Into the Great Wide Open

Tom Petty, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 2, 1991)
• Original Release Date: July 2, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B000002OH3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,861 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Guitar Album June 21, 2005

By Phil G. Wilbury

Format:Audio CD

Arguably one of the best things which happened to Tom Petty was that he met Jeff Lynne. Petty purists and lovers of his early music may disagree, but during the mid eighties, Petty was enduring a rather cold winter of music which many music veterans suffer throughout their career. Jeff Lynne helped put Petty back on track with both Full Moon Fever and this great album, probably one of the best of his career.It also proved that the Lynne/Petty partnership brought about magically extraordinary results. Since this album Petty's music even though missing the wonderful production of Jeff Lynne has been irresistible, Wildflowers, She's The One, Echo and the The Last DJ are all superb beautifully crafted pieces of music.

Into The Great Wide Open is a wonderful full sounding rocking album with addictive, professional tunes which entice the listener in. It's got all the great hooks you expect from Lynne, along with the good natured cynicism you get from Petty when he's in form. Mixed with superb Lynne production and fabulous guitar work from the amazing Mike Campbell you've got a winning and unbeatable team.

This is a brilliant album, probably not as catchy as Full Moon Fever but there's no denying it's got rhythm, the right mood and lot's of style. I just dearly hope one day soon Jeff Lynne & Tom will see fit to make another album together and thrill us one more time.

Essential Listening

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "I Don't Know How, I Don't Know When, But We Will Meet Again!" March 28, 2007

By A Minstrel in the Gallery

Format:Audio CD

This cd, a bit unexpectedly, has become one of my all-time favorite Tom Petty albums. Of course, "Learning To Fly" and the title track are bonfide classics that still can be heard on the radio, but there are some real hidden gems here that I am still wondering why they didn't become hit singles. These include the inspiring "We Will Meet Again", the powerful "Two Gunslingers" and also "King's Highway." In fact, there is not a bad song on the whole album. This is one of those dics that after one or two listens, you'll have most of the songs memorized. I did! One of TP's most overlooked projects, but one every Petty fan should hear.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Underrated is an understatement July 30, 2002

By Ben

Format:Audio CD

I simply can not believe some of the reviews that this album has gotten. I am a die-hard Petty fan, own and love all of his albums, and I have to say that this is one of my favorites. The songs on this album are reflective, and cover just about every mood and emotion. There is no better pleasure than listening to this album from beginning to end. Though his next album (excluding Greatist Hits) Wildflowers often gets the praise in Petty's newer works, I always felt that a few song were off on that one. On this album, they are all on target. My favorites are King's Highway, Two Gunslingers, You and I Will Meet Again, and All the Wrong Reasons (though it is a bit like Free Fallin', it is still great on its own). What a record!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars And even better! (Hi Jeff!) October 1, 2004

By Odd Magne Granli

Format:Audio CD

Full Moon Fever, produced and written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, is nothing short of a masterpiece. It must have been, because they teamed up again to create Into the Great Wide Open. Guess what, they did it again. While Into the Great Wide Open is a little bit different than Full Moon Fever, in my opinion they took the best parts of Full Moon Fever and turned it into Into the Great Wide Open, a album that is even BETTER.

Full Moon Fever had many fantastic songs, some of them far better than most here, but it had a bit too big difference between the fantastic, the good and the okay songs. The problem is almost non-existing on Into the Great Wide Open, where the album is far more consistent all over, a listening experience without stops, a journey through a musical soundscape perfected on the Full Moon Fever.

Once again, Petty and Lynne have written and produced it, but unlike Full Moon Fever, Petty has written some really great songs alone here too, but he really shines along with Lynne.

-Learning to Fly: This song really is beyond any explanation. It ranks just below I wont Back Down as personal favorite, and it can be seen as a sort of sequel to the song, in terms of sound and style. In any way, it is one of Petty`s best. As Always, Lynne made sure it would be as good as it became.

-King`s Highway: An Upbeat rocker by Petty, with a nice overall sound.

