New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Craft Recordings/Universal
Music announces a comprehensive reissue of
George Thorogood and The Destroyers' Live in Boston, 1982. Newly remastered by the GRAMMY Award-winning engineer Paul Blakemore, the 27-track Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert captures the band's fiery set in its entirety, including spoken introductions. Plus, the release includes 12 previously unreleased tracks (including performances of "Bad to the Bone," "Who Do You Love?," and "Cocaine Blues") and marks the first time the set will be available on vinyl.
Now available for pre-order, Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert will be available December 4th as a four-LP set on 180-gram vinyl, a two-CD set, and across digital platforms. Complimenting the collection are new liner notes by longtime
Boston Globe music critic and Berklee College of
Music professor, Steve Morse, who spoke with Thorogood about that incredible evening. In addition, a special deluxe edition of the new collection (pressed on red marble vinyl, including an eye-catching poster, and limited to 1,000 units) will be released exclusively for Record Store Day's
Black Friday event on November 27th. Coinciding with this week's announcement is the release of the first instant grat track, "Bad to the Bone," available this Friday, October 9th to stream or download on all major digital outlets.
George Thorogood and The Destroyers were hometown heroes when they played to a packed audience at Boston's Bradford Ballroom (now the Royale Nightclub) on November 23, 1982. Hailing from Wilmington, Delaware, Thorogood and his band had settled in
Boston in the late '70s, where they became mainstays in the scene—releasing their 1977 self-titled debut and their 1978 follow-up, Move It on Over, with the then-locally based Rounder Records. By the fall of 1982, the blues rockers were fast-rising stars on a national level. Just one year prior, they scored a supporting slot on The Rolling Stones' tour, while that October, they appeared on Saturday Night Live, promoting their fifth studio album, Bad to the Bone. As the busy year came to a close, the album's hard-driving title track—which would become one of Thorogood's most iconic songs—was getting steady airplay on the radio and its video was a mainstay on the burgeoning MTV.
After a non-stop year, the triumphant band returned to Boston, where they were embraced by their longtime fans. Full of energy, power, and focus, Thorogood and The Destroyers played a blistering set that included original material ("Kids from Philly," "Bad to the Bone," and "Miss Luann") blues classics (John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" and Elmore James' "The Sky Is Crying"), early rock 'n' roll and R&B covers (Chuck Berry's "No Particular Place to Go" and Bo Diddley's "
Who Do You Love?"), and a few country tunes that The Destroyers had already made their own (Hank Williams' "Move It on Over" and T.J. "Red" Arnall's "Cocaine Blues"). In addition to Thorogood's legendary guitar riffs, the songs are accentuated by the incendiary Hank Carter, who played saxophone with The Destroyers for 23 years. Luckily for fans, the incredible evening was captured in exquisite clarity by the award-winning engineer Guy Charbonneau, known for his "Le Mobile" remote recording truck.
For his liner notes, Steve Morse also interviewed Scott Billington, a longtime Rounder Records producer who oversaw the original, 2010 edition of Live in Boston, 1982. "It was exciting to revisit the entire show," Billington told Morse. "Listening back to these recordings also reminded me of how
George had taken the original rock 'n' roll blues aesthetic and brought it back into the mainstream at a time when that was not a particularly popular aspect of rock. Hearing a manifestation of that in the early '80s was a breath of fresh air."
Reflecting on Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert, Thorogood says, "1982 was an absolute high-water mark for us.
Everything was going our way and it shows in this recording from the Bradford Ballroom. This is
George Thorogood and The Destroyers at our best!"
George's peers also lauded the album. Legendary
Guns N' Roses guitarist
Slash declared, "George Thorogood has been a hero of mine since I first heard his music in the '70s. One of the baddest rock 'n' roll songwriters/electric slide guitar players ever and The Destroyers are a kick-ass, tight rhythm section. This recording proves it!" Blues rocker Jared
James Nichols added, "Power, attitude, emotion! I feel the energy and spirit, as if I'm actually at the show.
