Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “Damn the Torpedoes” 1979. Backstreet Records. I’ve been a casual Petty fan since forever (being a child of the 70′s I don’t remember a time not hearing some Tom Petty song on the radio) so his death yesterday, October 2nd, was a big loss to the world of music. We don’t have a ton of his recordings on vinyl in our collection but I chose this one because “Refugee” has always been one of my favorites. Damn the Torpedoes is about as classic rock-n-roll as rock can be. It was a huge hit upon its release, reaching #2 on the US charts (the only album stopping it from #1 was Pink Floyd’s monster The Wall) and remained relevant since, included on many best albums of all time lists. From the singles released (“Refugee,” which hit #15 on the charts, “Don’t Do Me Like That,” #10 and “Here Comes My Girl,” #59) to the non-singles like “Even the Losers,” “Century City” and “What Are You Doin’ In My Life?” it is BIG rock with giant production, multiple guitars, powerful keyboards, hard-driving rhythm and of course Petty’s distinct, all-American vocals. Allmusic says “there [is] purpose and passion behind the performances that makes Damn the Torpedoes an invigorating listen. Few mainstream rock albums of the late ‘70s and early ’80s were quite as strong as this, and it still stands as one of the great records of the album rock era.”