''Damn the Torpedoes'' is the third studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on October 19, 1979. This was the first of three Petty albums originally released by the Backstreet Records label, distributed by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

. It built on the commercial success and critical acclaim of his two previous albums and reached #2 on the ''Billboard'' album chart. The album went on to become certified

Triple Platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2003, the album was ranked number 313 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine's list of

the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...

, and 231 in a 2020 revised list.

Background and recording

Petty's recording contract was assigned to MCA when his distributor ABC Records was sold to MCA in 1979. Petty contended that his contract could not be assigned to another record company without his permission and was therefore voided. MCA responded by suing Petty for breach of contract which prompted him to declare bankruptcy as a tactic to void his contract with MCA. The matter was settled with Petty signing a new recording contract with Backstreet Records, an MCA subsidiary label. The album, co-produced by

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and media proprietor best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records. In 2006, Iovine and rapper-producer Dr. Dre founded Beats Electronics, which produces ...

, was recorded at

Sound City Studios Sound City Studios is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, known as one of the most successful in popular music. The complex opened in 1969 in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. The facility had previously been a production facto ...

in Van Nuys and

Cherokee Studios Cherokee Studios is a recording studio facility in Hollywood founded in 1972 by members of 1960s pop band The Robbs. Cherokee has been the location of many notable recordings by such artists as Steely Dan, David Bowie, Journey, The Cars, Foreign ...

in Hollywood. The title is a reference to a famous quote by Admiral

David Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. F ...

: "

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...

Release and reception

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 Pink Floyd's ''

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...

'' on the ''Billboard'' albums chart. 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). Thanks to the new co-producer Jimmy Iovine, ''Damn the Torpedoes'' proved to be a major leap forward in production. Critical reception generally reflected the commercial success of the album. The original review in ''

'' raved that it was the "album we've all been waiting for – that is, if we were all Tom Petty fans, which we would be if there were any justice in the world." ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'' 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." Subsequent appraisals have remained positive, with

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's Stephen Thomas Erlewine regarding it as "one of the great records of the album rock era". ''Rolling Stone'' placing it at number 313 on "

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...

" list in 2003, the list's 2012 edition had it ranked 315th, and the 2020 edition ranked it at number 231. In 2000 it was voted number 537 in

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by th ...

''.

Re-releases

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

HDCD High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) is a proprietary audio encode-decode process that claims to provide increased dynamic range over that of standard Compact Disc Digital Audio, while retaining backward compatibility with existing compact ...

. 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.

Track listing

All tracks written by Tom Petty, except where noted.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Personnel

The Heartbreakers *

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica, producer * Mike Campbell – guitars (lead, rhythm, bass), keyboards *

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin ...

– keyboards, backing vocals *

Ron Blair Ronald Edward Blair (born September 16, 1948 in San Diego, California) is an American musician notable for being the bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He was originally the band's bassist from 1976 to 1981. In 2002, he returned to the ...

– bass guitar *

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. Early years Lynch was born in ...

– drums, backing vocals Session musicians * Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass guitar on "You Tell Me" *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

(uncredited) – percussion on "Refugee" Recording *

– producer *

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bishop ...

– mastering *

Shelly Yakus Sheldon Gershon "Shelly" Yakus (born November 1945) is an American music engineer and mixer. Formerly chief engineer and vice president of A&M Records, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Yakus is referenced ...

– engineer * John Mathias – assistant engineer *

Thom Panunzio Thom Panunzio is a music producer and engineer. His career began in 1974 at the Record Plant Studios NYC, working with John Lennon. Later, he became a staff engineer at the Record Plant, and later at The Hit Factory. Panunzio worked often wit ...

– assistant engineer * Gray Russell – assistant engineer * Skip Saylor – assistant engineer * Tori Swenson – assistant engineer Artwork *

Lynn Goldsmith Lynn Goldsmith (born 1948) is an American recording artist, film director, celebrity portrait photographer, and rock and roll photographer. She has also made fine art photography with conceptual images and with her painting. Books of her work hav ...

– photography * Dennis Callahan – photography *

Aaron Rapoport Aaron Rapoport (born May 22, 1954) is an American photographer, best known for his photographs of musicians. Biography In a career that spans over three decades, Rapoport has photographed in a wide variety of areas including commercial photogr ...

– photography * Glen Christensen – cover photography * Tommy Steele – art direction

References

{{Authority control Tom Petty albums Backstreet Records albums Geffen Records albums MCA Records albums Universal Music Enterprises albums 1979 albums Albums produced by Jimmy Iovine Albums produced by Tom Petty Albums recorded at Sound City Studios