Into the Great Wide Open

iTunes Review

Into the Great Wide Open reunites Tom Petty with producer Jeff Lynne, who helmed Full Moon Fever and played with Petty in the Travelling Wilburys. While Lynne brought his patented brand of thick, layered power pop to the Heartbreakers, he also encouraged Petty to simplify his hooks. “Learning to Fly” and “Into the Great Wide Open” are two of Petty’s most basic melodies, but that’s exactly what makes the songs indelible. The latter song bears the influence of John Lennon — in particular, Lennon’s talent for blending fragile, somber melodies into the context of a rock song. Petty uses the same trick, to great effect, on “Two Gunslingers” and “All or Nothin’.” While there is sadness underneath some of these works, Into the Great Wide Open lives up to its title by offering several songs that evoke clear sky and freedom. There is trouble and worry underlying “The Dark of the Sun,” “All the Wrong Reasons,” “Too Good to Be True,” but it’s barely noticeable because the songs are so open and bright. The album closes with the faith and optimism of “Built to Last,” which could be an atmospheric update of an old sock-hop hit by Sam Cooke or Arthur Alexander.