The album, which became Petty's commercial peak as an artist, was helped by favorable critical reviews and three hit singles. The album was released on April24, 1989, and rose to eventually peak at No.3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and No.8 in the UK. Five singles were released from the album; two hit the top 20 of the U.S. Billboard Hot100 and three topped the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart. The Orlando Sentinel opined that "Lynne's production is sometimes a little too clean, and there's nothing earthshaking or innovative going on... But when was the last time you picked up an album this solid: tough, pretty, good rockin', no filler?" Ultimate Classic Rock wrote, "By all measures, Petty’s first solo effort, Full Moon Fever, was an unequivocal success."
AllMusic gave the album four and a half stars out of five in a retrospective review, admiring the craft of the album and rivaling it with the Heartbreakers' Damn the Torpedoes. Michael Hann of Uncut characterises it as "a '70s rock'n'roller at last successfully capturing the best of '80s pop, which is perhaps why Full Moon Fever remains a touchstone whenever a young band wants to get the sound of '80s AOR down pat." It was ranked number 92 on Rolling Stones list of the 100 best albums of the 1980s, In 2000. it was voted number534 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.
Track listing
"Hello, CD listeners ..."
The original compact disc release of the album contains a hidden track in the pregap of Track 6 ("Feel a Whole Lot Better"), at the point where cassette or LP listeners would have to flip sides to continue. The track consists of a brief tongue-in-cheek monologue by Petty, over a background of barnyard noises (credited to Del Shannon). The interlude is not included in the vinyl or cassette versions of the album; it is referred to as "Attention CD Listeners" in the CD liner notes. On some later CD and digital releases, it is added to the end of "Runnin' Down a Dream", rather than the beginning of "Feel a Whole Lot Better".
Notes
- Some US limited edition promo CDs included a bonus live performance of the track "Free Fallin'"
Personnel
- Tom Petty – lead and backing vocals, 6- and 12-string acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, tambourine, handclaps, barnyard noises in the "Hello, CD listeners ..." interlude
- Mike Campbell – 6- and 12-string electric lead guitars, mandolin, bass guitar, slide guitar, Dobro, keyboards
- Jeff Lynne – bass guitar, acoustic rhythm guitar, guitar synthesizer, keyboards, backing vocals, handclaps, barnyard noises in the "Hello, CD listeners ..." interlude
- Phil Jones – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- George Harrison – acoustic guitar and backing vocals on "I Won't Back Down"
- Jim Keltner – drums, maracas and tambourine on "Love Is a Long Road"
- Howie Epstein – backing vocals on "I Won't Back Down" and "Love Is a Long Road"
- Benmont Tench – piano on "The Apartment Song"
- Roy Orbison – backing vocals on "Zombie Zoo"
- Kelsey Campbell – scream on "Zombie Zoo"
- Alan Weidel – handclaps on "Feel a Whole Lot Better"
- barnyard noises in the "Hello, CD listeners ..." interlude credited to Del Shannon
Production
- Produced by Jeff Lynne with Tom Petty and Mike Campbell
- Engineers: Mike Campbell, Don Smith, and Bill Bottrell; Dennis Kirk on "Love Is a Long Road"
- Assistant engineer: Alan "Bugs" Weidel
- Mastered by Steve Hall
- Art Production: Awest
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+Weekly sales chart performance for Full Moon Fever
! scope="col"| Chart (1989–1990)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian ARIA Albums Chart
|13
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Dutch Mega Albums Chart
|62
|-
!scope="row"|German Media Control Albums Chart
|41
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand Albums Chart
|5
|-
!scope="row"|Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart
|2
|-
!scope="row"|Swedish Albums Chart
|2
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums Chart
|7
|-
!scope="row"|European Albums Chart
|align=center|100
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|19
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+1990 annual sales chart performance for Full Moon Fever
! scope="col"| Chart (1990)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|Canadian Albums Chart
|52
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand Albums Chart
|48
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|22
|}
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" border="1"
|+2017 annual sales chart performance for Full Moon Fever
!scope="col"|Chart (2017)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums Chart