Album Essentials: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers "Damn The Torpedoes"
By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor
By the time of his third album, Tom Petty's audience, along with his bravado, had been continuously growing. Gone were any hesitations or uncertainty, Petty and his Heartbreakers were here to stay! "That was a record where life was never gonna be the same again," said Petty, in a look back at this classic essential.
Released in October 1979, 'Damn The Torpedoes' was the self-assured ‘shot heard 'round the world’ we knew Petty had in him from day one. Over the course of the first two albums, 'Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers'(1976) and 'You're Gonna Get It' (1978), Petty had shown himself a powerful new force on the music map. The janglin’ yet raw guitars, mixed with vintage harmonies, and a rock solid premise, was a perfect fit for the era. In fact, when they first emerged, the press, and public, weren't sure what to make of T.P. and band. Reviews often threw them in with the punk scene, and later the 'new wave' tag was applied. Try finding the records in a record store, and you were just as likely to find him in the 'rock' section as in the 'New Wave' bins. Though that may seem quaint now, at the time it was serious business and honestly, the confusion made sense. Tom, and his back to roots and attitude, had much more in common with the new bands arriving like Blondie, Ramones, and so on, than they did with the likes of Kansas or Boston.
Radio favorites like 'American Girl' and 'Listen To Her Heart' set them apart early on, but by the time 'Refugee', from 'Damn The Torpedoes,' hit the airwaves, it was like a bolt of lightning. Here was all of Tom's ties to The Byrds, Dylan, the Animals, and so on, rolled into one track, a track that connected with radio and fans, setting the stage for phase two of Petty's journey. Written by Petty, and guitarist Mike Campbell, 'Refugee' hit the American charts at number 15, setting the stage for the follow-up, 'Don't Do Me Like That,' which would bust into the Top 10 shortly thereafter.
"We may have recorded 'Refugee' a hundred times,” recalled producer Jimmy Iovine. "It was just relentless, and I don't know if that was everything just coming together, but I tell you what, it came out great. I'm proud of that record and it sounds great every time I hear it." The album was recorded under stress brought on by a band lawsuit. Earlier in the game, Petty's label, ABC/Shelter, had been sold to MCA Records. Petty contested that his contract couldn't be sold or adopted by another company without his go ahead and sued the label. In the process, the label countersued for breach of contract with the whole legal mess spilling out into the recording process along the way. The venom and anger brought on by the legal woes may have ultimately added fuel to the fire, found evident within the recordings of these classic songs. "I think it made the music sort of anthemic," recalled Petty.
The album plays like a greatest hits record! In addition to the aforementioned singles, we've got 'Here Comes My Girl,' 'Shadow Of A Doubt,' 'Century City, 'Even The Losers,' 'What Are You Doin’ In My Life,’ and 'Louisiana Rain,' among others. "It was a real mission," said Petty. "We were gonna make this record, and it was gonna be great!" The album went on to sell multi-platinum, as it hit number two on the Billboard charts, held status as one of the year's top sellers, and has taken on a life of its own over the 45 years that have followed. In many ways, it remains the signature Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers album. Essential doesn’t begin to cover its significance, not only in his catalog, but in the story of rock and roll.