Full Moon Fever Is Tom Petty's Perfect Summer Drive
Photo: Tom Petty on stage in Tokyo — photo by Takahiro Kyono, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Petty's first solo album is pop-rock with every ounce of fat trimmed off — and the hits just keep coming.
Full Moon Fever was the first time Tom Petty put his own name on the cover without the Heartbreakers — though guitarist Mike Campbell was right there co-producing with Jeff Lynne. Lynne's signature sound, all chiming acoustics and pristine drums, gave Petty a bright new sheen without sanding off a grain of that famous drawl.
“No wasted notes. No song a second longer than it needs to be. Pop craftsmanship doesn't get cleaner.”
Side one is a greatest-hits set
The opening stretch is borderline unfair. "Free Fallin'" sketches a whole suburban Los Angeles life in a handful of chords and one aching falsetto chorus. "I Won't Back Down" turns pure stubbornness into an anthem stadiums still sing back. And "Runnin' Down a Dream" closes the side on a Campbell riff that sounds exactly like an open highway at 80 mph.
Side two loosens its collar, and it's all the better for it — including a gleaming cover of the Byrds' "Feel a Whole Lot Better," a tip of the hat to the jangle that ran through Petty's veins.
The verdict
An album with no filler and no ego, just song after song that feels like it's always existed. Windows down, volume up.
