What can you say about Foghat Live except that it ROCKS! And that means everything about it ROCKS – the music, the awesome LP packaging, the band’s giant droopy mustaches, you name it. The only thing disappointing about this album is that it’s only a single and not a double. This is one you need to have on all formats – LP for the killer die cut sleeve, CD for the car and mp3 for your ipod. Captured in concert on their never ending 1977 tour, Foghat Live kicks ass from start to finish. It’s impossible to listen to just one song, you just gotta play the whole thing and boogie!Side one starts off with a simple intro – “ladies and gentleman, please welcome FOGHAT!!” The crowd goes nuts and they crash into “Fool For The City,” a hit single in 1975 and title track of their fifth album. It sets the tone that everyone is going to rock HARD and have fun. “Fool For The City” is such a great song. It has everything you could ever want in a rock song – a simple but memorable riff, big sing-along chorus, funky breakdown and great lyrics. “Air pollution, here I come!” Brilliant.
The energy dips just a hair for “Home In My Hand.” With an arrangement reminiscent of Free’s “All Right Now” it gets the party people clapping to the beat. If you turn your stereo up loud enough you can hear the guys putting their girlfriends on their shoulders so they can get a better look at these hairy English guys and their tight satin pants. Side one finishes up with an awesome 8 minute reworking of Muddy Waters’ “I Just Want To Make Love To You.” This jam really shows off the bands strengths. Drummer Roger Earl hammers the beat like a pissed off carpenter while bassist Craig MacGregor grooves alongside him. Rod “The Bottle” Price plays some blistering leads and vocalist Lonesome Dave Peverett sings his heart out while also laying down some funky rhythm guitar. The dueling wah wah guitar solos in the middle jam really get the crowd rocking.
The great thing about having this on CD is that you don’t have to put down your bong to get up and flip the LP over. But if you’re listening to this on vinyl you can catch your breath with the mid-tempo boogie of “Road Fever.” You’ll appreciate the break because when Lonesome Dave says they’re gonna get “energized” with “Honey Hush” you better be ready because the full tilt boogie is about to get unleashed. Originally written in 1953 by rhythm & blues shouter Big Joe Turner, it got its first rock n roll workout by Johnny Burnette's The Rock and Roll Trio in 1956. Foghat takes that version and turns the heat way up. Rod goes nuts with the slide and wah wah pedal during his multiple solos. People who saw Foghat back in the 1970’s say they played really loud. You can tell, too. Bands don’t sound like this unless they really crank it up. And they had super cool speaker cabinets covered in white shag carpeting!
The album wraps up with an extended work out on their biggest hit, “Slow Ride.” Is there anyone who doesn’t love this song? Flat out, it rules. It’s so simple but it’s impossible not to get excited when that “Iron Man”-esque bass drum intro thuds through the speakers. When the guitars come in everyone knows that the party is in full force. Even without a lyric sheet, everyone knows the words. The funky cowbell pattern during the sing along part is pure class.
Sadly, Rod Price and Lonesome Dave are no longer with us but Roger Earl still leads a version of Foghat that plays anywhere that serves beer. Even though Foghat Live has been certified double platinum in the USA, it deserves a place in every home. The government should send a copy to everyone who gets a tax refund. This album is instant happy hour wherever and whenever you play it. If you already have it, track down the King Biscuit live CD that came out a few years ago with killer live shows from 1976 and 1974. What are you waiting for?
--Woody
buy here: Live
Official Foghat
http://www.foghat.com/
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