Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DXCV--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Damn the Torpedoes (Album)

 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

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDLXXVIII--Del Shannon: Drop Down and Get Me

Only three four five days late....

There's a good chance that had Tom Petty not produced the album this week's tune is featured on that I never would have heard it (and, Lord, what a shame that would have been).  Petty was hitting his stride as an artist at the time, having back-to-back top ten albums. I'd become a huge fan in 1979 so it was only natural that I'd be drawn to any project with which he was involved.  Petty nailed his producer role--the album as a whole was terrific; sadly I was one of the few who ever heard it....

When I jotted down Del Shannon for this week's featured post two or three years ago, little did I know that I would be in the midst of having been listening to Shannon's early hits for the past two months (wonderful talent--pretty sure there's at least one more Shannon tune coming....).  Shannon--a Michigan native--began his musical career in 1954 in a band while he was in the army.  He returned home and took on some regular jobs while continuing to play in bands around Battle Creek, Michigan.  He was signed to a record contract in 1960 and had his first (and biggest) hit the next year.  He had several hits throughout the sixties, but his musical fortunes began to fade in the seventies (much of it due to alcoholism).  He went through rehab, sobered himself up, made the record with Petty, and toured throughout the eighties.  Sadly, he was working on a new album and planning a tour when he took his own life in 1990 (a bad reaction to a prescribed drug may have played a part).  Shannon was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.  He released twelve albums during his lifetime and had three more LPs released after his death.  He also released thirty-nine singles, with one of them hitting #1 and two more reaching the top ten.  

Kind of Sad Fact:  Rumor had it that Shannon was being considered for Roy Orbison's spot (Orbison had died of a heart attack) in the Traveling Wilburys when he committed suicide.  

"Drop Down and Get Me" was on Shannon's 1981 comeback album, amazingly enough also entitled Drop Down and Get Me.  The song was not released as a single (it should have been!), while the album, which was the last original music released in his lifetime, peaked at #123.  As an aside, Shannon did a killer version of Phil Phillip's "Sea of Love" on the album, which reached #33 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.

Since Tom Petty produced it and the Heartbreakers were Shannon's backing band, it's not a stretch to say that "Drop Down and Get Me" is a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' song sung by Del Shannon (Shannon did write it, though).  Nothing wrong with that!  From the jangly guitars at the opening, to the "ooh oohs" in the backing vocals, to the guitar solo (Hello, Mike Campbell!) Tom Petty signed, sealed, and delivered (to steal a phrase) this one.  However, let it be said that Del Shannon (who has a distinct falsetto) absolutely killed the vocals--impassioned and defiant, with all the courage of a man staring down his demons while giving his all for just one more shot.  And forty-three years down the road it sounds every bit as good as it did when I was a twenty-two-year-old who was falling madly in love with rock and roll.

Lyric Sheet:  (In a rarity, I was unable to find lyrics for this one, so be warned I'm notoriously bad at hearing lyrics--which is why I'm a devotee of lyric sheets....) "Well, they tell me there is a heaven/They could be right 'cause I know there's a hell/I've been living too long without you/I know a lot but I'll never tell..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDLXXIII--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Don't Come Around Here No More

 Once again, a week late.  Ah, well....

When this week's featured tune first was released, it was quite a departure from the usual Tom Petty fare and wasn't well received by many.  I was not among them--I thought Petty had walked the fine line between releasing a song that was different (Petty has mentioned this was a goal of the sessions), but still captured the vibe that was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  Time has proven those of us who heard its brilliance early on to be correct--it is widely considered to be one of his best tunes....

I wrote about Tom Petty in Vol. CLXIII, and much like Bruce Springsteen a couple of weeks ago, find it hard to believe this is only the second song of his that I've written about as he is truly one of my musical icons.  As with Springsteen, I'm sure there will be a lot of catching up in the years to come.  As for the bio, been there, done that and since his passing in 2017, not much new to add.

"Don't Come Around Here No More" was the first single released from Petty's excellent 1985 release, Southern Accents.  The single peaked at #13 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album reached #7 on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  Petty co-wrote the song with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics.  Stewart actually started the song after spending the night (platonically) at Stevie Nicks' home.  In the wee hours, her former flame, Joe Walsh of Eagles fame, came looking for her and as Nicks booted him from her home, she reportedly told him, "Don't come around here no more."  Stewart came up with a chorus from it, and Petty wrote the rest.

