My relationship with the revolving hard rock door known as The Dead Daisies goes back nearly a decade now, when as a naive high schooler, I saw them open for KISS on their Freedom to Rock Tour. In the years since, this pseudo-supergroup has gone through so many personnel changes, that at this point it’d be easier to name the ’80s hard rock musicians who HAVEN’T been part of the DD fold. So for clarity’s sake, The Dead Daisies’ lineup as of today, June 5, 2025, consists of founding rhythm guitarist David Lowy, longtime lead guitarist Doug Aldrich, singer John Corabi (back for his second stint), Whitesnake bassist Michael Devin, and the first female Daisy, drummer Sarah Tomek.
Together, these five have united to create The Daisies’ second covers album, and 9th album overall, Lookin’ for Trouble. As stated in my review of Midnight’s recently released Steel, Rust and Disgust, cover albums are far from my cup of tea. Even from the best of bands, 9 times out of 10, these types of releases come off as cheap fodder for labels to make a quick buck off of, and I’d be lying if I said part of me didn’t feel that way about the Daisies’ last covers outing, Locked and Loaded (2019). Yet whereas Locked and Loaded saw the DD gang tackling the classic rock songbook, Lookin’ for Trouble sees them going full blown blues.
Admittedly, the songs being covered here are far from obscure, and have been handled by many a prominent rock act in the past. We’ve got “Walking the Dog”, which was famously featured on Aerosmith’s self titled debut, and later covered by Ratt. Both “Crossroads” and “Born Under a Bad Sign” were popularized by Cream, and who could forget Ram Jam’s FM staple, “Black Betty”? The Daisies’ tackle all these and more, but to their credit, do so in a way that deviates these renditions from the classic rock staples we all know and love, all the while paying homage to the original bluesmen who penned these songs decades ago.
John Corabi’s earthy vocals were tailormade for this type of bluesy hard rock, bringing the vivid lyrics of these songs to life with pure soul power. While it’s easy to brand him as the “star” of this release, the rest of the band does a phenomenal job too throwing down, particularly Doug Aldrich. Best known for his metal/hard rock playing style, I was curious how Aldrich would adapt playing blues rooted material. After a run through of this affair, I’m convinced he could’ve held his own in a jam session alongside late blues titans like Johnny Winter and Kim Simmonds. All of these songs leap out of your stereo with raw emotion and scorching heat, but the title of choice cut has to go to “Black Betty”, which really stands out thanks to its funk n’ boogie stomp.
All things considered, Lookin’ for Trouble is a far more fulfilling covers album than many would expect. The Daisies’ riveting renditions of these standards can’t help but leave me pondering if they’ll further hone their focus on this blues oriented sound for their next collection of originals. With all due respect to their output thus far, I think such a pivot would be nothing short of spectacular, if only because this group has such a fine grip on the style already. Let’s just hope this incarnation is still together come album #10!
7 out of 10
Label: Fame Records
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: Black Country Communion, Aerosmith, Free
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