He duetted with Stevie Nicks. He’s pioneered stoner animation videos. He’s run the gamut of styles from pop to country rock to, well, just about everything. And he was a Wilbury. But, how well do we know the guy who wrote Mary Jane’s Last Dance, Refugee, American Girl, and countless other classic rock staples? Well, I don’t know him nearly at all. Hence the latest Listening Post. Let’s dive in.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Damn the Torpedoes – 1979 (Buy It)
In 1980 it seemed like every single time I heard “Refugee” it was followed or preceded by Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker”. It was a 1-2 punch that accented my early morning breakfast before school. (And I just got that. Heartbreaker. Followed by the Heartbreakers….funny DJs)
Somehow I never caught Petty fever, or Pat’s for that matter. They seemed to get lumped in to a pile of quasi-New Wave and never really felt like that’s what they were about. But the rich red on the cover of Damn the Torpedoes, with that cazh slung guitar sort of shouted New Wave from the bins.
It wasn’t. And thank goodness, right?
Damn the Torpedoes punches you square in the face right off the bat with “Refugee” and then “Here Comes my Girl”. This is a stronger TP&tH. They have eaten their Wheaties. They aren’t tremulous at all. They aren’t frightened. They are musicians with a lot to prove to a new label and the rest of the world. And when they’re done, my guess would have been that you would either be a convert or at the very least have to admire the strength of the songs.
One thing that is becoming more and more clear as these records spin is just how important Mike Campbell, the co-producer and sometimes songwriting guitarist, is to the success of this band. His name pops up as a co-writer on so many of their best tunes: Hurt, Refugee, Here Comes My Girl, to name a few.
Side Note: I think Petty should have sued Bruce for ripping off Century City for his b-side, “Pink Cadillac”. It’s like a progenitor of the “I was made for loving you” stink.
Damn the Torpedoes is a fine record. One of the best of the era. It deserves all the accolades that have been heaped on it. I’m glad I got to finally hear it. And Louisiana Rain might be my favorite unearthed classic. Well, one of them.
Grade: A
A Side: Refugee, Here Comes My Girl, Don’t Do Me Like That
Blindside: Even the Losers, Shadow of a Doubt (Complex Kid), Louisiana Rain.
DownSide: Nothing. This is a quality collection from top to bottom.
