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Post by 88keys on Mar 27, 2016 4:49:39 GMT
My choice this time is one most of you have probably heard; Tom Petty's 1989 smash hit Full Moon Fever, produced by Jeff Lynne.
Songs Free Fallin' I Won't Back Down Love Is A Long Road A Face In The Crowd Runnin Down A Dream Feel A Whole Lot Better Yer So Bad Depending On You The Apartment Song Alright For Now A Mind With A Heart Of It's Own Zombie Zoo
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Post by jrmugz on Mar 27, 2016 12:38:57 GMT
Cool CD, 88, looking forward to giving it a fresh spin and sharing my thoughts.
Look for some feedback from me by mid-week or so.
Jim
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Post by unomusette on Mar 27, 2016 20:34:52 GMT
Never actually heard the whole album, here's my big chance, looking forward to it
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Post by Chippa on Mar 28, 2016 6:26:52 GMT
I haven't listened to this one start to finish, in a long time! I'll get to it very soon.
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Post by Helmut83 on Mar 28, 2016 7:03:35 GMT
I own it. I may be biased, but I think most of the good songs from this album are the ones which Jeff Lynne co-wrote ("Free fallin'", "I won't back down", "Zombie Zoo", "Running down a dream"...); the exceptions are "The Apartment Song" -I love that one and it's to credit fully to Petty- and the pretty decent cover of the Byrds' "I'll feel a whole lot better". Good album, even if featuring a few weak tracks.
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Post by dillwyn on Mar 28, 2016 14:53:40 GMT
Yes I own this one as well and that i think is the good thing about this thread it makes you revisit with new ears. With the paul mc one i enjoyed it a lot less than i remember but this one is the opposite.
First off I totally agree with Helmut here. The best songs by far are the co-written ones and that must represent over 50% of the album. For me actually in some ways it represent a post-ELO creative peak for JL as well. Beautifully recorded, well written, fun, kind of took more risks than anything else that came after.
The fantastic singles helped garner 5M sales in the US, which at that point this would have heralded a massive commercial upturn for TP. in my view, this is better than cloud 9, wilbury 1( and 3) run close by the few songs on the roy orbison album. I may love armchair theatre a little more but this album is mostly killer very little filler. To this day i still feel it is too short. If he had added indiana girl (which became last dance with mary jane) this album could have been in many more people's top 10 of all time.
top tracks - Free falling, i won't back down, running down a dream not so great - love is a long road, depending on you
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2016 4:17:49 GMT
I wasn't a Tom Petty fan until I heard this album back in 1989. I admire the songwriting and his knack for capturing a moment with just the right lyric.
The best songs on this record are the magnificent Free Fallin, Yer So Bad, A Mind With A Heart of It's Own, and The Apartment Song. I remember Free Fallin being absolutely everywhere during the fall and winter of '89. What a song.
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Post by queenofthehours on Mar 29, 2016 18:45:37 GMT
Oh 88keys , you've picked a great one here! Can I just take a short-cut and give it 10-out-of-10?
No, really, I'll get to reviewing it properly but I love this album. Every single track. There aren't many albums that contain no filler whatsoever and this is all killer. If this cd hadn't been chosen I'd have picked it myself .
I had to return the first copy I had on CD because the "Hello CD Listeners" part was missing!
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Post by jrmugz on Mar 30, 2016 17:44:29 GMT
OK 88, here's my take on tp fmf:
01. "Free Fallin'" - Laid back and nice feel but always gave me the creeps with the "bad boy" stuff in the lyrics. 02. "I Won't Back Down" - Great inspiring classic with classic George Harrison guitar. 03. "Love Is A Long Road" - Loose rocker with the typical Petty hooks. 04. "A Face In The Crowd" - Interesting lyirc of how just another person can enter into our lives. 05. "Runnin Down a Dream" - Best song on the CD, all the right power and hooks. Sheer delight every time. 06. "Feel A Whole Lot Better" - Enjoyable cover of a Byrds classic. 07. "Yer So Bad" - Begins a very fun portion of the CD. 08. "Depending On You" - Pure fun, pop genius. 09. "The Apartment Song" - Keeps the string of fun pop-rock genius going. 10. "Alright For Now" - Nice change of pace. 11. "A Mind With A Heart Of It's Own" - All the humor and hooks of a great rock song. 12. "Zombie Zoo" - Average rocker with interesting lyric.
Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Prime Cuts: "I Won't Back Down", "A Face in the Crowd", "Runnin' Down a Dream", "Feel a Whole Lot Better", "Depending On You" Bottom Line: Vintage tunes from autehntic artist, enhanced by winning combination with Jeff Lynne.
I'll always consider "Damn the Torpedoes" to be his best; but this one ranks pretty high up there too, maybe his second best.
Thansk 88, that was a lot of fun and a great experience. So much so, I'm going to play it again right now. I have you marked down for next open spot in a couple months or so from now.
Jim
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Post by Chippa on Mar 30, 2016 21:42:14 GMT
Free Fallin' – A straight-up Petty classic. Love the harmonies, especially “Ventura Boulevard”. According to Tom, Jeff Lynne actually came up with the title. Not a bad thing to put on your resume!
I Won't Back Down – Chugging rhythm and the slide guitar are great touches, and again, the backing vocals are stellar.
Love Is A Long Road – Not my favorite, but still a decent song. Probably the most dated song on this album, due to the very 80’s keyboard sound.
A Face In The Crowd – A big, acoustic strummer. A bit of a dark feel, which is cool. Nice slide guitar courtesy of Heartbreaker Mike Campbell.
Runnin Down A Dream – A breathless rocker, with that memorable guitar riff. Always loved the acoustic guitar in the chorus. Killer solo from Campbell, again.
Feel A Whole Lot Better – Fun take on the Byrds classic. Apparently, Tom was inspired to cover this after he and Jeff saw the Byrds reunion tour, and they did this song live.
Yer So Bad – Fun and catchy. Almost an homage to an early Kinks song.
Depending On You – Another shiny pop song, with hooks galore.
The Apartment Song – Jeff came up with the drum break, which Tom called the “Buddy Holly on steroids” bit. More ear candy.
Alright For Now – A brief respite from all the silliness and up-tempo songs. Not bad, but I don’t revisit this song much.
A Mind With A Heart Of It's Own – The Bo Diddley beat turned up to 10! If I remember the story correctly, the title of this song was inspired by the old 60’s ballad “My Heart Has A Mind Of It’s Own”, by Connie Francis.
Zombie Zoo – Fantastic closer. Love the lyrics, which Tom described as “Jed Clampett visiting Hollywood”. Del Shannon contributes some of the backing vocals to this great pop song.
Overall, this gets a 9/10. One of the great records from a prolific period of recording and songwriting, for both Tom and Jeff.
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Post by unomusette on Mar 30, 2016 21:56:29 GMT
I'm going to be late reviewing this as I'm away to Spain tomorrow and won't be back until next week. But I have a feeling it's going to be quite a good review....
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Post by joeyjoejoejr on Mar 30, 2016 22:34:04 GMT
I remember reading an interview with Roger Mcguinn. He said that when his manager played him Tom Petty's version of "Feel a Whole lot Better" Mcguinn's reply was "when did I record this?"
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Post by 88keys on Apr 1, 2016 19:46:38 GMT
Thanks for the input, ya'll. I'd rank the songs like this
The Great Free Fallin' Zombie Zoo I Won't Back Down Running Down A Dream
The Really Good Love Is a Long Road Yer So Bad Feel A Whole Lot Better Mind With A Heart Of It's Own
The Good Alright For Now The Apartment Song Depending On You Face In The Crowd
There isn't a bad song on the album, in my opinion.
There actually were a couple of songs recorded during the sessions, which didn't make the final cut. Waiting For Tonight, which features backing vocals from The Bangles.
The horn-driven Down the Line
And the somewhat unfinished Don't Treat Me Like A Stranger
Tom also started writing a song called Indiana Girl, during the sessions, but abandoned it. He revisited the song a few years later, and it became the huge hit Mary Jane's Last Dance.
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Post by jrmugz on Apr 2, 2016 12:01:41 GMT
Those three tunes were pretty good.
Jim
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Post by jrmugz on Apr 2, 2016 12:19:05 GMT
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