DESPITE George Thorogood’s crotchety hold on the past, the 58-year-old blues rocker and his Destroyers earn their “world’s best bar band” title with this driving record that flips from rock ‘n’ roll to blues to boogie.
Thorogood knows an album is only as good as its weakest song — and there isn’t a misstep on this scorching record. It has the same vibe as beloved hit singles such as “Bad to the Bone” and his very famous cover of Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?”
This time out, GT opens with a hard-hitting blues rock version of Willie Dixon’s “Tail Dragger” and lets that one set the CD’s pace.
There’s nothing slow or sentimental or softheaded among these 12 songs. Thorogood is in tiptop shape as he covers great but forgotten pieces by Chess Records legends such as Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Diddley and Chuck Berry.
The recording production work is pristine, demanding the volume be cranked. The Destroyer renditions make you thirsty for more George and another pitcher of beer.
* We’re guessing the huge overwrought pop orchestration on “Guilty Pleasure” is being used to disguise how depthless “High School Musical” sweetheart Ashley Tisdale‘s voice really is.
On her sophomore CD, the kitchen-sink-production attack for these 14 songs is cluttered and distracting. Add to that a generic, cookie-cutter vocal quality that leaves Tisdale sounding like a Frankenpop singer who’s part Kelly Clarkson, part Miley Cyrus, part Britney. Her voice can have range — as she proved on her 2007 debut — but here she uses an unimpressive monotone.
The songs themselves leave little to be recommended. After multiple spins, there are only two tunes that have memorable, catchy melodies: “It’s Alright, It’s OK” and the ballad “Me Without You.” This record is a vanity project by an actress who plays a musician on TV and has started to believe she’s the real thing.* Everything could have gone wrong for Aussie rockers Howling Bells‘ sophomore album “Radio Wars,” but the quartet managed to hold on to their dark, Gothic appeal and move forward musically. The big difference on this album is singer Juanita Stein’s delivery. While she has relied on atmospheric tones in the past, this time she’s vocally upbeat, offering a sense of contrast from the often bleak subjects she sings about.
The 10 tracks on this record are all set to appealing pop-rock tunes that draw you in, then the soul and honesty of Stein’s lyrics capture you. The trap is best set on songs such as “Cities Burning Down,” “Golden Web” and the wistful “Let’s Be Kids.” This is one of those albums that seems to get better the more you play it.