Damn the Torpedoes (Remastered)

iTunes Review

Certain albums define their era and Tom Petty’s third record, Damn the Torpedoes, released at the end of 1979, captures that timeless quality mainstream American rock delivered with deceptive ease at the turn of the decades. Like his contemporaries — Bruce Springsteen, Warren Zevon, Bob Seger — Petty employed a neo-classic brand of rock n’ roll, a grand and dense guitar-organ-bass-drum approach that recalled the Byrds, Stones, Dylan template of his youth. Producer Jimmy Lovine kept things sharp, bright and modern, devoid of gimmicks and highlighting a tight, live feel that delivers pure sonic voodoo. The aching, chiming twelve-string guitars that coalesce at the chorus of “Here Comes My Girl,” the crashing guitar-organ drama that pumps “Refugee” and “Even The Losers” and the staccato urgency of “Don’t Do Me Like That” sound as fresh today as the day of their release. Torpedoes cemented Petty’s status as a writer and singer of consequence and has provided him with tunes that became immediate permanent live staples.