Yeah, I'm late--whatevs. This is my yearly "It's My Birthday And I'll Write About An Album If I Want To" post....
[Sixty-seven years young, for those counting at home.]
It would be impossible to overstate how influential this album has been to my life listening to music. It was originally released October 19, 1979, and somewhere around that time I read a rave review in Rolling Stone. I put it on my Christmas list for December of that year, and Mom and Dad were kind enough to oblige, and I started listening to it on Christmas Day. I immediately recognized the first song on side two as one I'd been hearing on the radio and had yet to find who sang it (well before the internet for you young 'uns wondering how I wouldn't know). Within a matter of weeks, I had gone to the record shop to buy their first two albums (absolutely killer records as well). Thus began a love affair with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers that lasts to this day and is only slightly surpassed by my love for Bruce Springsteen.
Damn the Torpedoes (and what a great album title that is) would go on to become Tom Petty's breakthrough album, eventually reaching #2 (most assuredly with a bullet!) on the Billboard 200, and spawning two top fifteen singles. It featured the band's original line-up: Mike Campbell on lead guitar, Benmont Tench on piano/organ, Ron Blair on bass guitar, and Stan Lynch on drums.
As these yearly posts generally end up quite long, we'll start here without further ado....
Refugee--And what a song to open an album with--one of my all-time favorites. Every band member shines: the guitars are ominous, the organ searing, the bass pulsating, the drums crashing, and the sneer in Petty's vocals is to die for. And to top it all off? The beyond killer backing vocals in the chorus. A stunning piece of music. Favorite line: "Somewhere, somehow, somebody must have kicked you around some/Who knows maybe you were kidnapped, tied up/Taken away for ransom...."
Here Comes My Girl--Aaand...the second one is amazing, too. The music is the sound of love triumphing, as Petty talk sings his way through the stanzas and his antagonist lets us know how her love has saved him and made it all make sense. When the instrumental break begins and Petty says, "Watch her walk" it always sends me into musical ecstasy. Favorite line: "Every now and then, I get down to the end of a day/I have to stop, I ask myself why I've done it/It just seems so useless to work so hard/And nothin' ever really seems to come from it..."
Even the Losers--This one is actually based on Petty's young life--he spent an evening with a popular girl and she let him know the next day that one night together was all he'd ever get. Great guitars, plenty of power from the rhythm section, and Petty's defiant vocals rule the day. The spoken "It's just the normal noises in here" that ends the static at the song's beginning is Mike Campbell's wife. Petty's anthem for the not so cool kids. Favorite line: "Baby, even the losers/Get lucky sometimes/Even the losers/Keep a little bit of pride..."
Shadow of a Doubt (Complex Kid)--It had been a while since I heard this one until I did my half-assed research this week. Kind of forgot--though it's not a standout track--that it was a pretty nice little ditty. Petty does a nice job vocally of capturing the protagonist's doubt about his girl's love for him--or is he just kidding himself about those feeings? The band's playing--as always--is solid and just a bit understated, which plays perfectly with the song's theme. Favorite line: "And when she's dreaming/Sometimes she sings in French/But in the morning/She don't remember it..."
Century City--There actually is a Century City--it's in L.A. and is quite well known as a commerce center. I've often wondered if this is Petty's ode to Los Angeles, the modern world where he would make his home for many years. Nice track, the band is solid and makes the music sound futuristic to go with the storyline. Sci fi music for the late seventies.... Favorite line: "Sometimes I get discouraged/Sometimes I get so down/Sometimes I get so worried/But I don't know what about..."
Flip it over for side two....
Don't Do Me Like That--The song that made me a fan for life. Benmont Tench steals the show with his organ playing, Stan Lynch pounds the drums into oblivion, Mike Campbell throws in a few nice licks, and Petty's gritty vocals take us into another stratosphere--and turned them all into superstars. Two minutes and forty-one seconds of unadulterated rock and roll joy. Oh, oh, oh indeed. Favorite line: "I was talking with a friend of mine, said a woman had hurt his pride/Told him that she loved him so and turned around and let him go..."
You Tell Me--And follows it with...a not so upbeat number. Could have been called "A Man with no Self Respect." Petty spins a tale of a man trying a little too hard to hold on to the one he's got. A solid if unspectacular effort. Favorite line: "Well you put me through your paces and you twisted/Until I felt like dying/Yeah the last thing I needed/Was to finally realize you were lying..."
What Are You Doin' in My Life?--A song about the stalker from hell. Petty plays the victim with a touch of terror and a touch of humor. Ron Blair's bass in killer throughout--almost hear echoes of rockabilly here. Add in some nice riffs from Campbell and some terrific piano from Tench and we have another winner. Favorite line: "Well, you're the last woman in the world that thrills me/Now you got my girlfriend trying to kill me..."
Louisiana Rain--I've always thought this was one of Petty's more underrated tunes (translation: I really, really like it). Not sure if this was their stab at a country song or a southern rock ballad, but either way, it worked. It's the story of a man travelling America and the years have not been kind (unlucky in love, booze, the world's sorrow always in his sight), still hoping (or not) to get back to Baton Rouge. Petty's vocals carry all his pathos, Tench's organ guides him from city to city, and the rest of the band plays their part in playing out his story. Just a tremendous ending to a tremendous album. Favorite line: "Louisiana Rain is falling just like tears/Running down my face, washing out the years/Louisiana rain is soaking through my shoes/I may never be the same when I reach Baton Rouge..."
Can't begin to tell you what a joy it was to revisit this year's album. Here's hoping next year is equally as satisfying--same bat time, same bat channel....
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump
Peace,
emaycee
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