The Dead Daisies – Lookin’ for Trouble
10 tracks – 38 minutes
In 2024, the hard rocking Slash, guitarist for Guns ‘n’ Roses and Velvet Revolver released a successful blues album that received airplay on many radio shows including Sirius XM. Now a group of performers with a history of playing in hard rock bands have come together to play ten covers of songs that they feel have influenced the birth of rock. Like many of those who grew up in the 60’s – 70’s era, music from The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, John Mayall and many other similar bands brought blues to the attention of the followers of those bands and led to an interest and investigation into the original blues artists. Lead vocalist John Corabi for The Dead Daisies states “Blues has influenced every genre of music we listen to – except classical. I’d call it the ‘soul’ of music.” He further explains that the album title Lookin’ for Trouble “nods to the era when blues was branded ‘the Devil’s music’ – feared for its themes of rebellion, hardship and sensuality.” The term subsequently was also applied to the rock ‘n’ roll era and many forms of music since.
The band consists of Motley Crue vocalist and harmonica player John Corabi; founding member and Red Phoenix, Mink guitarist David Lowy; Whitesnake and Dio guitarist Doug Aldrich; Whitesnake and Lynch Mob bassist Michael Devin; and Steven Tyler Band and Samantha Fish drummer Sarah Tomek. The band has been around for a decade playing their “no-holds barred approach to rock” with the band line-up changing around David Lowy. This is their seventh studio album. Previous albums have featured primarily original hard-rocking songs as might be expected from a group with their cited historical background. This is their first album delving into the covers of blues classics. The album was recorded live at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
The album opens with Muddy Waters’ “I’m Ready”. The guitars come roaring out and the song kicks out while maintaining the basic construct of the original and even throws in a little bit of harmonica. Freddy King’s “Going Down” continues in a belted-out version with the guitars again in full-throttle mode. John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom” with a harmonica driving settles back into a conventional version.
The harmonica again leads Lead Belly’s “Black Betty” into full headbanging mode. Things slow down for a reverential version of B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone” allowing John to display some deep, soulful vocals not present to this point in the album. The guitars also are allowed room to breathe and shine with a sparse sound. Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign” moves back into a hard-rocking mode and John’s blues-shouter vocals.
Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads” lets David pull out his slide guitar, which provides for a standout song on the album. The follow-up is a second well-known Johnson song, “Sweet Home Chicago”, once again led by the harmonica with throbbing guitar solos. Rufus Thomas’ “Walking the Dog” goes full-bore rock and readily gets your head bobbing along. The album concludes with “Little Red Rooster” written by Willie Dixon and originally recorded by Howlin’ Wolf. The song has a solid blues take with harmonica, slide guitar and David providing comfortable vocals serving the blues shuffle.
The album is a powerful blues-rock album, sometimes leaning strongly to the rock side of the genre. Although providing their own inclination into the blues sound, the group still manages to deliver an album that is true to the original content while providing a modern take with high-energy, adrenaline driven guitars and vocals not veering too far from those 60’s and 70’s groups that re-introduced the blues to a new audience. One can hope that groups such as The Dead Daisies can find a new audience intrigued by the sound and willing to step back to see what the artists given tribute on this album were about.