One need only to listen to the opening sitar to know that Petty and the Heartbreakers (though Stewart played the sitar) are going to take us on a very different musical journey with this week's tune.  Petty's trademark scowl marks his foray through the vocals, and the Heartbreakers (if ever there was an underrated backing band...) perform with their usual aplomb, complimenting Petty's scowl with a rousing "Hey!" in their backing vocals and kicking ass and taking names later with their instrumentation.  The song's closing--with Mike Campbell playing a jangly guitar to end all jangly guitars--is just this side of the Eagles "Hotel California" in wondrous glory, and the song captures all the pain and anger in telling a one-time flame to stay the fuck away.  A veritable masterpiece.

Lyric Sheet:  "I don't feel you anymore/You darken my door/Whatever you're looking for/Hey! Don't come around here no more..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emayce

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CLXIV--Thunderclap Newman: Something in the Air

This week's tune remains as relevant today as it did when it was originally released--there is something in the air here in 2018 and it does smell like revolution (just ask the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL)...

Thunderclap Newman was formed by Who mastermind Pete Townshend (who also produced their work) and its manager, Kit Lambert, in 1969 to showcase the talents of John "Speedy" Keen, a former roadie extraordinaire for the Who.  The band had a short history--by 1971 they were done, having released just one album and embarking on just one short tour...and having a hit single that even nearly fifty years later is almost universally recognized.  Sadly, all three of the band's original members--Speedy Keen, Andy "Thunderclap" Newman, and Jimmy McCulloch are no longer with us.

Fun Fact:  Townshend played bass for the band on its recordings, under the pseudonym Bijou Drains (you got me...).

Released in 1969, "Something in the Air" was originally written by Keen for the movie The Magic Christian.  It would go on to become #1 in England for three weeks, and hit #37 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  Thunderclap Newman's only album, Hollywood Dream, was released nine months after the single, and had virtually no commercial success.  The band did have another minor hit in England with the song "Accidents"--which is most noted for rivaling only "Softly As I Leave You" for having the saddest subject matter of any song ever written....

"Something in the Air" is a literal and figurative call to arms--the world was changing and it was time to take it upon ourselves to make the world a better place.  The music and instrumentation has an almost otherworldly quality to it--its boldness matches the boldness of the call to revolution.  There's some nice guitar work by McCulloch (who was all of 16 at the time), and Keen's drumming helps to add to the song's power.  There's a dandy piano break by Andy Newman about two thirds of the way into the song that is at times both beautiful and chaotic before the song breaks on through to the other side (to quote a phrase) and closes with an almost hopeful, somewhat prayer-like plea for us all to get it together and embrace the moment.  It was a one-off moment of genius for Keen who had the good fortune to have Townshend's as a Muse--and they created a pop classic for the masses.

Liner Notes:  "Because the revolution's here, and you know it's right/And you know that it's right/We have got to get it together/We have got to get it together now..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CLXIII--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Refugee

I saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for the first time in the summer of 1980, which was just a few months after the release of the album that would turn them into superstars, and just about the same time that "Refugee" was making its run up the charts.  As you might expect, the song was one of the most anticipated of the night, and we all roared when the band broke into its intro...only to have Petty suddenly scream for the band to stop.  He then proceeded to pace the stage, from one end to the other, staring into the crowd, looking as pissed off as a man can get, and I figured, "Great, one of the best songs of the night and some idiot decides now would be a good time to throw something at him."  Petty stormed the stage for about thirty seconds and then walked up to the microphone and said, "This is America.  It's a free country.  You can stand up for this song if you want to...." and the band broke into the song again, from the beginning.  In all the dozens of concerts I've seen through the years, I have never seen a crowd erupt into complete delirium quite like we all did at that moment.

Tom Petty's rock and roll dream began at the age of 11 in Gainesville, Florida when an uncle who was working on the set of the movie Follow That Dream introduced Petty to one Elvis Presley.  And what a dream it became:  Petty would go on to sell over 80 million records, releasing 13 albums with the Heartbreakers, three solo records, two late in career albums with his original band Mudcrutch, and two albums with superband The Traveling Wilburys (featuring Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison).  Petty went on numerous world tours, and he and the Heartbreakers were also Dylan's back up band on one of his tours.  They were elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and also showed up on Rolling Stone's greatest artists and albums of all time.  And truth be told, in the pantheon of emaycee's favorite rock and roll artists, he finishes just a half step behind Bruce Springsteen.  Needless to say, his death last October, as I noted in a post at that time, was only the second time I cried at the passing of a celebrity (Muhammad Ali being the first).

