Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Into the Great Wide Open

Written by Jason Shadrick

DIAL TONE

What They Use: Campbell is known for using vintage gear on the road and in the studio. During this period, he was a big fan of Rickenbacker guitars. For this recording he grabbed his trusty Rickenbacker 360/12.

When it comes to pedals, he usually keeps it fairly simple, with just a Boss GE-7 Equalizer, a Dunlop Crybaby wah and a Boss TU-2 tuner. He then plugs into several amps including a Fender blackface Deluxe Reverb, Vox AC30, narrow-panel tweed Fender Deluxe and a blackface Fender Princeton.

How to Get the Sound: For “Into the Great Wide Open,” Campbell gets a clean tone with just a little bit of overdrive for sustain. Ideally, if you can get a guitar with two humbuckers and plug into a British-voiced amp, such as a Vox AC30, you’ll find yourself most of the way there.

Use a touch-sensitive boost or overdrive, such as those from companies like Lovepedal, Xotic or Catalinbread (Campbell has been known to use a Way Huge Camel Toe Triple Overdrive), which can be dialed up or down with just a little twist of your volume knob when you need to give your sound an extra bump.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL, FREE "INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN" TAB IN THE GUITAR EDGE SEPTEMBER '10 DIGITAL EDITION

Over the last 30 years, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been an American rock institution. Formed in 1976, out of the ashes of Petty’s former band Mudcrutch, the Heartbreakers have recorded 12 studio albums and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. It is hard to imagine listening to any classic rock radio station without hearing “American Girl,” “Breakdown,” “Refugee” or any of the numerous other tunes that established them as one of the most consistent bands in rock.

Joining Petty for the last 30 years (and even longer if you include the Mudcrutch days) is guitarist Mike Campbell. Campbell’s understated but tasty lead work matched well with Petty’s songwriting talents, and the two formed one of the most successful singer/guitarist duos since Mick and Keith. Rounding out the current lineup of the Heartbreakers is original keyboardist Benmont Tench, original bassist Ron Blair, multiinstrumentalist Scott Thurston and drummer Steve Ferrone (who replaced original drummer Stan Lynch in 1994).

Director Peter Bogdanovich directed a film released in 2007 entitled Runnin’ Down a Dream, which provided fans with a four-hour look into the complete history of the group and its influence on American music. Friends such as Eddie Vedder, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Jackson Browne all make appearances in the movie. In 2010, the band released their 12th studio album, Mojo. This album marked a return to the rootsy sound of Mudcrutch due to the band recording the whole album live in the studio. “Into the Great Wide Open” appeared on the album of the same name and was released in 1991. The video featured Johnny Depp as “Eddie Rebel” and depicts the story described in the song of a small-town musician moving to Hollywood.

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INTRO AND VERSE
The Intro opens up with a slide part played by Gtr. 2. This was most likely played by Campbell and is a perfect example of his less-is-more ethos when it comes to soloing. Keep the slide directly over the fret for the best intonation. Gtr. 1 (a 12-string acoustic) strums along with a four-chord pattern that centers on the key of E minor. Notice through the progression the descending line that begins on the 4th string (E–D#–D) before going to the 5th string (C#) on the last chord. During the second Verse, Gtr. 3 enters playing an arpeggiated part that focuses on the chromatic movement described above. For the first measure, use your index finger for the E on the 4th string and then move it down one fret for the D# on beat three. In the next measure, use your ring finger for the C# on beat three.

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CHORUS AND INTERLUDE
A signature part of Petty’s songwriting style is his infectious, sing-along choruses, and this song is no different. Gtr. 3 continues with open-string arpeggios that outline the chord changes while Gtr. 1 strums a simple eighth-note based part. The chord diagrams for Gtr. 1 are found at the beginning of the transcription. Campbell plays a short and sweet four-measure solo over the Interlude. The solo is based out of E minor pentatonic (E–G–A–B–D) in both the 12th and open positions. Fig. 1 shows the fingering of E minor pentatonic in 12th position. He begins with a classic blues lick where he bends the A on the 3rd string up a half step while barring his index finger over the top two strings. For the bend on the 2nd string, use your ring finger along with your middle and index fingers for extra strength. Shift down to the tenth position for the grace-note hammer-on on the “and” of beat two. After another hammer-on for the E on the 2nd string, Campbell shifts to the open position of E minor pentatonic shown in Fig. 2.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL, FREE "INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN" TAB IN THE GUITAR EDGE SEPTEMBER 2010 DIGITAL EDITION

Want more? Check out these cool links at guitaredge.com
• Get more Tom Petty tab and jam tracks at guitarinstructor.com
• Get cool Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers gear at oldglory.com
• Get the Tom Petty: The Definitive Guitar Collection tab book at musicdispatch.com
• Download “Into the Great Wide Open” on iTunes
• Check out Tom Petty online at tompetty.com