rtbuck
Senior Member
George Thorogood & the Destroyers – ‘Live in Boston 1982’
Year: 2010
Label: Rounder Records
Review by Bucky
In 1978 I was into the Rolling Stones & thanks to the early Stones records I was also into becoming a fan of the blues & Chuck Berry. Nothing psyched me up more than hearing that classic riff at the beginning of “Johnny B. Goode”, “Carol”, “Rollover Beethoven”, “Sweet Little Rock & Roller”, “Little Queenie”, “Let it Rock” …etc. One day I was listening to Q-FM 97 FM & they played “Move it on Over” by George Thorogood & the Destroyers & after hearing that tune I had to get that record which I did. The album was great & I loved Thorogood’s raspy voice & sloppy guitar sound. The one song that stood out for me was “It Wasn’t Me”. It was a Chuck Berry cover & it blew me away. I would play that song over & over & not grow tired of it. Needless to say I was a fan & I went out & bought his S/T album which has 3 of my favorite tunes performed by Lonesome George: “One Bourbon, One Scotch, & One Beer”, “Madison Blues”, & “I’ll Change my Style”. The next year he re-released his debut from ’74 ‘Better Than the Rest’ which covered Chuck Berry’s “Nadine”. I just kept rocking out to Thorogood & around 1980 I came across a rare live album called ‘It’s all Entertainment’ which was phenomenal plus it included a ten minute jam of “Johnny B. Goode”. Also in 1980 he released an album titled ‘More’ which I thought was a fantastic album. In 1982 he released probably his most popular album ‘Bad to the Bone’ & continued his non stop touring around the country even opening for the Stones. Thorogood’s live shows were spectacular back then from what I hear (I seen him around 1985 & his show was quite a wild party).
Anyway, Thorogood just released a fantastic live album from 1982 that I picked up an autographed copy of at a free show he played in Lewiston, NY on July 22nd which was great. George has not lost any of his magic live as he rocked the large outdoor venue with all of his classics including “Move it on Over”, “I Drink Alone”, “Get a Haircut”, “Who Do You Love”, “One Bourbon One Scotch & One Beer”, “Bad to the Bone”, ”Night Time”, & “You Talk too Much”.
If you’ve been a fan of Thorogood from his days in the late 70’s/early 80’s then this CD is for you. The album rocks & kicks ass right from the start as he opens with the Chuck Miller’s 1955 tune “House of Bluelights” which was covered by Chuck Berry also. Thorogood squeezes 2 houserocking lead solos in the 4 minute tune. Up next is the instrumental “Kids from Philly” which features saxophonist Hank Carter who really shines on this song as well as another instrumental which is a cover of The Rockin’ Rebels “Wild Weekend”. The band continues rocking as they perform a killer version of “I’m Wanted”. Thorogood brings the tempo down a bit with the outstanding bluesy “One Way Ticket” from the ‘More’ album but brings the crowd level right back up as he launches into a 13 minute crowd pleasing version of “One Bourbon One Scotch & One Beer”. Thorogood then gets a bit mellow with “As the Years go Passing by” but the musicianship is great throughout the tune. Thorogood tries to get people up on the dance floor & succeeds by cranking out the Chuck Berry’s “It Wasn’t Me”. This is a fantastic version as George really rocks out & I could just imagine the dance floor during this number as he really jams this tune out.with a 2 minute instrumental break in the middle & another near 3 minute break at the end. He then goes into a near 8 minute jam of “New Boogie Chillun’” followed by “Miss Luann” (both from his brand new ‘Bad to the Bone’ album). As the show winds down Thorogood rocks the house with Elmore James’ “Can’t Stop Loving”,Hank Williams’ “Move it on Over”, Rockin’ Rebels’ “Wild Weekend”, & the Human Beinz “Nobody but me”. Overall this is a great live album with great liner notes & I don’t even miss hearing “Bad to the Bone”.
Bucky