Fun Fact:  One of Petty's early guitar teachers was Don Felder, who would go on to have some fame of his own as the lead guitarist for a little band called The Eagles.

Released in 1979 on his classic LP Damn the Torpedoes (and what a classic album title that was), "Refugee" would go on to become the second biggest single of Petty's career (trailing only "Don't Do Me Like That" from the same album), eventually peaking at #15 (most assuredly with a bullet!).  Through the years, it would eventually become Petty's signature song, and it's one of those rare cuts that remains fresh and vibrant even nearly forty years down the road.

In listening to it over the past several days, I think the aspect of the song that stands out the most was what a showcase it was--not just for Petty's wondrous vocals, but for the rest of the band as well.  The song features stunning guitar work from Mike Campbell (as usual), some nice piano cut ins from Benmont Tench, and some pulsating drum work from Stan Lynch.  I think the Heartbreakers, moreso than say, The E Street Band, tend to get overlooked a bit as far as great backing bands go (perhaps, in all honesty, because of their reserved nature--none of them have the colorful personality of a Clarence Clemons) but this song (as many others) really shows what a force they were in Petty's success.  "Refugee" can also be noted as being one of several songs on Damn the Torpedoes in which at some point Petty barks out a raucous "Oh, oh, oh!" which I always wait for and thoroughly enjoy more than I probably should.  It's the little things in life, my friends, the little things...

Lyric Sheet:  "Somewhere, somehow, somebody must have kicked you around some/Who knows maybe you were kidnapped tied up/Taken away and held for ransom..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

It's just the normal noises in here

My introduction to T.P.

Like I did with Bruce Springsteen and Born to Run, I discovered Tom Petty with the release of his third album (Christmas present, 1979), Damn the Torpedoes.  For the better part of the next twenty years, the announcement of each and every release of his was cause for celebration and each album was a joy to listen to.  Unlike The Beatles or The Rolling Stones or even The Who, whose best work was behind them by the time I discovered them, Petty (and Springsteen and John Mellencamp) had numerous albums full of classics that I got to discover without the grace of the past and was lucky enough to watch his brilliant career unfold in real time.

Hearing of his passing yesterday at the age of 66 brought me to tears for only the second time when a hero of mine had died (Muhammad Ali being the first), and I have spent the better part of today listening to my favorite songs of his and not without some emotion.  I keep thinking "My God, he's gone," but he really isn't.  His musical legacy will be with me and his many fans for the rest of our lives and that is no small gift.  It's also a reminder that we are all here for a relatively short time, and it's the (hopefully) happy memories that will survive us.

For some odd reason, of all the umpteen songs of his that I loved, the one that's been resounding in my head since I heard the news is a relatively unknown cut from his Echo album, entitled, appropriately enough, "Echo."  Probably because his passing leaves me with the "...the same sad echo":

R.I.P, Mr. Petty, and thanks for the happy memories....

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. IV--Rosanne Cash: Why Don't You Quit Leaving Me Alone

Though she never had the meteoric career her father, Johnny Cash, had, Rosanne Cash nonetheless carved out a niche for herself and has had quite a fine career.  Probably best known for her breakout hit "Seven Year Ache" (and--recurring theme--what a song to be known for), Cash has been recording for more than thirty years now and still has some of the most beautiful vocals you'll ever hear.

Once, again, though, I'll be spotlighting one of Cash's lesser known songs, "Why Don't You Quite Leaving Me Alone."  It's the coda to King's Record Shop (released in 1987), considered by many to be her finest album (too many finest albums to count for me).  Though Cash wrote a number of her songs, this one was written by Benmont Tench, looooonnnnngggg time keyboardist for Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, and basically features Tench on piano and Cash singing the lovestruck vocals with just the right amount of regret, pathos, and lost hope.  Bonus points for mentioning F. Scott Fitzergerald and his wife Zelda in the lyrics.

Ultra-embarrassing factoid:  I've had a crush on Rosanne Cash since the first time I heard her sing....

Oh, the humanity.

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee