Customer Reviews

Damn the Torpedoes

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers third release, which has served as their commercial breakthrough, is also one of rock's most finely crafted albums. Damn the Torpedoes was recorded with the genius producer, Jimmy Iovine, in the midst one of Petty's most stressful ordeals - a heavy lawsuit with his new label MCA. Through the yearlong court battle, Petty did not only write some of rock's greatest tunes but recorded them with the utmost discipline to create his first, but not final, masterpiece. This is evident from the opener, "Refugee", which is now considered Petty and the Heartbreakers' ultimate classic. The fun does not stop there, however, as Petty and the Heartbreakers rip through the rest of Side 1 with such energy and rock and roll spirit that would put the Stones to shame. Side 2 starts off with Petty's first Top 10 and instant classic, "Don't Do Me Like That" as it gently flows into a more eclectic approach with hints of soul and rockabilly. The album ends with a little bit o' country in the form of another Petty classic, "Louisiana Rain", a perfect ending to one of rock's finest moments.

Other Petty classics: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1st album), Southern Accents, Full Moon Fever (Tom Petty solo), Wildflowers (Tom Petty solo), Echo.

-Nate Kirk

"Damn the Torpedoes" was the album that pushed Tom Petty solidly into the mainstream and gave him a large audience. Deservedly so, for this is a fine album. The two best songs, "Refugee" and "Here Comes My Girl," kick things off in fine form and things roll along from there. Petty and the band are just getting the feel of being major rock stars. Their signature sound was perfected on this record. The album closes with "Louisiana Rain," another excellent cut. Except for the albums "Full Moon Fever," and "Southern Accents," this is Petty's best.

Once upon a time, long before middle age and Traveling Wilburys and Full Moon Fever, decades before the annoying David Spade caricature, a youthful Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers rocked with breathtaking passion and talent. They came fully into their prime with this recording, bursting into the public eye in November of 1979 with a performance of "Refugee" on Saturday Night Live. Blown away, I was at the record store the next day to buy this amazing album.

This is the finest recording made by the band, and the obvious choice for anyone who wants to buy their first Tom Petty CD. Some may prefer a greatest-hits package, but these songs were meant to be heard together, to flow as an album. Some may prefer the older mellower acoustic-guitar-strumming Petty, and that Petty has continued to make excellent music. But to buy Full Moon Fever first would be a bit like buying Springsteen doing The Rising instead of Born to Run, or Dylan doing Love and Theft instead of Blonde on Blonde. There are graceful comebacks, and then there is youthful creativity with passion and sometimes genius - Damn the Torpedoes is the latter.

This album contains everything you need to know about the band at its best. The stripped-down sound (more polished than garage rock, but just as vital), Petty's voice going from whines to raspy growls to scathing Dylanesque bitterness, evocative lyrics that take the listener through every possible emotion in 3 minutes, that 12-string Rickenbacker on the cover photo with the singer as skinny as I was back then, Mike Campbell's Chuck Berry-esque guitar solos, a driving rhythm section. Tom Petty would never come back to rock like this again. He's done music that's arguably as good, but rarely as consistent, and never with such blazing energy and gutsiness.

It would be easy to praise song after song in detail, but the bottom line is that this is indeed the quintessential Tom Petty album, every song a gem, the singer and his band at their youthful peak.

After putting out their first two efforts, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers really deliver the goods with the 1979 release "Damn The Torpedoes". This is one of Petty & Co.'s most successful recordings to date, alongside such gems as "Hard Promises" and "Full Moon Fever" (among others), and it contains two major hits in "Refugee" and "Don't Do Me Like That", including two moderately minor hits with "Even The Losers" and "Here Comes My Girl". What gives "...Torpedoes" such a unique musical flavor, are the creative musical intros displayed in "Shadow Of A Doubt (Complex Kid)", "Century City" and in "Louisiana Rain", where Petty, Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell, Ron Blair and Stan Lynch have these particular musical stylings down to a science. Petty and the 'Breakers take full advantage of their Byrds and Dylan-esque influenced sounds on many of the tracks here, as found in "Even The Losers" and in some others on this CD. In evidence of Petty's unique musical/lyrical landscapes, there's the rockabilly-like "What Are You Doin' In My Life", which features a bit of that Dylan angst, mainly in the lyrics dept.. Petty and the Heartbreakers would continue to experiment with different musical styles in future efforts, thus forever leaving an indelible stamp on the rock era in fine form. "Damn The Torpedoes" is the album that cemented Petty's status as a world renowned, bona fide rock 'n roll star. Any fan of straightforward, hard-line rock 'n roll can justify space in their CD library by adding "DTP" to their must-have CD library today! As far as the sound quality of MCA's "Compact Disc-Compact Price" version of "DTP" is concerned, it is probably no worse than the recently remastered version. I happened to pick up one of the last copies of the pre-mastered 1987 CD version while shopping at Circuit City last week. The "CD-CP" discs are generically packaged and have the color/line grid on the back of these CD's. I've amassed several copies of these discs over the years, and they occupy a good portion of my CD collection. Even though MCA for the most part no longer produces this series, I'm sure most people will find the remaster versions equally to their liking ("Damn The Torpedoes" included). The only negative aspect concerning the "CD-CP" series discs, is that they do not contain any original artwork, lyrics or liner notes. These unique discs make wonderful collector's items, so make sure to add them to your collection today, before there are none left!

DAMN THE TORPEDOES is the third masterpiece in a row for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. The songs were written in the wake of his attempts to renegotiate an unfair contract with MCA Records, and they are full of romantic issues looked at in a manner full of hope-against-hope compassion, but could just as easily be metaphors for attempting to succeed in any kind of struggle. I've listened to this record when I've been not feeling too well, and the lyrics gave me new hope for a quick recovery. The first four songs- "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl", "Even The Losers", and "Don't Do Me Like That"- are obviously the best, but there are a
number of other very good ones on this album as well. This is one of the great albums to come out of the second half of the 70s.

Those who thought that Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were punk or new wave when they started releasing albums in the late 1970s were missing the point. At a time when heavy metal and guitar rock was dominating the airwaves, this was a group that harkened back to the sounds of the British Invasion and embodied the spirit of the great American garage band. Petty wrote the songs that remind you of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, and the Heartbreakers provided the backing. The group recorded a couple of early albums with Shelter records and started off as bigger hits in England than in the U.S. and then Shelter got gobbled up by MCA, which did not sit well with Petty. There were the first of many legal tangles between the two and "Damn the Torpedoes" was the result of a settlement. Released on an MCA subsidiary, Backstreet, the title was clearly a shot across the bow of MCA and their fight would be continued.

Despite the legal wrangler and creative disputes, this 1979 album would be the definitive release for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, combining some old songs from his early days in L.A. playing with Mudcrutch with some new songs. It was certainly the group's breakthrough effort, both a critical and commercial success. The album made it to #2 on the Billboard charts on the basis of a trio of strong songs. The opening track, the Top 20 "Refugee," written by Petty and Mike Campell," shows the deft touch of producer Jimmy Iovine, who put Benmont Tench's organ playing up front with the vocals. The song contrasts nicely with another Petty-Campbell hit, the melancholy but melodic "Here Comes My Girl." Add to this the album's one Top 10 hit, "Don't Do Me Like That," another song of love and deception, with another great organ solo from Tench.

The common denominator on these songs is their basic simplicity. A Tom Petty song is almost always based on just a few chords. Musically, these are very tight songs, which speaks to the heart of their appeal, and credit must be paid to Iovine's role as producer on this album. Lyrically the dominating theme is one of the pain of relationships and the tone is almost relentlessly melancholy, like on "Even the Losers." Even a ballad like "Louisiana Rain" wallows in the sadness of pain. The result is one of the best rock albums of the 1970s and although Tom Petty came close to this level again with "Hard Promises," "Full Moon Fever," and "Wildflowers," this remains the album you find on the top of the mountain.

Easily one of his 4 best albums (up there with "Full Moon Fever", "Wildflowers", and "Echo"), this rock classic is strong front to back, and doesn't let up. One of my favorite albums of all time. Interesting note: the CD version in stores spells torpedoes wrong ("torpedos") on the spine, but the Columbia House version has a different cover and spells it correctly.

Forget about ECHO and FULL MOON FEVER, this is the Tom Petty album that should be a must own. Every single song is a classic. If you are a Petty fan, you must own this album, if you are not yet a Petty fan, this album will make you one.

This album is definitely a classic. "You Tell Me" is among the songs from this album that could have been major hits right up there along with "Refugee" and the rest. The world is a better place thanks to Tom Petty and his genius. We are all fortunate to be blessed with the gift of his music, and not just this one great album of his, but all his others as well. THANK YOU, TOM!!

This album is definitely a classic. "You Tell Me" is among the songs from this album that could have been major hits right up there along with "Refugee" and the rest. The world is a better place thanks to Tom Petty and his genius. We are all fortunate to be blessed with the gift of his music, and not just this one great album of his, but all his others as well. THANK YOU, TOM!!