Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Into The Great Wide Open CD Track Listing

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Into The Great Wide Open (1991)
Originally Released July 2, 1991 \n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Since Full Moon Fever was an unqualified commercial and critical success, perhaps it made sense that Tom Petty chose to follow its shiny formula when he reunited with the Heartbreakers for its follow-up, Into the Great Wide Open. Nevertheless, the familiarity of Into the Great Wide Open is something of a disappointment. The Heartbreakers' sound has remained similar throughout their career, but they had never quite repeated themselves until here. Technically, it isn't a repeat, since they weren't credited on Full Moon, but Wide Open sounds exactly like Full Moon, thanks to Jeff Lynne's overly stylized production. Again, it sounds like a cross between latter-day ELO and roots rock (much like the Traveling Wilburys, in that sense), but the production has become a touch too careful and precise, bordering on the sterile at times. And, unfortunately, the quality of the songwriting doesn't match Full Moon or Let Me Up (I've Had Enough). That's not to say that it rivals the uninspired Long After Dark, since Petty was a better craftsman in 1991 than he was in 1983. There are a number of minor gems -- "Learning to Fly," "Kings Highway," "Into the Great Wide Open" -- but there are no knockouts, either; it's like Full Moon Fever if there were only "Apartment Song"s and no "Free Fallin'"s. In other words, enough for a pleasant listen, but not enough to resonate like his best work. (And considering this, perhaps it wasn't surprising that Petty chose to change producers and styles on his next effort, the solo Wildflowers.) -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nInto The Great Wide Open..., August 10, 2005\nReviewer: Jared Jongeling (USA)\n...and under them skies of blue. Who hasn't heard the title song from this popular album? \n\nTom Petty had just been at his peak with Full Moon Fever, an expiramental side project that proved to be the most successful work Tom has ever laid down in history. Tom once again rejoined with the Heartbreakers, and with some effort and collaboration, wrote "Into The Great Wide Open". \n\n"Great Wide Open" was surprisingly and shockingly good, considering that it followed "Full Moon Fever", an album that defined a legacy of TPATH, and sold more copies than any album in Heartbreaker history. FMF was a tough album to top - many artists wouldn't have been able to pull off an album like that, let alone follow up to it. So how was Tom going to keep his career in line, and follow up with something that didn't sound like another FMF, but wasn't too far from the shoreline? I know I certainly couldn't have done it. Only musical geniuses like Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne could make it happen one more time. \n\nThough not a chart-topping album, I.T.G.W.O. was, and still remains a classic to this day. The unforgettable "Learning To Fly", the fast-paced "King's Highway", the cooly "Two Gunslingers", the heartfelt "Out In The Cold", the catchy "All The Wrong Reasons"... there's plenty of Heartbreaker genius to be offered on this album. \n\nJeff Lynne has once again proved himself to be a genius musically, and a genius behind the console. I can't even begin to explain how open, airy, and wide this record sounds. \n\nDon't be fooled into thinking this record is subtle Tom Petty material. I.T.G.W.O. features some of Tom's best work, IMO, and should not be left out of any collection. \n\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\n"Fer all the raw-hong rea-sons", May 26, 2005\nReviewer: R. L. MILLER (FT LAUDERDALE FL USA)\nThis is sort of a side-stream effort when you consider the fact that Petty made his mark with the jangly Roger McGuinn sound that prompted my brother to call the Heartbreakers "the Mockingbyrds". If the truth be known, it was their musical resemblance to the Byrds that turned me on to them in the first place back in the "Damn the Torpedoes" days. Oddly enough, though, this album's better songs are the mellow ones. The opener "Learning To Fly" is a poor choice for a first track. Look at how many people click onto that first song and say "fuggeddabouddit" if it doesn't turn them on". I mean, it sounds like George Harrison at his worst. You take the title song, with its timeless leaving-home theme (in the manner of Sir Elton's "Blues For Baby and Me") and you're talking. Likewise "For All the Wrong Reasons"--my personal favorite--a story of a dissolving household. The Ben E King-flavored "Built To Last" is the other side of the coin--enduring, resilient love. The one good rocker on here is the Derek & the Dominos-sounding "Making Some Noise", because "All or Nothing" makes a lot of it--noise, that is--without being much of a song. You might say that Petty left his rocking chops behind him temporarily after he finished "Full Moon Fever", but look at the albums beyond this one and you'll find he eventualy got them back.