Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Review: George Thorogood and the Destroyers - The Dirty Dozen


Label: Capitol/EMI

Released: July 28, 2009

George Thorogood's principle charm is that he plays the blues for people who aren't really all that blue. In many ways, he's a classic blues artist from his shuffling riffs to his beer-soaked voice, except, at his best...well, he's kinda fun. Thorogood's latest release, The Dirty Dozen, is at least sporadically successful in that way.

The album is grouped into sides as if it were on vinyl (and it is through his website). The first side is all new material. While it's mostly made up of run-of-the-mill blues and rockabilly, two tracks, "Born Lover" and "Let Me Pass," find Thorogood at his tongue-in-cheek, good-time best, making this a welcome addition for his diehard fans. The second "side" is made up of fan favorites, three of which were out-of-print in the US, but none of which is as exciting as one would expect of a "favorite." Like the first side, these tracks may be of great interest to his serious fans, but offer little for the rest of us.

While the album does have a couple of standouts and no real bombs, it lacks the excitement of his best work. George Thorogood is still more of "greatest hits" artist and The Dirty Dozen merely contains a few more contenders for that kind of release.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 5/10
Aretha: 6/10
Overall: 6/10

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