Haircut (album) explained

Haircut
Type:studio
Artist:George Thorogood and the Destroyers
Cover:GT-Haircut.jpg
Studio:Sounds Unreel Studios, Memphis, TN
Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas
Genre:
Length:42:49
Label:EMI America[1]
Producer:Terry Manning, The Delaware Destroyers
Prev Title:Boogie People
Prev Year:1991
Next Year:1995

Haircut is the ninth studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released on July 27, 1993[2] by the label EMI America Records.[3] [4] The first single from the album was "Get a Haircut",[5] which charted in multiple countries. The album peaked at No. 120 on the Billboard 200.[6] [7] The band supported the album with a North American,[8] and Canadian tour.[9]

Recording

Recording of the album took place at the Sounds Unreel Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and the Compass Point Studios in Nassau, The Bahamas. The album was produced by Terry Manning, who also worked with American rock band ZZ Top, and the Delaware Destroyers.[10]

Content

The album contains almost all cover material, except one song written by Thorogood.[11] "Want Ad Blues" is a cover of the John Lee Hooker song.[12] "Gone Dead Train" was written by Jack Nitzsche. Thorogood wrote "Baby Don't Go". "Howlin' for My Baby" was written by Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf.[13] The album cover art was made by Peter Bagge.[14]

Release

EMI America released Haircut on July 27, 1993. The album debuted at No. 133,[15] and peaked at No. 120 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was certified gold by Music Canada, where it sold more than 40,000 units.[16]

"Get A Haircut" was the lead single from the album. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Album Rock Tracks chart,[17] [18] and was the No. 1 most played song in Canada on FM radio.[19]

Critical reception

Haircut received mixed reviews from critics.

Ron Wynn of AllMusic wrote that "Thorogood's work has never lost its edge because he avoids becoming indulgent or a parody, and continues to sound genuinely interested in and a fan of the tunes he's doing." The Windsor Star wrote that "the guitar-slinging motor mouth offers another round of stinging and rocking blues, featuring that consistently fat sound with which his band has made its trademark style." The Calgary Herald deemed Haircut "boogie blues and rock 'n' roll ... And, yep, he hasn't changed a thing." The Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph opined that "since shtick is exactly what Thorogood's become reduced to, the only phrase that comes to mind listening to this is, 'get a real job'."[20] Michael Kramer of Music Connection called "Get A Haircut", "an instant Thorogood standard, right up there with “Bad To The Bone” and “I Drink Alone.", but considered the rest of the album "a letdown", adding "Although his vocals and guitar are as good as ever, none of the other songs are particularly exciting or even catchy."[21]

The Canadian Press called it "another slice of devil-may-care, comically anti-authoritarian riff rock".[22] The Boston Globe concluded that "Thorogood doesn't gain any dramatic ground, but his loyalty to his favorite idioms remains genuine."[23] The Indianapolis Star praised the "stark, deliberative" "Killer's Bluze".

Personnel

The following personnel are credited on the album:

Musicians

Technical

Charts

Chart (1993)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[24] 41
Canada (RPM)[25] 22
New Zealand (RMNZ)[26] 37
US Billboard 200120

Notes and References

  1. News: MUSIC . Newsday . 16 Aug 1993 . PART II . 36.
  2. News: Krewen . Nick . A couple of true blues guys . The Hamilton Spectator . 29 Jan 1993 . Ego . 14.
  3. July 3, 1993 . U2, Cypress Hill, Dayne Sets Grace Stores . . 117 . World Radio History.
  4. June 11, 1993 . George Thorogood: 'Get A Haircut' . . 21 . World Radio History.
  5. News: 7 July 1993 . Yoakam, Thorogood coming to town . Ottawa Citizen . B8.
  6. Billboard 200 . Billboard . Sep 4, 1993 . 105 . 36 . 88.
  7. Web site: Billboard 200 . Billboard.
  8. News: Catlin . Roger . 17 June 1993 . What's New . Hartford Courant . Calendar . 3.
  9. September 4, 1993 . RPM - September 4, 1993 . . 2 . World Radio History.
  10. Aug 14, 1993 . Album reviews — Haircut by George Thorogood . Billboard . 105 . 33 . 52.
  11. Web site: George Thorogood and the Destroyers, George Thorogood - Haircut . 2022-11-23 . AllMusic.
  12. News: Howell . Peter . George Thorogood and the Destroyers Haircut . Toronto Star . 10 July 1993 . G10.
  13. Augusto . Troy J. . August 14, 1993 . REVIEWS - GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS: Haircut . . 13 . World Radio History.
  14. Web site: Peter Bagge: Conversations. Kent. Worcester. March 6, 2015. Univ. Press of Mississippi. Google Books.
  15. Web site: Billboard 200 . Billboard.
  16. Web site: Gold/Platinum - Music Canada . Music Canada.
  17. September 4, 1993 . Billboard - September 4, 1993 . . 88 . World Radio History.
  18. Web site: George Thorogood Awards . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121203033725/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-thorogood-mn0000647834/awards . December 3, 2012 . January 16, 2021 . AllMusic.
  19. Web site: Marchand . Francois . April 30, 2014 . George Thorogood: Rock is a very real job . George Thorogood official website.
  20. News: Asakawa . Gil . 'HAIRCUT' George Thorogood and the Destroyers . Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph . 13 Aug 1993 . E2.
  21. October 11, 1993 . Music Connection - Disc Reviews . . 33 . World Radio History.
  22. News: Thorogood's touring with good reason this time . Edmonton Journal . 25 July 1993 . C3.
  23. News: Morse . Steve . GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS HAIRCUT . The Boston Globe . 5 Aug 1993 . Calendar . 11.
  24. Web site: Australian charts portal . australian-charts.com.
  25. Web site: Item: 1458 - Library and Archives Canada . Library and Archives Canada.
  26. Web site: New Zealand charts portal . charts.nz.