GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS
The Hard Stuff
Eagle Records 2006
www.georgethorogood.com

What’s the 4-1-1?
I hope you are ready for another dose of bar band blues rock delivered by Thorogood and The Destroyers.

Genre
Rock / blues / blues rock / classic rock

The Good
The opening title track is a solid foot stomping case of blues rock. It flows real well and gets the CD off to a really good start. The ballad “A Little Rain” is a really good song, though a bit weird (at least to me) to hear Thorogood’s voice so mellow. The song also features a sweet saxophone solo. The instrumental “Cool It!” combines the blues rock with a real swing vibe as well. The choice of covers includes songs from Bob Dylan (“Drifter’s Escape”), Fats Domino (“Hello Josephine”), and John Lee Hooker’s (“Huckle Up Baby”).

Each song is a real faithful ode to the original son. The Fats Domino cover is dedicated to the Hurricane Katrina survivors. The vocal from Thorogood on the song is a lot smoother, without that gruff tone normally in his voice. The three tracks that stand out the most on this CD are the “Moving,” “Rock Party,” and the simply perfect bust out rocker “Anytown USA.” The song is the perfect blend of the band’s talents. I’d venture to say it should be the showcase track for the disc.

The Bad
I didn’t really care much for the song “Dynaflow Blues.” It’s not so much that it’s bad, but it just didn’t grab my interest that much.

The Verdict
I’m perfectly able to admit that most of what I know about Thorogood comes from the constantly repeated radio tracks “Bad To The Bone” and “One Bourbon, One Shot, One Beer.” I haven’t really invested much time going deeper into the catalog. Now with The Hard Stuff, I find that I’ve got to start doing that, because it appears I’ve been missing out on a whole lot of the kind of foot tapping blues rock music and vocals that I always find so enjoyable. The Hard Stuff is a 15 track showcase to music fans that Thorogood and The Destroyers are as vital as they’ve ever been.

Did You Know?
The Thorogood compilation 30 Years Of Rock was the #1 blues CD of 2005. Tom Hambridge, who co-wrote 4 songs on The Hard Stuff, has also written with blues artist Susan Tedeschi and southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Rating: out of 5

-- Jay Roberts