Into the Great Wide Open

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For the song, see Into the Great Wide Open (song).
Into the Great Wide Open
Studio album by
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
ReleasedJuly 2, 1991
Recorded1990−91
Studio
  • Rumbo Studio C (Canoga Park, California)
  • M.C. Studios
GenreHeartland rock
Length43:55
LabelMCA
Producer
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology
Full Moon Fever
(1989) 		Into the Great Wide Open
(1991) 		Greatest Hits
(1993)
Singles from Into the Great Wide Open
  1. "Learning to Fly"
    Released: June 17, 1991
  2. "Into the Great Wide Open"
    Released: September 9, 1991
  3. "Too Good to Be True"
    Released: March 23, 1992 (UK and Germany)
  4. "Kings Highway"
    Released: 1992 (UK)
  5. "All or Nothin'"
    Released: 1992 (Germany)

Into the Great Wide Open is the eighth studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Released in July 1991, it was the band's last with MCA Records. The album was the second that Petty produced with Jeff Lynne, following the successful Full Moon Fever (1989).

"Learning to Fly", the first single from the album, spent six weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, tying "The Waiting" (1981) for the band's longest run atop the chart. The album's second single, "Out in the Cold", also topped the Mainstream Rock chart, though for two weeks.

The music video for the title track stars Johnny Depp as "Eddie", who moves to Los Angeles as a teenager to seek rock stardom, along with Gabrielle Anwar, Faye Dunaway, Matt LeBlanc, Terence Trent D'Arby, and Chynna Phillips.

Artwork[edit]

Featured on the album's cover is the (slightly-cropped) painting Autumn Landscape (1921) by Czech artist Jan Matulka. The original is owned by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Singles[edit]

The album's first single, "Learning to Fly", was released on June 17, 1991, two weeks prior to the album,[1] and was a substantial hit for Petty. The second single, the title track, was released just over two months after the album's release, and also became one of the band's biggest hits. Both songs were top 10 singles on various charts.[2] The third single, "Out in the Cold", was a minor hit, not achieving the commercial success of the first two. Throughout 1992, four additional singles were released: "Makin' Some Noise", "All Or Nothin'", "Too Good To Be True", and "King's Highway".[3]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Blender[5]
Chicago Tribune[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
MusicHound2.5/5[10]
Music Story[citation needed]
The New York Times(favorable)[11]
People(favorable)[12]
Q[13]
Rolling Stone[14]

Into the Great Wide Open was warmly received by critics. Dave DiMartino, reviewing the album for Entertainment Weekly, called it the closest thing to a "classic" album that Petty and the Heartbreakers had made in 15 years, and a return to the quality of their first two albums. He felt this was likely due to the involvement of Jeff Lynne, and commented that he felt the songs on Into the Great Wide Open are "obviously" better than those on Full Moon Fever, which had also been created in collaboration with Lynne.[8] Rolling Stone critic Parke Puterbaugh said the album features Petty's best lyrics and is like a cross between Full Moon Fever and Damn the Torpedoes (1979), and much better than Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) (1987), the most recent album credited to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.[14]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic was less impressed, calling the album "pleasant", but not Petty at his best, and saying that it sounds too much like Full Moon Fever.[4] In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau gave the album a one-star honorable mention,[15] which indicates a "worthy effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well like".[16]

Track listing[edit]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Learning to Fly"
4:02
2."Kings Highway"Petty3:08
3."Into the Great Wide Open"
  • Petty
  • Lynne
3:43
4."Two Gunslingers"Petty3:09
5."The Dark of the Sun"
  • Petty
  • Lynne
3:23
6."All or Nothin'"
4:07
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."All the Wrong Reasons"
  • Petty
  • Lynne
3:46
2."Too Good to Be True"Petty3:59
3."Out in the Cold"
  • Petty
  • Lynne
3:40
4."You and I Will Meet Again"Petty3:42
5."Makin' Some Noise"
  • Petty
  • Lynne
  • Campbell
3:27
6."Built to Last"
  • Petty
  • Lynne
4:00
Total length:43:55

"Attention, cassette listeners ..."[edit]

As a tongue-in-cheek reference to the "Hello, CD Listeners" interlude on compact disc releases of Full Moon Fever, on cassette tape releases of this album there is a brief spoken interlude at the end of Side One. In it, Petty instructs cassette listeners how to properly flip over their tape and prepare it for Side Two.

Personnel[edit]

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

  • Tom Petty – lead vocals, guitars (acoustic, electric, 12-string), keyboards, percussion
  • Mike Campbell – guitars (lead, 12-string, bass, resonator, slide), keyboards, backing vocals on "Learning to Fly"
  • Benmont Tench – acoustic and electric pianos, synthesizer, accordion
  • Howie Epstein – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Stan Lynch – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

  • Jeff Lynne – guitars, bass, backing vocals, piano, synthesizer, percussion, sound effects
  • Roger McGuinn – backing vocals on "All The Wrong Reasons"
  • Richard Tandy – synthesizer on "Two Gunslingers"

Additional personnel[17]

  • Jeff Lynne – producer
  • Tom Petty – producer
  • Mike Campbell – producer
  • Richard Dodd – engineer

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Into the Great Wide Open
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[34] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Germany (BVMI)[35] Gold 250,000^
Sweden (GLF)[36] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[37] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[39] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. June 15, 1991. p. 21.
  2. ^ Into the Great Wide Open (song)
  3. ^ Tom Petty discography#Singles
  4. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Into the Great Wide Open - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers". AllMusic. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  5. ^ "Tom Petty: Into the Great Wide Open". Blender. Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  6. ^ Kot, Greg (September 1, 1991). "Through The Years With Tom Petty". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2005. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  8. ^ a b DiMartino, Dave (July 19, 1991). "Into the Great Wide Open Review". Entertainment Weekly. No. 75. ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  9. ^ Cromelin, Richard (June 30, 1991). "SUMMER ALBUM ROUNDUP : A Wilbury's Further Travels". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  10. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 870. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  11. ^ Schoemer, Karen (January 1, 1992). "The Pop Life; Top 12's, or So". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  12. ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Full Moon Fever". People. 1991-12-08. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  13. ^ "Tom Petty / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into the Great Wide Open CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  14. ^ a b Puterbaugh, Parke (July 11, 1991). "Into the Great Wide Open". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  15. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  16. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG 90s: Key to Icons". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  17. ^ "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Into The Great Wide Open". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  18. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into the Great Wide Open". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into the Great Wide Open" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  20. ^ "100 Albums (CDs & Cassettes)". RPM. Vol. 54, no. 12. August 24, 1991. ISSN 0315-5994. Archived from the original (PHP) on April 19, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  21. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into the Great Wide Open" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into the Great Wide Open" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  23. ^ "トム・ペティ＆ザ・ハートブレイカーズ-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks of Into the Great Wide Open by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers] (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  24. ^ "Charts.nz – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into the Great Wide Open". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  25. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into the Great Wide Open". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  26. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into the Great Wide Open". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  27. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into the Great Wide Open". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  28. ^ "Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  29. ^ "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  30. ^ "RPM 100 Albums (CDs & Cassettes) of 1991". RPM. December 21, 1991. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  31. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  32. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  33. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  34. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Tom Petty – Into the Great Wide Open". Music Canada.
  35. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Tom Petty; 'Into the Great Wide Open')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  36. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17.
  37. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Into the Great Wide Open')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  38. ^ "British album certifications – Tom Petty – Into the Great Wide Open". British Phonographic Industry.
  39. ^ "American album certifications – Tom Petty – Into the Great Wide Open". Recording Industry Association of America.
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