May 21, 2004
more on the new album...
30 Years of Rock (10 May 2004)
George Thorogood & The Destroyers have delivered 30 years of pure rockin’ and rollin’ with absolute respect to the masters who came before them and the fans in front of them.
On May 31, 2004, EMI will mark the 30th anniversary of the formation of George Thorogood & The Destroyers with the release of George Thorogood & The Destroyers Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock. The 16-song, 78-minute compilation features their biggest tracks, “Bad To The Bone,” “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” “Move It On Over,” “You Talk Too Much,” “If You Don’t Start Drinking (I’m Gonna Leave),” and 11 others.
Tom Rothrock, producer for Beck, RL Burnside and Elliott Smith and longtime Thorogood fan has contributed a new remix of “Who Do You Love” as a turn of respect for the man who introduced him to the blues. "Everyone has that one artist that gets them into the blues and for me it was George Thorogood and The Destroyers," says Rothrock. "I was DJ'ing at my college radio station and I got a request to play George Thorogood's version of "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer". It led me to dig out the John Lee Hooker records from the music library and that was it, I was in."
The album also debuts an unreleased version of “Rockin’ My Life Away,” a track that had originally been cut in February 1993 for the Haircut sessions, recorded by Terry Manning and produced by Terry & the band, at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, The Bahamas. The band shelved this version of the song, its raw energy seeming incongruent with the tone of the album. 4 years later it emerged again, produced by Waddy Wachtel, and was released as the lead single for the album Rockin My Life Away. However, for the first time ever, the original version is heard on 30 Years of Rock.
The Destroyers, also known as the Delaware Destroyers (their home state), were formed in December, 1973. The band is comprised of founding members George Thorogood on guitars and vocals, Jeff Simon on drums, and Bill Blough, bassist and member since 1976. Together they have 3 gold and platinum records in New Zealand and performed over 3000 concerts in their 30 years together. This collection is a salute to the dreams of three every day guys who wanted to make a living playing in a rock n’ roll band.
“Anyone born after World War II who says they didn’t at least consider for five minutes in their life becoming a rock and roll star is lying. I mean, that’s the dream, isn’t it?” says George Thorogood.
Touring has been as integral to the success of the Destroyers as the studio albums. Every night the band goes on stage, George Thorogood & The Destroyers have made their concerts a celebration, alright, a downright party, conjuring up and igniting all the hedonism coiled around classic rock n’ roll and blues guitar riffs. The live experience is included on Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock with 2 live songs, “The Sky Is Crying” and “Reelin’ and Rockin’.”
Jeff Simon says, “We’re grateful to have the opportunity to celebrate our 30th year of living the dream. We’re blessed to have a fanbase and a company that believes in us so much. Having ‘30 Years Of Rock’ released now makes me look forward to seeing our amazing fans throughout the year. Let’s rock!”
Bill Blough adds, “Jeff Simon and I were thrilled at the chance to assist EMI’s art department in the packaging for ‘30 Years Of Rock.’ We spent a lot of time digging through our attics to come up with the variety of memorabilia for the project. It brought back a lot of fond memories of the ‘good old days’.”