Maps of Music

Full Moon Fever (1989)

Where the lyrics of Full Moon Fever take you, and where it was really made.

MCA's own label head had refused to release this album, believing it had no hits, and the label only changed its mind after he resigned.

Key places

Rumbo Recorders (1989)

Recording site Rumbo Recorders — Listed as a recording location for Full Moon Fever, with the studio named in the album credits. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sunset Sound Recorders (1989)

Recording site Sunset Sound — Listed among the additional recording studios for Full Moon Fever in the album credits. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Devonshire Sound Studios (1989)

Recording site Devonshire Sound Studios — Listed among the additional recording studios for Full Moon Fever in the album credits. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Conway Recording Studios (1989)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Listed among the additional recording studios for Full Moon Fever in the album credits. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Full Moon Fever is the debut solo studio album by Tom Petty
• Released April 24, 1989, by MCA Records
• Contributors include Heartbreakers member Mike Campbell, plus Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and George Harrison
• Harrison, Lynne, Orbison and Petty were three of his Traveling Wilburys bandmates
• Songwriting is mainly Petty and Lynne, and Lynne also produced the album
• Peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200

Background

• Petty decided to record a solo album after finishing a 1987 Heartbreakers tour behind Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)
• He made the album without the Heartbreakers, a choice that caused some controversy within the band
• Nearly all Heartbreakers members contributed; only drummer Stan Lynch did not
• Recording took place in 1988 and was a low-key affair with many of Petty's friends taking part
• Members of the Traveling Wilburys contributed, except for Bob Dylan

Recording

• Mainly recorded in the relaxed atmosphere of Mike Campbell's garage studio
• Petty later said it was the most enjoyable record of his career
• Recording was interrupted to make time for the first Wilburys album
• Additional recording took place at several other Los Angeles-area studios
• Petty wrote Indiana Girl during the sessions, an early draft of Mary Jane's Last Dance

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Artist

Early life

• Thomas Earl Petty was born October 20, 1950, in Gainesville, Florida.
• He grew up in the Northeast Gainesville Residential District, known locally as the Duckpond.
• His interest in rock and roll began at age ten, when he met Elvis Presley on the set of Follow That Dream.
• After seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, he decided he wanted to be in a band.

Formation

• He formed the Epics, which later evolved into Mudcrutch.
• Their only single, "Depot Street" (1975, Shelter Records), failed to chart.
• Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Ron Blair and Stan Lynch formed the first lineup of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Members

• Core lineup: Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Ron Blair (replaced by Howie Epstein in 1982), Stan Lynch.
• Lynch's last recorded performance with the band was for the Greatest Hits package.

Career

• Hits with the Heartbreakers include "American Girl", "Don't Do Me Like That", "Refugee", "The Waiting", "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Learning to Fly".
• Solo hits include "I Won't Back Down", "Free Fallin'" and "You Don't Know How It Feels".
• In 1988 he was a founding member of the Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne.
• The Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
• He sold more than 80 million records worldwide.
• He died October 2, 2017, of an accidental prescription drug overdose.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone compared the album favorably to the Traveling Wilburys' debut, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1
• Rolling Stone gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five, calling it another rewarding, low-key side project for Petty
• Rolling Stone also said the album at times seems sprawling
• The Boston Globe noted that the album's unpretentiousness and crisp, non-doctored sound make it irresistible
• The Orlando Sentinel said Lynne's production is sometimes a little too clean

Reappraisal

• AllMusic gave the album four and a half stars out of five in a retrospective review
• AllMusic rivaled the album with the Heartbreakers' Damn the Torpedoes
• AllMusic noted that the album has no weak tracks and called it a minor masterpiece
• The 2004 Rolling Stone Album Guide called Full Moon Fever a masterful solo album
• Michael Hann of Uncut described it as a '70s rock'n'roller successfully capturing the best of '80s pop

Records

• Peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and No. 8 in the UK
• Five singles released; two reached the top 20 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
• Three singles topped the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart
• Certified 5x platinum in the US by the RIAA on October 5, 2000
• Certified 6x platinum in Canada by the CRIA on September 18, 1991
• Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2019
• Ranked number 298 in Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of all Time

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Trivia

• The original CD release hides a track in the pregap of Track 6, where cassette and LP listeners would have to flip sides
• The hidden interlude is a brief monologue by Petty over barnyard noises credited to Del Shannon
• Some US limited edition promo CDs included a bonus live performance of Free Fallin'
• MCA under Irving Azoff originally refused to issue the album because it was thought to contain no hits
• Recording was paused so the first Wilburys album could be made

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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