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Petty had always worn his influences on his sleeve: like many of his American peers preferring to see himself as part of a lineage rather than a new order replacing worn out models (ironically the Heartbreakers had been seen in the more easily iconoclastic UK as something akin to New Wave). But Full Moon Fever was a chance for Petty to both take stock AND openly acknowledge his influences. Nowhere was this more evident than on his cover of the Byrds' Feel A Whole Lot Better. Of course everyone over the age of 25 knew that he sounded just like Roger McGuinn, but here the uncanny resemblance was made plain. Other songs addressed nostalgia while examining how he'd reached this level of success. Hit single Free Fallin' mistily looked back at a childhood sweetheart (''She's a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis... I'm a bad boy for breakin' her heart") left in his wake as he left Florida for the West Coast in search of stardom, while Runnin' Down A Dream mentions the teenage years of listening to Del Shannon. The album's other hit, I Won't Back Down, similarly 'fessed up about the hard-nosed attitude needed to make it in such a cut-throat business.
Tracklist
A1 Free Fallin' 4:14
A2 I Won't Back Down 2:56
A3 Love Is A Long Road 4:06
A4 A Face In The Crowd 3:58
A5 Runnin' Down A Dream 4:23
B1 Feel A Whole Lot Better 2:47
B2 Yer So Bad 3:05
B3 Depending On You 2:47
B4 The Apartment Song 2:31
B5 Alright For Now 2:00
B6 A Mind With A Heart Of Its Own 3:29
B7 Zombie Zoo 2:56