refined atmosphere mainly due to the significant influence of his friend and bassist Jeff Lynne.

The album opens with "Free Falling", which will become the flagship song of Petty & Co., with which the artist will forever be labeled and, rightly so, associated. The track is indeed one of the most beautiful that Tom has ever written: with his vocal tones, his words, the way he makes his Rick & Backer sing, accompanied by the fantastic choruses of Cambell and Lynne, he manages to convey and transmit a mixture of various feelings, like anger, sadness, love, loneliness, tenderness... a timeless masterpiece!
Immediately followed by "I Won't Back Down", now famous, which is accompanied by the melodic weeping guitar of George Harrison: it quickly makes its way onto the American charts. The sound is very Eighties, and especially very different from what one usually expects from Petty, namely music heavily inspired by Byrds, Beatles, Springsteen, and Dylan. Aspects that are found slightly in "Love Is A Long Road", which, in fact, if it weren't for the intro keyboard, could easily have been part of the album "Into The Great Wide Open". Follows another new experiment that Tom feels the need to do: with "A Face In The Crowd", he opens the dance to sad-ballads, intense goosebump-inducing songs, electric yet melancholic, characterized by his epic and emotional voice, so sweet and sad at the same time. Such pieces can also be heard in subsequent albums, especially in "Wildflowers" and "Echo". From melancholy, the stage is left to the absolute delirium of "Running Down A Dream", a wonderfully successful hard rock piece, with a powerful guitar riff and a compelling refrain that captures from the first and delightful listens. The final mega-solo is also praiseworthy, again affirming the importance of the group's right-hand man, Mike Campbell.
A shift in sound detaches itself from the rest of the songs in "Feel A Whole Lot Better", "Depending On You", and "Apartment Song" where Petty seems to return to heartbreaker origins in the style of "The Waiting," with rock'n'roll and beat reprisals, in a delightful melodic excitement. At this point, it is time to pick up the acoustic guitar, and play the first thing that comes to mind, like "Yer So Bad", simple and brilliant, enchanting with its vigorous pick strokes and mocking words. Separate praise should be given to "All Right For Now", two minutes of pure poetry, of chills and feelings, represented by an acoustic arpeggio and Tom's voice as a musical instrument, so passionate and poignant. Contrasting this small moment of magic capable of transporting you far from the real world, there is "A Mind With A Heart On Its Own", a successful and fun semi-gospel, with black choirs and even a reprise, which with a fading introduces the album's closure, "Zombie Zoo": once again, one would never have expected such a commercial and modern acoustic sound from a Tom album, but not for this reason less appreciable, on the contrary, often evolutions are the fruit of artistic maturity of great value.

Perhaps the most beautiful album of all, along with Wildflowers, by one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time.