George Thorogood proves he's 'Badder Than Ever' with Allentown, Penn performance
Courtesy - AXS.com
By: James Wood AXS Contributor
There aren't many artists today with the track record and resume of George Thorogood, and for good reason. For the last forty years, Thorogood has released sixteen studio albums, toured with the likes of The Rolling Stones and has written songs that have become the fabric of rock classic radio. Thorogood was also one of the artists asked to perform at Live Aid in Philadelphia thirty summers ago, hopping a red-eye flight from the west coast to make it in time to perform alongside Blues greats Albert Collins and Bo Diddley.
Although Thorogood knows the Lehigh Valley area quite well from his performances up and down the East Coast over the years, his 'Badder Than Ever' tour stop in Allentown, PA last night was actually Thorogood's first visit to the historic Miller Symphony Hall. Arriving onstage to the sounds of Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction", Thorogood and The Destroyers began a blistering set of blues classics and originals mixed with a heavy helping of Thorgood-ness!
Thorogood's set included the usual suspects: "House Rent Blues / One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," "I Drink Alone," "Move It On Over" and (after asking the audience how "bad" they wanted it) his signature song, "Bad To The Bone". Thorogood's tasty, slide guitar work was on full display throughout the performance as well as his infectious rhythm section that kept the beat (and party) going.
Read more: George Thorogood proves he's 'Badder Than Ever' with Allentown, Penn performance
George Thorogood & The Destroyers March 7, 2015 Garde Arts Center New London, CT
Courtesy VintageRock.com
Review by Donna Erichsen
Photos by George Bekris
After 40 years on the road, George Thorogood and the Destroyers rocked the house with a good and solid show of pure raw energy in Connecticut. The Danielle Nicole Band warmed up the crowd with cuts from their upcoming EP before big, bad Thorogood hit the stage.
The audience was eager to be bad as well. There was an eclectic mix of longhair 20-somethings and gray-haired 60-somethings, some still sporting their long hair. The outcome of that mix was a pumped up crowd full of energy. Everyone was ready to rock, stomp, clap and shout out the words to the well-known tunes set in stone for the ages from 70s and 80s radio airplay.
Most of Thorogood’s songs are still played daily on stations across the country so his following has done nothing but grow over the years. His ageless sound is still as relevant now as it was back in the day. After all this time, Thorogood still retains the bad boy vibe he’s carried all these years and didn't come up short in this performance.
The band had a good time and fed off the energy of the crowd. The Garde Theater is a relatively small house and intimate enough for a lot of interaction with the audience. Thorogood played to them all from the front row to the back of balcony. He and the Destroyers had all of the tried-and-true hits in the set to satisfy an audience primed up for "badness" and some good down home boogie blues.
Read more: George Thorogood & The Destroyers March 7, 2015 Garde Arts Center New London, CT
INTERVIEW: George Thorogood ‘Badder Than Ever’ in 2015
Courtesy HollywoodSoapBox.com
George Thorogood, the legendary blues-rock musician, is touring the United States with the Destroyers, and fans can expect his many classic tunes, including “Bad to the Bone,” 
“Move it on Over” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.” The Badder Than Ever tour makes a stop Wednesday, March 18 at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, N.J.
“We made all of these songs to begin with to be played live,” Thorogood said recently during a phone interview. “That was the point of it. These songs were selected for the entertainment of rock ‘n’ roll fans. Not that we don’t like the songs. We do, but you know, it’s like a guy opens a restaurant and puts things on the menu that he knows people are going to like. You never get tired of serving it as long as people like it.”
Some other tunes that are certified classic: “I Drink Alone” and “Who Do You Love.”
With several decades under his belt, Thorogood seems to have the rock star routine down pat. With his signature voice, bluesy guitar playing and dedicated band, the musician has been bad to the bone for a long time in a business where longevity can be nearly impossible. After his band’s tour, later this spring he will team up with Brian Setzer for a co-headlining round of dates.
Today, the journeying across the United States and other countries doesn’t always get him excited. “The road doesn’t really thrill me; the stage does,” he said. “The road’s a little rough and gets rougher all the time, but, you know, I can’t get 100,000 people to come to my house when I play. So I have to travel to do my job.”
Read more: INTERVIEW: George Thorogood ‘Badder Than Ever’ in 2015
Rounder Records to Release Limited Edition of Original Mix of George Thorogood & The Destroyers Debut Album
ROUNDER RECORDS TO RELEASE SPECIAL LIMITED BLUE VINYL EDITION OF THE ORIGINAL MIX OF GEORGE THOROGOOD AND THE DESTROYERS’ DEBUT ALBUM – AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON RECORD STORE DAY, APRIL 18
COLLECTION TITLED “GEORGE THOROGOOD AND THE DELAWARE DESTROYERS” SHOWCASES RAW FIRST STUDIO TAKE OF THROGOOD’S ORIGINAL THREE PIECE BAND; PLUS PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED SONG “GOODBYE BABY”
Rounder Records proudly announces the forthcoming release of a special edition blue vinyl LP titled GEORGE THOROGOOD AND THE DELAWARE DESTROYERS - the original mix of George Thorogood And The Destroyers’ self-titled debut album, which was originally recorded in 1976. The rare collection, which also includes a bonus never-released before song, “Goodbye Baby,” and cover artwork of Thorogood’s first-ever publicity photo, will be available only Record Store day on April 18 at participating independent retailers nationwide. The release of the album contains: "You Got to Lose," "Madison Blues,” “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” "Can't Stop Lovin',” "Ride On Josephine," "Homesick Boy," "I'll Change My Style," "Delaware Slide" and “Goodbye Baby” (bonus track).
The “first take” of the band’s debut album featuring Thorogood’s original three-piece -- Thorogood on vocals, electric guitar, harmonica, Ron Smith on guitar and Jeff Simon on drums, the album features Thorogood’s first incarnation of the then George Thorogood And The Delaware Destroyers, modeled on Hound Dog Taylor’s format—two guitars and drums. The actual studio album that was later released in 1977 included bass player Bill Blough, who joined the band several months after the first raw sessions took place. The decision was made to overdub Bill onto the existing tracks for the studio release, and the chemistry was so strong, that Thorogood, Blough and Simon are still together in 2015.
Says Scott Billington, Vice President, A&R of Rounder Records, “Rounder founder Ken Irwin kept remembering the original mixes—the rawness and immediacy of George playing live in the studio, which is the missing early recorded chapter of the band’s history. We are now offering to fans, the first album by George Thorogood And The Delaware Destroyers, as it was first heard, remixed from the original 24-track tapes by Paul Q. Kolderie (whose credits include Radiohead and Pixies).