George and band are undeniably at the top of their game this rockin' night in Boston. Above all, this recording further solidifies the legend that is
George Thorogood. Crank it up and get ready to boogie!"
Since forming in 1974, Thorogood and his band—which currently consists of Jeff
Simon (drums, percussion), Bill Blough (bass guitar), Jim Suhler (rhythm guitar), and
Buddy Leach (saxophone)—have released 16 studio albums, played more than 8,000 ferocious live shows, and sold over 15 million records. For more than two generations,
George Thorogood and The Destroyers have remained one of the most consistent—and consistently passionate—progenitors of blues-based rock in pop culture history. Showing no signs of slowing down,
Thorogood returned to Rounder Records to release his solo debut, Party of One, in 2017 and he continues to tour regularly with The Destroyers.
Looking ahead, the band is excited to return to the road with a 27-date global tour, kicking off May 4, 2021, at the Revolution Place in Grande Prairie, AB, Canada (full tour itinerary below).
Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert [2-CD] Tracklisting:
Disc 1
House of Blue Lights
Kids from Philly
Who Do You Love?*
I'm Wanted
Cocaine Blues*
One Way Ticket
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
As the Years Go Passing By
Spoken Introduction: The Dance Floor*
It Wasn't Me
Bottom of the Sea*
Night Time*
New
Boogie Chillun'
Disc 2
I'll Change My Style*
Miss Luann
Madison Blues*
The Sky Is Crying*
I Can't Stop Lovin'
Spoken Introduction: Audience Participation*
Same Thing*
Bad to the Bone*
Move It on Over
Wild Weekend
Nobody but Me
No Particular Place to Go*
Ride on Josephine*
Reelin' and Rockin'*
* Previously unreleased
Live in Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert [4-LP] tracklisting:
Side A
House of Blue Lights
Kids From Philly
Who Do You Love?*
Side B
I'm Wanted
Cocaine Blues*
One Way Ticket
Side C
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
As the Years Go Passing By
Side D
Spoken Introduction: The Dance Floor*
It Wasn't Me
Bottom of the Sea*
Night Time*
Side E
New
Boogie Chillun'
I'll Change My Style*
Miss Luann
Side F
Madison Blues*
The Sky Is Crying*
Can't Stop Lovin'
Side G
Spoken Introduction: Audience Participation*
Same Thing*
Bad to the Bone*
Move It on Over
Wild Weekend
Nobody but Me
Side H
No Particular Place to Go*
Ride on Josephine*
Reelin' and Rockin'*
* Previously unreleased
George Thorogood and The Destroyers 2021 tour dates:
May 4: Grande Prairie, AB @ Revolution Place
May 6: Edmonton, AB @ River Cree Resort and Casino
May 10: Saskatoon, SK @ TCU Place
May 11: Winnipeg, MB @
Burton Cummings Theatre
May 19: Kitchener, ON @ Centre In The Square
May 20: Montreal, QC @ M Telus
May 22: Niagara Falls, ON @ Fallsview Casino Resort
May 29: Stateline, NV @ Montbleu Resort Casino & Spa
May 30: Avila Beach, CA @ Avila Beach Blues Festival
July 14: Madrid, ES @ Noches Del Botánico
July 17: Peer, BE @ Blues Peer
July 18: St. Julien, FR @ Festival Guitare En Scène
July 19: Frankfurt, DE @ Hugenottenhalle
July 21: Utrecth, NL @ Tivolivredenberg
July 23: Nottingham, UK @ Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
July 25: London, UK @ London O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
July 26: Liverpool, UK @ Liverpool Philharmonic
July 28: Birmingham, UK @ Birmingham Symphony Hall
July 30: York, UK @ York Barbican
July 31: Glasgow, UK @ Glasgow SEC Armadillo
August 1: Manchester, UK @ Manchester Bridgewater Hall
August 3: Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle
August 6: Notodden, NO @ Notodden Blues Festival
September 9: Waukegan, IL @ Genesee Theatre
September 16: Ocean City, MD @ OC Bikefest
September 17: Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
September 23: Huntington, NY @ The Paramount.
