Maverick

AMG Review of Maverick

Joe Viglione
All Music Guide

George Thorogood is forever consistent and Maverick is more of the blues/rock driving sound the journeyman guitarist is known for. John Lee Hooker's "Crawling King Snake" is what you expect from this crew while "Memphis, Tennessee" bursts at the seams with George's trademark slide and Hank Carter's saxophone. Recorded at the legendary Dimension Sound Studio in July of 1984 on the outskirts of Boston, the earthy sound catches all the band's primal energy from opener "Gear Jammer" to the wailing sax of "Long Gone." There are only four originals from Thorogood, the album chock full of Johnny Otis, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, John Lee Hooker and others. It is territory that the group has covered on pretty much every previous record, but it's done with the artistic passion that makes it real. The vocal on "What a Price" full of torment, it's a nice contrast to the rocking numbers.