George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Bad To The Bone: 25th Anniversary Edition Review
Posted by Mitch Michaels on 08.16.2007
B-b-b-b-b-b-bad….
My Story
George Thorogood is one of those rockers who never seems to get his due. He’s never tried to make his music about more than it was: good time, bar room, dirty rock ‘n’ roll. And I appreciate that. It’s not really hard to believe that the band’s commercial peak is celebrating its 25th anniversary, because, in a way, it’s had to remember a time when George Thorogood & The Destroyers weren’t touring the country, bringing blues infused guitar rock to America one concert hall at a time. Maybe that’s as much a testament to the power of the band as any awards or critical acclaim would be.
Their Story
George Thorogood left dreams of becoming a baseball player in 1970, after seeing famed bluesman John Paul Hammond play live. In 1973, Thorogood formed the Delaware Destroyers, who later shortened their name to The Destroyers. At the time, the band consisted of drummer Jeff Simon, bassist Michael Lenn and guitarist Ron Smith. The group, influenced by blues and early rock ‘n’ roll, toured the northeastern US for several years, earning their stripes and a dedicated fan base in the process. They recorded a demo tape which they shopped around in the mid-70’s, but were initially unable to find any takers. A rabid blues fan named John Forward convinced indie Rounder Records to give the band a listen and, after considerable hesitation, they signed George Thorogood & The Destroyers to their first record contract in 1976.
The band hit the studio for the first time as a trio following the exit of Michael Lenn. Rounder heard the final test pressing and wasn’t completely satisfied, so they convinced the band to add a bassist. Enter Billy Blough, who has been with The Destroyers ever since. Ron “Roadblock” Smith, however, left before the debut record saw release.
George Thorogood & The Destroyers hit shelves in 1977. The set, a smoking tour of electric blues that included covers of greats like John Lee Hooker (“One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer”), Elmore James, Bo Diddley and Robert Johnson, didn’t exactly change the world, but it did show fans what Thorogood and his band were all about. The follow-up, 1978’s Move It On Over, reached #33 on the Billboard pop charts, thanks to covers of Hank Williams’ “Move It On Over” and Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love”, two singles that received a good deal of airplay at radio.
Move It On Over eventually went gold, but fame would lead to a some troubles. A distasteful episode occurred when a record producer sold the band’s original demo tapes to MCA Records. MCA initially sought the band’s cooperation in releasing the demo as an album, but Thorogood and the Destroyers were not comfortable with the idea of those early recordings coming out commercially. To the disgust of the band, MCA released the demos as an album anyway. Adding insult to injury, MCA titled the album Better Than The Rest. Despite the band making their consternation for the album clear, it still managed to reach a respectable #78 on the album chart.
As the 80’s dawned, a personnel change occurred in the Destroyers camp as Saxophonist Hank Carter came onboard. This line-up only released one album on Rounder, 1980’s modest hit More George Thorogood & The Destroyers (which featured their biggest song to date, “Nobody But Me”), before the band (in a partnership with Rounder) were signed to major label EMI America Records. The jump to a major couldn’t have happened at a better time for Thorogood. Blues-rock was gaining steam in the US (and about to blow even wider open, thanks to folks like Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble), and with a promotional team like EMI behind him, Thorogood was poised to break out big time. For their part, Thorogood & The Destroyers (with help from pianist Ian Stewart of the Rolling Stones) hit hard with their EMI debut, 1982’s Bad To The Bone. The set reached #43 on the Billboard charts, but more importantly, truly ignited The Destroyers on radio and MTV with the title track. “Bad To The Bone” yielded the band their first true hit single.
Following the success of Bad To The Bone, Thorogood & The Destroyers toured heavily for a couple of years, eventually adding Steve Chrismar as a second guitarist to beef up their live sound. They finally returned in 1985 with Maverick, an album that quickly went gold. Bad To The Bone was certified gold two days later. Reaching a career best #32 on the charts, Maverick was more of the same from the consistent Destroyers: amped up blues rock with covers and bar room energy to spare. The inevitable live album, (titled simply Live) appeared in 1986, as did a reissue of Thorogood demos on MCA titled Nadine. Live was certified gold that year and yielded another minor rock hit with “Reelin’ & Rockin’”.
George Thorogood & The Destroyers ended the 80’s with Born To Be Bad, the band’s fifth gold record. The set tied their best charting effort at #32 and yielded some of their highest charting hits: “You Talk Too Much”, “Treat Her Right” and the title track.
The 90’s weren’t as kind to Thorogood as the 80’s, unfortunately. The band’s style of music was seeing an overall decline. Undeterred, they continued to record and tour heavily throughout the decade. Sales for 1991’s Boogie People were soft, though it yielded rock hits with “If You Don’t Start Drinkin’ (I’m Gonna Leave)” and “Hello Little Girl”. 1993’s Haircut faltered even more, even though it yielded three more rock hits, including the #2 “Get A Haircut”. Following that album, guitarist Steve Chrismar ended his short tenure in the group.
