Damn the Torpedoes (album)

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Damn the Torpedoes
Studio album by
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
ReleasedOctober 19, 1979 (1979-10-19)
Recorded1978–79
Studio
Genre
Length36:38
LabelBackstreet
Producer
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology
You're Gonna Get It!
(1978) 		Damn the Torpedoes
(1979) 		Hard Promises
(1981)
Singles from Damn the Torpedoes
  1. "Don't Do Me Like That"
    Released: November 5, 1979
  2. "Refugee"
    Released: January 11, 1980
  3. "Here Comes My Girl"
    Released: April 7, 1980
  4. "Even the Losers"
    Released: July 1980 (Australia only)

Damn the Torpedoes is the third studio album by

triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA).

In 2003, the album was ranked number 313 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time",[2] and 231 in a 2020 revised list.[3]

Background and recording

Petty's recording contract was assigned to MCA when his distributor

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
".

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
MusicHound Rock
[11]
Music Story[citation needed]
Pitchfork9.2/10[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]

The album was a breakthrough for Petty and the Heartbreakers. It was their first top 10 album, rising to #2 for seven weeks and kept from #1 by

Billboard albums chart.[1] Tom Petty's response to Westwood One about being anchored at #2 was "I love Pink Floyd but I hated them that year." It yielded two songs that made the top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, "Don't Do Me Like That" (#10) and "Refugee" (#15).[15][16] Thanks to the new co-producer Jimmy Iovine, Damn the Torpedoes proved to be a major leap forward in production.[6]

Critical reception generally reflected the commercial success of the album. The original review in

Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said, "This is a breakthrough for Petty because for the first time the Heartbreakers ... are rocking as powerfully as he's writing. But whether Petty has any need to rock out beyond the sheer doing of it—whether he has anything to say—remains shrouded in banality. Thus he establishes himself as the perfect rock and roller for those who want good—very good, because Petty really knows his stuff—rock and roll that can be forgotten as soon as the record or the concert is over, rock and roll that won't disturb your sleep, your conscience, or your precious bodily rhythms."[8]

Subsequent appraisals have remained positive, with

album rock era".[6] Rolling Stone placing it at number 313 on "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list in 2003,[2] the list's 2012 edition had it ranked 315th,[18] and the 2020 edition ranked it at number 231.[19] In 2000 it was voted number 537 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[20]

Re-releases

The album was digitally remastered by Joe Gastwirt and reissued in 2001 on

HDCD
.

On November 9, 2010, a deluxe edition of the album was released on three formats, a 2×CD set, a 2×LP (180 g) deluxe package and a Blu-ray Audio disc package. Digital download available in numerous audio codecs in audiophile quality 96 kHz/24bit through resellers such as HDTracks. All the tracks (original and unreleased) were remastered from the original analog master tapes by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering Studios in Hollywood.[21]

Track listing

All tracks written by Tom Petty, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Refugee"Tom Petty, Mike Campbell3:22
2."Here Comes My Girl"Petty, Campbell4:27
3."Even the Losers" 3:59
4."Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)" 4:25
5."Century City" 3:45
Side two
No.TitleLength
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
Total length:36:38
Bonus Edition Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Nowhere" 3:38
2."
Hammersmith Odeon, London, 1980)
 4:42
6."Don't Do Me Like That" (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, 1980) 2:49
7."Somethin' Else" (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, 1980)Sharon Sheeley, Bob Cochran2:28
8."Casa Dega (Demo)"Petty, Campbell3:33
9."Refugee (Alternate Take)"Petty, Campbell4:32
Total length:30:15

Personnel

The Heartbreakers

Session musicians

Recording

  • Jimmy Iovine – producer
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Shelly Yakus – engineer
  • John Mathias – assistant engineer
  • Thom Panunzio – assistant engineer
  • Gray Russell – assistant engineer
  • Skip Saylor – assistant engineer
  • Tori Swenson – assistant engineer

Artwork

  • Lynn Goldsmith – photography
  • Dennis Callahan – photography
  • Aaron Rapoport – photography
  • Glen Christensen – cover photography
  • Tommy Steele – art direction

Charts and certifications

Certifications

Certifications for Damn the Torpedoes
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[30] 2× Platinum 200,000^
United States (RIAA)[31] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^
    AllMusic
    . Retrieved May 1, 2009.
  2. ^
    OCLC 70672814. Archived from the original
    on October 28, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2006.
  3. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  4. ^ Tom Petty, Runnin' Down a Dream, 2007 documentary, @1:08:00.
  5. ^ "Sound City Studio's Client List". Sound City Studios. Archived from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  6. ^
    AllMusic
    . Retrieved November 8, 2005.
  7. ^ Kot, Greg (September 1, 1991). "Through The Years With Tom Petty". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  8. ^
    ISBN 089919026X
    . Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  9. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1-84195-827-9
    .
  11. ISBN 1-57859-061-2
    .
  12. ^ Harvey, Eric (October 10, 2017). "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Damn the Torpedoes". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  13. ^ Zanes, Warren (September 16, 2004). "The Rolling Stone Hall of Fame: The Greatest Albums Ever Made Damn the Torpedoes > Album Review". Rolling Stone. No. 957. p. 83. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  14. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Archived from the original
    on July 14, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  15. Billboard. Archived from the original
    on October 4, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2009.
  16. Billboard. Archived from the original
    on October 4, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2009.
  17. ^ Swartley, Ariel (December 13, 1979). "Damn The Torpedoes". Rolling Stone. No. 306. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  18. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012.
  19. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  20. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6
    .
  21. ^ "Damn The Torpedoes - Expanded and Remastered Deluxe Edition Coming November 9 - TomPetty.com Official Blog". TomPetty.com Official Website. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  22. ^
    ISBN 0-646-11917-6
    .
  23. ^ "Top Albums/CDs – Volume 33, No. 1". RPM. March 29, 1980. Archived from the original (PHP) on May 2, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  24. MegaCharts. Archived from the original
    on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  25. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
    . Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  26. ^ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Artist: Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  27. ^ "Allmusic: Damn the Torpedoes : Charts & Awards : Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  28. Recorded Music New Zealand
    . Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  29. ^ "Number One Awards - Pop Albums". Billboard. December 20, 1980.
  30. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Tom Petty – Damn the Torpedoes". Music Canada.
  31. ^ "American album certifications – Tom Petty – Damn the Torpedoes". Recording Industry Association of America.
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