Damn the Torpedoes (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Damn the Torpedoes
Studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Released October 19, 1979 (1979-10-19)
Recorded Sound City, Van Nuys
Cherokee Studios, Hollywood
1978–79
Genre Rock
Length 36:40
Label Backstreet
Producer Jimmy Iovine, Tom Petty
Professional reviews
* Allmusic 5/5 stars link
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology
You're Gonna Get It!
(1978) Damn the Torpedoes
(1979) Hard Promises
(1981)
Damn the Torpedoes is the third album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released in 1979 by MCA Records.[1] It was released to commercial success and critical acclaim becoming the band's breakthrough album.[1] In 2003, the album was ranked number 313 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Background and Recording
* 2 Release and Reception
o 2.1 2010 re-release
* 3 Track listing
o 3.1 Side one
o 3.2 Side two
o 3.3 Deluxe Edition Disc 2
* 4 Personnel
* 5 References
* 6 External links
[edit] Background and Recording
Damn the Torpedoes was the Heartbreakers first for MCA Records.[1] Their old label, Shelter, had been sold to MCA. Petty struggled to legally detach himself from MCA, resulting in his bankruptcy.[1] In the end the record company backed down, and he negotiated a deal that allowed him to release his recordings on the new Backstreet Records label, manufactured and distributed by MCA.[1] The album was recorded at Sound City in Van Nuys and Cherokee Studios in Hollywood.[2] The title is a reference to a famous quote by Admiral David Farragut: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!".
[edit] Release and Reception
Damn the Torpedoes was released in October 1979. The album was a breakthrough for Petty and the Heartbreakers. It was his first top 10 album rising to #2 (for seven weeks and kept from #1 by Pink Floyd's The Wall) on the Billboard albums chart.[3] It yielded two songs that made the top-fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, "Don't Do Me Like That" (#10) and "Refugee" (#15). It was a commercial success as well. Thanks to the new co-producer Jimmy Iovine, Damn the Torpedoes proved to be a major leap forward in production.[4][5] The album was digitally remastered and reissued by Joe Gastwirt in 2001.
[edit] 2010 re-release
On November 9, 2010, a deluxe edition of the album will be released on three formats, a 2xCD set, a 2xLP (180g)deluxe package and a Blu-Ray Audio disc package. All the tracks (original and unreleased) were remastered from the original analog master tapes by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering Studios in Hollywood, CA.[citation needed]
[edit] Track listing
All songs were written by Tom Petty, except where noted.
[edit] Side one
1. "Refugee" (Petty, Mike Campbell) – 3:22
2. "Here Comes My Girl" (Petty, Campbell) – 4:27
3. "Even the Losers" – 4:01
4. "Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)" – 4:25
5. "Century City" – 3:45
[edit] Side two
1. "Don't Do Me Like That" – 2:44
2. "You Tell Me" – 4:35
3. "What Are You Doin' in My Life?" – 3:27
4. "Louisiana Rain" – 5:54
[edit] Deluxe Edition Disc 2
1. "Nowhere"
2. "Surrender"
3. "Casa Dega" (Petty, Campbell)
4. "It's Rainin' Again"
5. "Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)"
6. "Don't Do Me Like That"
7. "Somethin' Else" (Eddie Cochran)
8. "Casa Dega (Demo version)" (Petty, Campbell)
9. "Refugee (early version)" (Petty, Campbell)
Tracks 5-7 were recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England on March 6, 1980 and featured the same mix and production team as The Live Anthology. "Nowhere", "Surrender", "Casa Dega" (Demo) and "Refugee" (alternate take) were mixed by Mike Campbell and Ryan Ulyate in late 2009/early 2010, while "Casa Dega" and "It's Rainin' Again" were the same versions featured on the Playback box set.
[edit] Personnel
* Tom Petty – 6 & 12 string guitars, lead vocals and harmonica
* Mike Campbell – 6 & 12 string guitars, slide guitar, keyboards, accordion, bass guitar
* Benmont Tench – piano, organ, harmonium and vocals
* Ron Blair – electric bass guitar
* Stan Lynch – drums and vocals
* Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass on "You Tell Me"
* Phil Jones (uncredited) – percussion
* Jim Keltner (uncredited) – shaker on "Refugee"
Additional credits:
* Greg Calbi – mastering
* Lynn Goldsmith – photography
* Shelly Yakus – engineer
* John Mathias – assistant engineer
* Thom Panunzio – assistant engineer
* Gray Russell – assistant engineer
* Skip Saylor – assistant engineer
* Tori Swenson – assistant engineer
* Tommy Steele – art direction
* Aaron Rapoport – photography
* Glen Christensen – photography (front cover)
* Dennis Callaghan – photography