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Rating: After reading the comments on my Bruce Springsteen reviews, which said that this album is better than "The River," I was intrigued and wanted to listen to it. I had already listened to a few scattered singles by Tom Petty (mostly from the late '80s and early '90s), but I had never listened to a full album, and above all, I had never heard any songs from this "Damn The Torpedoes."
All in all, a comparison could be made between Tom and the Boss, but it must be said that their style is completely different: Petty makes a more carefree and more "youthful" rock, while Springsteen's rock is more "adult." Summarizing their careers, one could say that the Boss has had more "highs" but also more lows than Petty, who has made continuity his strength.
Now let's talk about this album. The beginning is simply devastating: "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl", and "Even The Loser" are three songs that are certainly not innovative (it's 1979, and rock 'n' roll was certainly no novelty) but of surprising beauty. The real strength of this album is that everything is in its place, both Tom's voice and the Heartbreakers' music. We proceed with other very successful tracks ("Don't Do Me Like That", "You Tell Me") until the splendid final ballad "Louisiana Rain". The album only lacks the "gem" (although "Refugee" comes very close), but for the rest, it's an album that is wonderful in its simplicity.
Tom Petty would find greater fame 10 years later with "Full Moon Fever," but already by the '70s, we could place him on the same level as the Boss without any problem.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Refugee (03:22)
We got somethin' we both know it
We don't talk too much about it
Yeah it ain't no real big secret all the same
Somehow we get around it
Listen it don't really matter to me baby
You believe what you want to believe
You see you don't have to live like a refugee
(Don't have to live like a refugee)
Somewhere, somehow somebody
Must have kicked you around some
Tell me why you wanna lay there
And revel in your abandon
Honey it don't make no difference to me baby
Everybody's had to fight to be free
You see you don't have to live like a refugee
(Don't have to live like a refugee)
Now baby you don't have to live like a refugee
(Don't have to live like a refugee)
Baby we ain't the first
I'm sure a lot of other lover's been burned
Right now this seems real to you
But it's one of those things
You gotta feel to be true
Somewhere, somehow somebody
Must have kicked you around some
Who knows, maybe you were kidnapped
Tied up, taken away and held for ransom
Honey, it don't really matter to me
Everybody's had to fight to be free
You see you don't have to live like a refugee
(Don't have to live like a refugee)
Now baby you don't have to live like a refugee
(Don't have to live like a refugee)
Baby you don't have to live like a refugee
(Don't have to live like a refugee)
03 Even the Losers (04:01)
Well, it was nearly summer we sat on your roof
Yeah, we smoked cigarettes and we stared at the moon
And I showed you stars you never could see
Babe, it couldn't have been that easy to forget about me
Baby, time meant nothing anything seemed real
Yeah, you could kiss like fire and you made me feel
Like every word you said was meant to be
It couldn't have been that easy to forget about me
Chorus:
Baby, even the losers
Get lucky sometimes
Even the losers
Keep a little bit of pride
They get lucky sometimes
Two cars parked on the overpass
Rocks hit the water like broken glass
I should 'a known right then it was too good to last
God, it's such a drag when you live in the past
Chorus
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By Ashluke1
Try putting on "Refugee," the opening track, and you’ll see I’m not lying.
"Even The Losers" reflects exactly my personality and my homeland; a good southern rock.
