Published on Jun 16, 1999
Don’t look now, Mother, but I think our little George has become
a man.
After years of putting out blues-rock that espoused good times
and good liquor, the public seemed to get tired of George Thorogood
and the Destroyers. Even I – a self-proclaimed lover of the blues –
fell away from following the one-time roadie for Hound Dog Taylor.
I mean, there’s only so many times you can tell a joke about
whiskey before that joke just isn’t funny anymore.
But Thorogood and crew obviously took a long look at things, and
have stormed back to life with
Half A Boy / Half A Man, a no-nonsense blues album that
sounds like it was as fun to make as it is to listen to. Without a
doubt, Thorogood has released the best album of his career.
The first thing that strikes me is Thorogood’s choice of cover
tunes – including the all-out party tune “Double Shot” (though I
could have swore someone did it before the Swingin’ Medallions –
any help out there?).If there was ever a song that showed the life
force returning to Thorogood and his music, this is the track. He
doesn’t even have to be the center of attention on this one; that
honor falls to keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Hank Carter. It’s
a killer cover, and a tune I can’t stop listening to.
The pure joy of
Half A Boy / Half A Man continues with the title track,
originally penned by Nick Lowe. Again, it’s an interesting choice,
but Thorogood and the Destroyers pull it off incredibly well,
making it a tune you’ll want to get up and dance to.
This isn’t to say that the Destroyers always look for the party
on this album. In fact, the blues that Thorogood and company play
is some of the rawest I’ve heard in some time. Tracks like “99 Days
To Jail,” “I Don’t Trust Nobody” and “Nothing Now” all seem to
indicate a new sense of focus for Thorogood and crew – not that
they didn’t have focus on previous albums.
Thorogood even has the courage to take a trip into country with
the track “Not Tonight (I Have A Heartache)”, one of only two songs
Thorogood wrote on the album. Undoubtedly this one is going to end
up on Pete Levin’s page of funny country song titles, but it’s not
that bad of a tune.
Thorogood’s days of superstardom with tracks like “Bad To The
Bone” might be gone – and in a way, this could be a blessing for
him. Without the glare of the spotlight, Thorogood has been able to
sit back and prepare an album that features some of his best
playing in years. And something tells me if radio gave tracks like
“Double Shot” or “Half A Boy, Half A Man” a chance, the phones
would be lighting up like Christmas trees.
Half A Boy / Half A Man is an album that reaffirms Thorogood
and the Destroyers’ ability to work the blues into a frenzy that
you hope will never stop. It’s an album that must be experienced –
but good luck getting it out of your CD player.