Overview
Haircut is the ninth studio album by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released on July 27, 1993, by the label EMI America Records. The first single from the album was "Get a Haircut", which charted in multiple countries. The album peaked at No. 120 on the Billboard 200. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
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.
Content
The album contains almost all cover material, except one song written by Thorogood. "Want Ad Blues" is a cover of the John Lee Hooker song. "Gone Dead Train" was written by Jack Nitzsche. The album cover art was drawn by Peter Bagge and inked by Jim Woodring.
Release
EMI America released Haircut on July 27, 1993. 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. "Get A Haircut" was the lead single from the album. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Album Rock Tracks chart, and was the No. 1 most played song in Canada on FM radio. "Howlin' for My Baby" was the second single. It debuted at No. 34, and peaked at No. 12 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. "Gone Dead Train" debuted at No. 39, and peaked at No. 24 on the same chart. "Killer's Bluze" was released as a single in 1994.
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." 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." The Canadian Press called it "another slice of devil-may-care, comically anti-authoritarian riff rock". The Boston Globe concluded that "Thorogood doesn't gain any dramatic ground, but his loyalty to his favorite idioms remains genuine." The Indianapolis Star praised the "stark, deliberative" "Killer's Bluze".
Personnel
The following personnel are credited on the album:
Musicians
* George Thorogood – guitar, vocals * Billy Blough – bass guitar * Hank Carter – keyboards, saxophone, background vocals * Jeff Simon – drums
Technical
* Delaware Destroyers – producer * Terry Manning – producer, engineer, mixing * Bob Ludwig – mastering * Henry Marquez – art direction * Peter Bagge – cover art