-Into the Great Wide Open: Legendary. Petty&Lynne created a smashing hit with this one, about a lucky guy who gets a shot at stardom in the music industry. The Chorus is fantastic.

-Two Gunslingers: Great upbeat song by Petty again, with a nice little story that is fun to listen to. In style with King`s Highway, which can only mean good things....

-The Dark of the Sun: A Beautiful song by Petty&Lynne, one of the best on the album. The Chorus and the build-up to it is great.

-All or Nothin`: Good Rocker with a chorus that have a bad habit of popping up in your head whenever you dont expect it.

-All the Wrong Reasons: A Nice song by Petty&Lynne, with a fun and sweet sing along Chorus.

-Out in the Cold: Ah, Best Rocker on the Album. Smashing Upbeat by Petty&Lynne, with roots back to both Petty`s and ELO`s older styles, while keeping a nice, clean sound with Petty`s unique vocal. One of the only songs with a real "solo", and it does one heck of a job with it too.

-You and I will Meet Again: I love this song. There is just something special about it, and it holds up well when compared to the co-written songs. Written by Petty.

-Built to Last: One of the best on the album. Petty&Lynne finishes their work on this fantastic album with this gem.

I am left speechless after a round with Into the Great Wide Open in my CD Player. It is for me, the absolute evidence of the magic between Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, something neither have managed to recreate alone, or with others. As soon as those two get together, something happens. They wrote several of Roy Orbinsons biggest hits too, including the ever-famous "You Got it" and "California Blue", and further evidencing what happens when two musicians have as much Chemistry as Flowers and Bees.

No one can ignore the importance of these two albums. While Lynne is in the background, and Petty is the face, they were equal parts that made up the sum that is one of the best Poprockers ever. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars high quality Petty September 26, 2004

By Missing Person

Format:Audio CD

I'll admit I'm not a huge Tom Petty fan, however, this 1991 album is a very solid one that spotlights Petty at his best. The album is spiked with some big high points that rank among his best tunes ever. If you're looking for some good music to listen to while you're cruising down the highway, this album really hits the spot; Petty doesn't slow the tempos very much on here--even on ballad-ish tracks like "Two Gunslingers" & "You And I Will Meet Again", the tempos are surprisingly brisk. There are a bunch of breezy feel-good tunes like the simple-but-effective "Learning To Fly", the splendidly tuneful "The Dark of the Sun", the coming-of-age tale "Two Gunslingers", & the optimistic "Kings Highway". There are a couple of absolute gems with the arrestingly dreamy, fittingly-titled "Too Good To Be True", & the high-flying, irresistably riffy "Makin' Some Noise", with a fantastic grumbling guitar riff (presumably thanks to Mike Campbell who gets a co-write on the tune), & "Out In the Cold" is a solid uptempo rocker as well. With its abundance of fine material, & thoroughly energetic, spirited performances on track after track, Petty really shines on this album. As with the previous album, "Full Moon Fever", Jeff Lynne plays a strong role here--he co-wrote 8 of the 12 tracks; and he serves as the primary producer, giving the album a characteristically Lynne-esque sound that's quite similar to that of ELO's 1983 album "Secret Messages". Lynne and Petty, of course, had also worked together in the Traveling Wilburys, and it appears that the two worked very well together, with Lynne helping to bring out the very best in Petty.... Between Lynne & the co-producers of Petty & Campbell, they really managed to give the album a highly appealing guitar-powered sound (very mild use of synths) that's bright, crisp, & punchy, which helps drive the material home--there are healthy doses of crisp, strummed acoustic & ringing electric, and the songs are never less than pleasant, even when they're somewhat dull (such as the "Free Fallin'"-esque "All the Wrong Reasons"). I've read how this is considered to be kind of a second-rate "Full Moon Fever"--I don't know, sometimes it seems to me like critics just roll the dice to determine which albums an artist puts out are good ones, as opposed to actually LISTENING worth a damn. This is a solid rock 'n' roll album, & it's worth picking up. Read more ›