There was still interest in Thorogood’s back catalog, though. The mid-90’s saw the band’s self-titled debut certified gold over fifteen years after its release, as well as Live and a 90’s hits compilation called The Baddest Of George Thorogood & The Destroyers certified platinum. In 1995, the Destroyers released a second live set, Live: Let’s Work Together. It was their final record with EMI.
Since leaving EMI, Thorogood & The Destroyers have toured and recorded for various labels, though they haven’t reached the commercial success they saw in the 80’s. They’ve released four studio albums (most of which have done well on the Blues charts) and several live sets and compilations, including 2004’s 30 Years Of Rock: Greatest Hits, which reached #55 on the Billboard charts and certified gold. Jim Suhler joined on as second guitarist in 1999 and in 2003 longtime saxophonist Hank Carter was replaced by Buddy Leach.
In 2007, Capitol/EMI celebrated the 25th anniversary of Thorogood & The Destroyers’ Bad To The Bone with an expanded rerelease, which includes a B-side and several new versions of the original tracks. The band has supporting dates scheduled throughout August and September, which can be found at their official website.
Note from the future: IN 2009, THE BAND RETURNED TO ROUNDER RECORDS, WHICH PROJECTS A COUPLE OF RELEASES OF VINTAGE MATERIAL FROM THE VAULTS.
The Album
On August 14, 2007, Capitol and EMI Records released Bad To The Bone: 25th Anniversary Edition, an expanded version of George Thorogood & The Destroyers’ 1982 album. The set features an extra B-side from the era and six newly recorded versions of the album tracks.
The Band: 8.0
George Thorogood: vocals, guitar
Jeff Simon: drums
Billy Blough: bass
Hank Carter: sax (1982)
Jim Suhler: lead & rhythm guitar (2007)
Buddy Leach: sax (2007)
What can you say about George Thorogood & The Destroyers that hasn’t already been said? They’re one of the best pure bar bands in America, it’s true, but they’re also the unsung heroes of blues-rock, keeping the genre alive on the radio in the 80’s with a longer string of singles than perhaps any other band in their genre.
The remastered version of the original album sounds great. It’s vital, alive and exciting, all these years later. No one can boogie on guitar like Thorogood, and his plain spoke, beer soaked delivery matches the music perfectly. The Destroyers are an explosive backing band, powering through covers and originals like the foremost white authorities on electric blues.
The new material is problematic here, as the older Destroyers play these tunes as well-worn, road tested bar tunes. Sure, this is how you would here the music now if you were to see them live, but it’s missing both the energy of youth and the excitement of something new, not to mention it’s not LIVE, anyway. Not that present-day Thorogood doesn’t have the chops, it’s just, after such a definitive look at the band via 1982, there’s no need to retread. This expanded set would’ve been better serviced by more unreleased material or just all new songs altogether.
The Songs: 7.5
1. Back To Wentzville
2. Blue Highway
3. Nobody But Me
4. It’s A Sin
5. New Boogie Chillun
6. Bad To The Bone
7. Miss Luann
8. As The Years Go Passing By
9. No Particular Place To Go
10. Wanted Man
11. That Philly Thing (Instrumental B-Side)
12. Blue highway (New Recording)
13. New Boogie Chillun (New Recording)
14. No Particular Place To Go (New Recording)
15. As The Years Go Passing By (New Recording)
16. Bad To The Bone (New Recording)
17. Wanted Man (New Recording)
George Thorogood & The Destroyers have done little to change their formula in the past three decades, so any hits package should satiate the casual fan. If you want an album, though, this should be where you start. It’s gritty (“New Boogie Chillun”), it’s catchy (“Bad to The Bone”) and it’s just flat-out rock ‘n’ roll (“It’s A Sin”). The songs prove that rock ‘n’ roll was alive and well, even back when synthesizers were gearing up to take it out. Every song here is a classic, literally, from “No Particular Place To Go” to the awesome take on Johnny Cash/Bob Dylan’s “Wanted Man”.
“That Philly Thing” is a blazing B-side from 1982’s “Nobody But Me” single and it really rocks. The new recordings are decent, but I could take or leave them. It’s interesting to here the band’s take on them now (especially since 3/4s of the original band is still actively there), but there’s nothing widely different about their versions except that they’re a bit more live. The new stuff ranges from fun (“Wanted Man”, “Blue Highway”) to “What The Hell?” (the less than inspired version of “Bad To The Bone”). Still, if you don’t have this record, it’s worth getting the new version if just for the extra B-Side.
The 411: The 25th Anniversary Edition of Bad To The Bone is awesome. The remastered tracks sound crisp and vital and fans will enjoy the newly available “That Philly Thing”. The original tracks here are crammed with classics, which is reason enough to get it, as there’s stuff you won’t find on Thorogood’s many compilations. The newly recorded tracks are a good idea in theory, but don’t add much value. Still, if you don’t have this album, it’s one of those blues-rock essentials that should be bolstered by a bit of added incentive. Support Delaware’s favorite bar band and pick this set up.
