Blues-rock guitar stalwart George Thorogood is to mark his return to Rounder Records, the label that gave him his first deal in 1976, with the 4 August release of Party Of One.

It's his first-ever solo release, billed without his band the Destroyers, with whom he's sold 15 million albums. It features 15 traditional and modern blues songs, chiefly performed with acoustic instrumentation, including slide, Dobro and harmonica. The album features versions of the Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet song 'No Expectations,' Hank Williams' 'Pictures From Life’s Other Side,' Willie Dixon's 'Wang Dang Doodle' and Johnny Cash's 'Bad News.'

1. I'm a Steady Rollin' Man
2. Soft Spot
3. Tallahassee Women
4. Wang Dang Doodle
5. Boogie Chillen
6. No Expectations
7. Bad News
8. Down the Highway
9. Got to Move
10. Born With the Blues
11. The Sky Is Crying
12. The Hookers (If You Miss 'Im...I Got 'Im)
13. Pictures From Life's Other Side
14. One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer (Live from Rockline)
15. Dynaflow Blues

[www.udiscovermusic.com]

[www.amazon.com]

Great news!

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frankotero
Great news!

ummmmmm.....no

at first I was confused by the press statement until I saw its just George playing on the entire thing

George Thorogood’s version of Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle” can be listened below:

[www.americanbluesscene.com]

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Cooltoplady

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frankotero
Great news!

ummmmmm.....no

there are some great cover versions out there..............so I'm curious for his take on it..........

__________________________

One of the best bootlegs I've got is Thorogood live at the Bijou Café in Philly from a radio broadcast. The sound and mix is one of the best. Check it out if yer a fan.

cat needs a singer period. he plays guitar great. can't listen to his fake blues croak for a minute tho; too bad, like his slide and his approach; he bangs it around pretty good.

I agree hopkins, never been a big fan of his, but at least he's "re-working" these covers and putting his own stamp on it unlike other bands that do blues covers and attempt to copy and mimic the originals.

"chiefly performed with acoustic instrumentation, including slide, Dobro and harmonica".



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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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[email protected]
One of the best bootlegs I've got is Thorogood live at the Bijou Café in Philly from a radio broadcast. The sound and mix is one of the best. Check it out if yer a fan.

How about posting a link.

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Cristiano Radtke
George Thorogood’s version of Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle” can be listened below:

[www.americanbluesscene.com]

Thanks for posting, but nope, it can't stand against the Wolf's version/versions.

I was a fan of George from day one. Bought his first three albums (Vinyl) and still play them. But then it went down. Well, just my 2cts.

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The Sicilian

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[email protected]
One of the best bootlegs I've got is Thorogood live at the Bijou Café in Philly from a radio broadcast. The sound and mix is one of the best. Check it out if yer a fan.

How about posting a link.

I looked on YouTube before posting and it appears no one has uploaded audio of this fantastic recording. Maybe someone will read this and upload. (sigh). It appears on eBay from time to time. It's called One Man Quartet.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-24 19:55 by micknkeef@cox.net.

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Phil Good

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Cristiano Radtke
George Thorogood’s version of Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle” can be listened below:

[www.americanbluesscene.com]

Thanks for posting, but nope, it can't stand against the Wolf's version/versions.

I was a fan of George from day one. Bought his first three albums (Vinyl) and still play them. But then it went down. Well, just my 2cts.

Nothing can compare to Howling Wolf (on any of the tunes he originally recorded), and even though I don't like the above either, as least he tried to make it different.
Better to reinterpret and fall short vs. attempting to copy like a bar band and resulting in mediocrity.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball

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Phil Good

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Cristiano Radtke
George Thorogood’s version of Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle” can be listened below:

[www.americanbluesscene.com]

Thanks for posting, but nope, it can't stand against the Wolf's version/versions.

I was a fan of George from day one. Bought his first three albums (Vinyl) and still play them. But then it went down. Well, just my 2cts.

Nothing can compare to Howling Wolf (on any of the tunes he originally recorded), and even though I don't like the above either, as least he tried to make it different.
Better to reinterpret and fall short vs. attempting to copy like a bar band and resulting in mediocrity.

Like who?

Maybe it's me but I could never go for any of his thing. Never found it's way on my table.

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Palace Revolution 2000
Maybe it's me but I could never go for any of his thing. Never found it's way on my table.

Well a lot of George's work sounds forced, overpowered and just not sexy, but I really like his Move It On Over album, there's plenty of good stuff on that. On other albums, you always have a good tune or two but the rest pretty generic filler.

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retired_dog

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Hairball

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Phil Good

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Cristiano Radtke
George Thorogood’s version of Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle” can be listened below:

[www.americanbluesscene.com]

Thanks for posting, but nope, it can't stand against the Wolf's version/versions.

I was a fan of George from day one. Bought his first three albums (Vinyl) and still play them. But then it went down. Well, just my 2cts.

Nothing can compare to Howling Wolf (on any of the tunes he originally recorded), and even though I don't like the above either, as least he tried to make it different.
Better to reinterpret and fall short vs. attempting to copy like a bar band and resulting in mediocrity.

Like who?

