I can't stand the sound of his voice, so, yes, he ruined it for me.

Well, since I'm a HUGE Petty fan (just saw him 7/2 in Chicago and 7/5 in Wisconsin), anyone covering his work seems a bit sacreligious to me. I'm just glad he didn't try to do "Refugee" or "Breakdown" or anything more classic than this one.

Nope, he didn't ruin it for me. I like hearing creative re-workings of classic songs and I think Mayer actually wrote an interesting arrangment. It takes nothing away from the original. Plus, Daivd Ryan Harris is amazing. Listen to his solo stuff. Trust me.

I like John's version, but I still love Tom Petty's the best.

I agree with you Lala!

I downloaded this the other day ... I like it but I agree Tom Petty's is still the best.

Doesn't bother me at all. They are both very different and I enjoy when somebody takes a risk. Usually they don't work, but in this case it turned out alright. Tom Petty and that song are such icon's it really doesn't matter, nothing can or will take it's place.

Tom Petty's version outshines John's by far.

You can't expect a remake of any of the old classics to be BETTER than the original, but I loved John Mayer's arrangement...I just remembered why it is I fell in lust with him at a concert...

I feel the way he sang the song, not just the musical arrangement, added new meaning to it...like, Tom Petty's version is happy sort of to be free falling, esp as he is more emotional on the "free" part, but john mayers version sounds like while he is happy to be free fallin, he is also may have a regret or to before he got to that point...in any case, kudos to jm for not tyring to copy the song, beucase then it could have been disasterous...

anytime he needs me to stand in and be his guitar, someone just let me know...

It's ok on its own, but compared to the original it's a giant mess.

i LOVE john's version! i agree 100 percent with cravinsugar on the "feeling" you get from it! whats the point of covering a song if you're gonna sing it the exact same way as the original? i think he's smart enough to know that he could not even come close to tom, lol. but john's slowed down, acoustic version gives the song a fresh vibe i can totally appreciate.

I think Petty sucks the sack, honestly.

I do enjoy Mayer's voice though I have to say.

I thought it was a beautiful version, though obviously not as good as the original. As a musician, I love to hear other musician's takes on other musician's songs. To me, it is almost like paying homage to a great like Tom Petty. John Mayer probably loved that song, and wanted to show Petty respect by re-working in his own way. And, Petty probably feels flattered when someone takes his music and arranges it in a way that has meaning for that person. It shows that Petty's music has inspired them in some way, and isn't that what creating art and music is about?

Well, Mayer didn't "ruin", ruin the song, but he took an amazing Tom Petty song and turned it into an generic John Mayer song. I've never liked John Mayer, I think all his music sounds the same, and his version didn't excite/fill me in the same way Petty's does.
Mayer is good at whatever it is that he does to sale concerts- but Petty was/is amazing.
While covers/reworkings are fun, I don't agree with too many of the ones out there.. don't mess with my favorites, it hurts me. ha.

As a Mayer lover, I feel my opinion would be a little biased. But here goes anyway. To me the whole point of doing a cover is putting your own spin on it. Or else it's just a waste of time and money. It shouldn't be the same, is what I'm saying. And Mayer's version is also completely acoustic, so it could never have that "rock out" feel that Petty brought to the song. Petty's version was/is awesome. That goes without saying. But think about Mayer's version. My little sis, who has no idea who Tom Petty is loves Mayer's version on it's own. So she doesn't like it because it's a Tom Petty cover. She likes it because it's a good song. And I think that really highlights Mayer's artistic abilities.

That was a nice spin on it. I always enjoy when artists do creative interpretations of classics (when done well...*ahem* not so much Avril's Knocking on Heaven's Door a while back.)

I don't mind it at all.

Ummm ... no way. Leave Tom Petty's stuff alone - you do quite well with your OWN stuff. But this ... this is just wrong, dude.

Of course Tom Petty is awesome but I love John Mayer and I think what he did with this song is prett amazing! Not ruined for me one bit it's completely acoustic what can be better

The verses in John Mayer's version were good, but I didn't like the chorus.

John Mayer did a wonderful version of Free Fallin; it's just a matter of what style music you prefer. Personally I like Mayer's version better however the orginal is also a classic.

It would be one thing if John Mayer didn't have a large number of original songs that he has written, but he does. He doesn't have to cover other artists' work, but he can. I like this version. Tom Petty's is better because it is the original and amazing without it ever being reworked. John Mayer covered "Message in a Bottle" by the Police and he didn't do an amazing job on that cover. He did better this time around.

I love Tom Petty, and I love John Mayer. I love that John did it acoustic rather a full on cover. (Much as he did with The Police on his Any Given Thursday dvd.) He didn't make it better or worse, just different. His take on it is just more to the gut, and I think Tom Petty's is right at the heart. John's digs deeper, but that doesn't detract from Mr. Petty.

He totally sucked the life out of Tom's song. I love "Free Fallin" and just didn't cut it.

I couldn't even bother to hear over John's wacko faces.

Despite his pop lifestyle, John Mayer is a BRILLIANT musician.

surprisingly like the Mayer version but Tom is still the winner!!

I loved it!!! I love the original, and John's is great. It's just his own personal, acoustic take on it which he pulls off quite nicely!!!

i rather love it.

He did not ruin it at all. I love Tom Petty, and I will always love the original. But John's version gives me goosebumps and I've been listening to it constantly since I got my WTLI cd. I love his voice, and I love what he did with this song. It's so simple and pure, and the way he sings it gives the song a totally different feeling/meaning to me than the original. Both are great. It's too bad for the people who don't appreciate his music because they are missing a lot. I just saw him in concert last night, and no matter what people may think of him from what he does/says off stage, he is so, so generous and humble to his fans.

He didn't ruin it. It's great to listen two versions of the same song, both amazing.

i TOTALLY love mayer's version of the song!
i bought it on itunes and i basically listen to it over and over. it's just so relaxing and chill
it's great!

i liked it so much, i added it to my myspace page, lol!

Love the original, adore this version!

To be honest I haven't heard the original and maybe one day I'll get around to - but I love John's version to the point of adoration. His voice, the acoustics - love it all!

I signed up just to comment on this question. First of all, I'm a huge Petty fan - but, Mayer completely blows Petty away on his remake of a Petty classic. His command of the acoustic guitar is remarkable and adds new depth and complexity that Petty never achieved.