\n\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nToo Good To Be True, August 14, 2004\nReviewer: Gianmarco Manzione (St. Petersburg, FL USA)\nIf you've followed classic rock for long enough you know that everything Jeff Lynne touches turns to gold. Solely responsible for resurrecting the careers of Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Tom Petty and even Dylan briefly (producing the incredible "Tweeter and the Monkeyman"), Lynne's work with ELO, the Wilburys and the just-mentioned legends comprises one of the most immense contributions ever made to rock by a single human being. Neither Lynne nor Petty have ever been known for the power of their pens. Music is what they make, and if the lyrics seem a bit slight throughout this otherwise brilliant album, it is because for Petty, as for The Strokes' Julian Casablancas, the words tend to be little more than a device; an opportunity at strengthening the vocal and musical structure of a given song. While petty and The Strokes come from entirely different eras and aesthetical perspectives, both acts are brilliant at manufacturing the perfect pop song. But then we have Lynne, whose instinct for the sound of great pop rock is outdone only by the tandem of Lennon and McCartney. Many of the tracks here boast this flawless combination of vaguely interesting lyrical narratives with explosive rock 'n roll. "Makin' Some Noise" is just the kind of sonic triumph Lynne made his name on: booming, blasting and banging its way into the listener's psyche with all the permanence of a tattoo. Here, though, petty manages to tell a story with Springsteen-like Panache; that down-to-earth vividness that walks you through a tale so real you can taste it: \n\nWhen I was a young boy \nI was working for the state \nI wasn't makin' much money \nI was staying out late \nGo down at nighttime and \nPlay music in the bars \nTake my breaks out underneath the stars \n\nIt isn't exactly Dante, but this is just the kind of gritty worldliness that rock 'n roll was made for, and petty's got his finger on the pulse throughout much of the album. To my ears, "Kings Highway" is a rushed and jarring affair, while the well-written "All Or Nothin'" plays like a stale echo of "Free Falling" and suffers from a predictable self-consciousness. Everything else here, really, is magical. From the catchy title track's subtle jab at the business to the divine "Learning to Fly" or the stomp and sway of "You and I Will meet Again," there is enough meat and potatoes here to feed a nation. With the possible exception of middle-of-the-road performances like "Mary Jane, "Honeybee" or the band's great Thunderclap Newman cover, Petty & Co. really only reached this kind of intensity again on the astonishing "Echo" some years later. That isn't to say that these guys don't still have some gas in the tank, but it sure does say a lot about this overlooked masterpiece. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nFull Moon Fever redux, November 19, 2003\nReviewer: A music fan\nPetty, Lynne, and Campbell's follow-up to "Full Moon Fever", this time with the rest of the Heartbreakers joining in, has much the same sound, with predictably corny touches. If you liked the previous CD (who didn't?) you're likely to enjoy this one, though perhaps not as much. The melodies are perfectly crafted, with a couple of nice Beatle-esque touches on "All or Nothin'" and "You and I Will Meet Again" and a less endearing (to me) 50's sound on "Built to Last" (which closes the CD with a sweet or possibly saccharine chorus). As on "Full Moon Fever", while some of the songs are meant to be silly, they are rarely embarrassingly so. When the lyrics are at their best, however - clear and heartfelt, as on "Kings Highway" - they aren't complemented properly by the cheerful pop music. "Makin' Some Noise" is this CD's echo of "Running Down a Dream", and nearly as enjoyable.\nI'm not sure whether one of the other reviewers was right about many of the lyrics being trite, or whether another was right that they're meant to be impressionistic. Certainly they're often unclear, sometimes telling a story that really does have an interesting or impassioned feel but that is difficult to follow (E.g. "Too Good to Be True" or "Out in the Cold"). I can't figure out whether the title track is terminally silly, terminally jaded, or both. Does it contain a serious jab at the music business, or is it just meant as goofy fun? (I always thought the latter, but who knows after "The Last DJ"?) And what on earth is "the dark of the sun"? Ignoring that meaningless phrase, the song has fine lyrics. \n\n"Into the Great Wide Open" is a transitional CD. It marks the end of the Jeff Lynne collaboration, which worked to slightly better effect on the previous "Full Moon Fever" as well as on the brilliant Traveling Wilburys CD's. It also marks Tom Petty writing more substantive lyrics again and reuniting with his longtime band, though the lyrics and the band's sound come fully back into their own only on the following CD, "Wildflowers".