Numerous blues covers bar bands...we have a few in my neck of the woods, and while they're ok in that type of setting, nothing really to write home about.
Blue and Lonesome veers in that generic direction also IMO - there really isn't any reinterpretation going on with those covers.
In other words, they didn't really re-imagine or add their stamp on it in the way they did with Love in Vain, Stop Breaking Down, etc.

Meanhwile, George Thoroghgood is mixing it up "chiefly performed with acoustic instrumentation, including slide, Dobro and harmonica"...adding a personal touch and trying to make them his own.

Never bought a George Thorogood album (and probably never will), but some of his early cover tunes were all over the radio back in the early days.
I thought he was OK opening for the Stones in L.A. '81, but the J.Geils Band were 100 times better.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-26 05:42 by Hairball.

Was at the City Winery in NYC last night and everytime I'm there I hope that George will play there. I can't imagine a better person to rock that place. Rowdy intimate crowds in a bar/wine type setting. I guess he's still too big a name but I feel he'd relish playing in a place like that over a theater. His music was meant for a rowdy winery like that one and hope at some point he's aware/plays there.

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Cristiano Radtke
Hear George Thorogood Cover Rolling Stones' 'No Expectations' on First Solo Album

Not bad...but not good either.

Sounds like an average Joe cover - like someone learning to play it.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball

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Cristiano Radtke
Hear George Thorogood Cover Rolling Stones' 'No Expectations' on First Solo Album

Not bad...but not good either.

Sounds like an average Joe cover - like someone learning to play it.

Funny - I agree with Hairballs overall assessment "Not bad...but not good either" but to my ears, it was the vocals more than the playing that caused me to be not so impressed. I'd be willing to listen to him do a duet with Mick but not so much Keith or Ronnie.

Peace,
Mr DJA

Yeah, the guitar playing is good. Nothing special but the guy knows how to play. His singing is what leaves a little to be desired, which I guess you could say is always the case with George. But he has a great rock voice. When he dials it back here, it seems like he's struggling to reach the right notes. Or its a bad take. Otherwise, the vocals are definitely what keep it from being a great cover.

...better than I could do ...makes ya realize how important Mick is ... no comparison



ROCKMAN

George Thorogood...

Some where back in the mid 80's went to see him perform in St Kilda
After the show was at a club in Toorak Rd and about 3am in the morning
went to take a slash and who should walk in but George....

So asked him about opening for Stones.

"Yeah I opened for them but they was pinchin' all my guitar licks"..

He raved on that the Stones got sick of him 'cause he was stealing all their chicks...
"I was a threat to all their women" was his line...

Asked him about hangin' with Keith...."Ah Keith and I we live completely different lives"

Then his roadie/security dude came in and told me to leave
George alone..... George just zipped his fly an left...



ROCKMAN

Haha.. That was a good story, Rockie - fits to the picture I have of George, not being probably the most diplomatic and nicest guys around. Wasn't he originally promoted as some sort of 'wild man' from the forests of Delaware knowing nothing but the contemporary music scene. And he made some sort of first headlines by saying, after having asked what he thinks of Kiss,'who the @#$%& they are'...

Anyway, at the time I started to listen blues during the early 80's, I always liked George's raw, no hostages, rock - if not even a punk - attitude to the blues. Probably that worked like a bridge - like the Stones did - to understanding the great genre for a kid most familiar with recent rock music. His first albums were small classics of their own, but I also liked MAVERICK album very much. It sounded surprisingly 'contemporary' - sorry George - by the mid-80's standards. But the truth is that I haven't much listened to him since the 80's.

When I first saw the title of that new album, my first impression was 'oh shit, the guy's still drinking alone and probably the woman didn't started drinking'.. Okay, now I do understand that he really is having a 'Party of One'... Cheers, George!

- Doxa



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2017-07-07 10:44 by Doxa.

..... if ya wanna clear a room of real women .... play I Drink Alone ......



ROCKMAN

I can understand the particular criticisms of No Expectations, though I think it's pretty good in my opinion. On the other hand I'm absolutely floored by Wang Dang Doodle. Wow!!!

Listened "No Expectations". An okay version in my opinion. A very nice guitar interpretation and arrangement, but I think George could have put a bit more that raw georgeness to his vocals. Singing 'purely' like that is probably not his forte of expression, or maybe he is not so good expressing sentiments the song has or had too much Jagger's delivery in his mind. But that was just a mild criticism, it is an okay version as I said.

- Doxa

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Doxa
Listened "No Expectations". An okay version in my opinion. A very nice guitar interpretation and arrangement, but I think George could have put a bit more that raw georgeness to his vocals. Singing 'purely' like that is probably not his forte of expression, or maybe he is not so good expressing sentiments the song has or had too much Jagger's delivery in his mind. But that was just a mild criticism, it is an okay version as I said.

- Doxa

he is also 67 and its hard on a voice to get that rawness sometimes

"No Expectations" - nice guitar work, weak vocals. All in all, it does not beg for repeated listening.

A much (!) better Stones cover was "Grown Up Wrong", unfortunately available only as a bonus track on the german SPV pressing of "Half A Boy, Half A Man", his best album after "Move It On Over" imo (with participation of Waddy Wachtel, btw.).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-07-08 12:27 by retired_dog.