I have a confession to make. Namely that despite owning thousands of albums on vinyl, cassette, CD, mp3 and i-tunes and having been to hundreds of gigs over the last twenty plus years, this is actually the first time I have truly listened to the work of Thunder. I’m not entirely sure why this is, I’ve just always managed to avoid them. I’m one of the few though. They have racked up eighteen Top 40 UK hit single, played to thousands across the world and generally been really rather popular and they even still manage to hit the UK Top 75 album chart. 

My first encounter with Thunder therefore occurred in my car with the opening track of this CD which is the title song and it created an immediately favourable impression. Apparently Luke Morley wasn’t fully aware of the stories and myths surrounding Delta bluesman Robert Johnson until he heard about it on Radio 2! I own all of Mr Johnson’s recorded works and therefore count myself as a fan – not that you need to be in order to enjoy this powerful opener. 

Even from that point the quality never dips. It is a joy to listen to such a well crafted album with great songs and a huge sound. Having never been a fan before I was somewhat surprised how much the vocals remind me of the great Jimmy Barnes which is a very good thing indeed.  

My favourite track on my initial listens is The Devil Made Me Do It which is absolutely the best AC/DC song released this millennium. It starts with an Angus style riff which eventually becomes a memorable chorus. Throw in a cheeky little guitar solo and we’re onto a real winner. 

The second half of the album keeps the standard at optimum levels with the sole exception of My Darkest Hour which is a tad dull comparatively speaking. The rest is fairly excellent especially What a Beautiful Day which begins like a slow version of Damn Yankees’ Coming of Age and as the title suggests it’s one of those songs that makes one feel good to be alive. 

Andy Warhol Said has a really good hook and big guitar sound which is a feature of the album as a whole. It’s all about You (thankfully not a McFly cover) would have fitted well onto the recent House of Lords CD and that’s a real compliment. 

I have to say that I very much enjoyed my first encounter with Thunder and this will be a disc that I listen to in the future which isn’t always the case with CD’s that I review. Robert Johnson’s Tombstone gets a thumbs up from me and should do from all you discerning hard rock fans out there.

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Track List

Robert Johnson's Tombstone
Dirty Dream
A Million Faces
Don't Wanna Talk About Love
The Devil Made Me Do It
Last Man Standing
My Darkest Hour
Andy Warhol Said
What A Beautiful Day
It's All About You
Stubborn Kinda Love

Line Up

Danny Bowes - Lead Vocals
Luke Morely - Guitar
Ben Matthews - Guitars/Keyboards
Chris Childs - Bass
Harry James - Drums