The Hard Stuff - City Paper review

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Rampaging guitarist and vocalist George Thorogood and the Destroyers return on The Hard Stuff (Eagle) with another set of driving tunes performed with maximum energy and intensity. He can get fancy and intricate when he wishes, but Thorogood’s best when he’s belting out simple lyrics and delivering fierce riffs and answering refrains.

The set’s top original pieces include “I Didn’t Know,” “Any Town USA” and the title track, but Thorogood’s choices in covers range from explosive reworkings of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Moving” and Johnny Shines’ “Dynaflow Blues” to Bob Dylan’s “Drifter’s Escape” and the Fats Domino/Dave Bartholomew Crescent City stomper “Hello Josephine.” Buddy Leach’s booming sax licks and Jim Suhler’s expert rhythm guitar assistance ably anchor Thorogood’s sonic assaults on The Hard Stuff.