\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nInto the Great Wide Open, September 25, 2001\nReviewer: jorf (Minneapolis, MN USA)\nThis CD is the accessible yet misunderstood peak of Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne's work together. Great Wide Open is good enough that it doesn't need to lick the boots of Petty's other albums, especially Full Moon Fever (which has several very weak tracks to my ears). This CD is always described as Full Moon Fever's lesser cousin, but I think it's significantly better than FMF, so there. \nI have nearly all of Petty's albums, and this CD, together with Hard Promises and (parts of) Wildflowers, is unsurpassed in my opinion. The sound mix is absolutely shimmering, smooth and gorgeous, sounding better than any subsequent Petty release (to me). It's like they had analog recording perfected on this album, then they went and got a harsher sound with Wildflowers. \n\nDid I mention this is one of the greatest driving albums of all time? It has this inexorable drive through the tracks that some mistake for bland monotony. Petty's just trying to make a stylistic point -- a dead end, but a fully realized one. I love every song on this CD. Petty's singing is great, Stan Lynch's drumming is uncommonly versatile (check out the last track), Mike Campbell's guitar lines are just timeless perfection, and it's all so well recorded. The songs are generally underappreciated jewels.\n\nIf Petty had more MTV play or more sales from this album, it would have been hailed a masterpiece. For my part -- not to disparage different things he's done over the years -- I think this is his best work.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nMythology in sound, June 28, 2000\nReviewer: Joburgpete "irridium" (Johannesburg)\nAmerican mythology is the overriding theme on this album: those vast limitless horizons, the highway, gunslingers, the wild West. Petty is a myth maker on a par with Springsteen, with an equal talent for imagery and metaphor. His nasal whine was made for producer Jeff Lynne's expert application of soaring, soothing and chugging guitars, while the melodies are mesmerising throughout. Most compelling tracks are the title one, Learning To Fly, king's Highway, All The Wrong Reasons and Built To Last with its resonant echoing boom. A richly textured album that opens up more and more sonic delights with every listen.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nLynne and Heartbreakers not the best mix, November 4, 1998\nReviewer: Billy Austin "avid listener" (New York, NY USA)\nThe album combines what are perhaps Petty's best lyrics ever with a sound that muffled the Heartbreakers from doing what they do best. Check out "Out in the Cold," an extended rocker that strains against to sound natural and rock hard. Can't. \nOr compare the version of "Kings Highway" with live versions that have circulated. Stripped of the gooey synths and voice-backups, it's a wondeful, poignant chugger. \n\nThe Hearbreakers--Mike Campbell, Stan Lynch, Howie Epstein and Benmont Tench--have always been a great, relaxed band, capable of folk, rock, punk, and extended jams. Unfortunately, Lynne's production hems them in, rather than letting them breathe. "All the Wrong Reasons" is a virtual remake of "Free Fallin'" And "Built To Last" may be the band's lowest point on record. That said, check out the guitar work on "All or Nothin'," the wonderful lyrics on "Learning To Fly" and "You And I Will Meet Again,". Most of these songs show the pain and confusion that come from growing up, particularly in a world where many factors conspire against you. The album came out in the summer of 91, right in the middle of a terrible recession, and just when I graduated from college. The lyrics rang true, but on the whole, this one just doesn't gel for Petty and the boys. Check out "Hard Promises," "Long After Dark," or "She's The One" for examples of how this band does and can work. Aside: "Into the Great Wide Open" marks Stan Lynch's last appearance with the band on record -- unless you count his work on their boxed set. This was a great drummer, and his absence is felt by fans.\n\n\nHalf.com Details \nContributing artists: Jeff Lynne, Roger McGuinn \n\nAlbum Notes\nTom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, percussion); Mike Campbell (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards, bass); Benmont Tench (accordion, piano); Howie Epstein (bass, background vocals); Stan Lynch (drums, percussion).\nAdditional personnel: Jeff Lynne (guitar, keyboards, bass, background vocals); Richard Tandy (synthesizer); Roger McGuinn (background vocals).\nProducers: Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Jeff Lynne.\nRecorded at Rumbo Recorders, Studio C, Canoga Park, California.\nPetty once represented the new wave of pop in the late 70s. There was an edge of punkiness to his music and that has served him well throughout his career. Very few stars as unassuming as Petty have courted all audiences and succeeded. This is a Jeff Lynne production, which would usually have had pundits making a heretic cross with their fingers. Fortunately, it was listened to for what it was: an excellent album of Petty songs played by the best support band in the world. "Learning To Fly," for example, has a simple repeated four-chord pattern, F C Am G, and out of this Petty has woven the perfect pop song. One of many.\n\nIndustry Reviews\nSimple, eloquent stories about growing up and making sense of one's youth.\nNew York Times (01/01/1992)\n\n..a surprising return to form. - Rating: B+\n\n\n4 Stars - Excellent - ..poignantly exhilarating... bracing with the sensation of the top down and wind in your hair.. One of Q Magazine's 50 best albums of 1991.\nQ (08/01/1991)
This rock cd contains 12 tracks and runs 44min 12sec.
Freedb: 9c0a5a0c
Buy: from Amazon.com

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