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MORE THAN A FEELING
1976
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"…Slow Ride…"
Massive in the States but a virtual underground thing in their native
Britain – FOGHAT got down and dirty and boogied their way into the hearts of
millions across the stadiums of the USA (they arose out of the ashes of two
wicked Britain Blues-Rock bands SAVOY BROWN and BLACK CAT BONES).
With four albums under their belt - "Foghat" (1972), "Rock And Roll" (1973), "Energized" (1974) and "Rock And Roll Outlaws" (also 1974) – all of
which charted in escalating numbers – the mustached British Blues Boogie Brats
finally busted the American top 30 with a Number 23 placing of their 5th (and
some would say finest platter) – "Fool For The City".
With a couple of killer
radio friendly Rock singles lifted off the LP – it was their first to go
Platinum. 1976 compounded that success with the follow up album “Night Shift”
(another cracker despite its naff artwork) that only added to their fan
following. Which brings us by way of a bottleneck to this peachy twofer…
Edsel of the UK have licensed the Nineties Rhino remasters – given them
a polish – and massively updated the booklets in an almost full catalogue
reissue campaign. Here are the Lonesome Dave details…
UK-released 26 March 2012 (10 April in the USA) – "Fool For The City/Night Shift" by FOGHAT on Edsel EDSS 1068
(Barcode 740155106836) offers two albums from 1975 and 1976 Remastered onto 1CD and breaks down as follows (76:23 minutes):
1. Fool For The City [Side 1]
2. My Babe
3. Slow Ride
4. Terraplane Blues [Side 2]
5. Save Your Loving (For Me)
6. Drive Me Home
7. Take It Or Leave It
Tracks 1 to 7 are their fifth album "Fool For The City"
released October 1975 in the USA on Bearsville BR 6959 and February 1976 in the
UK on Bearsville K 55507
8. Drivin’ Wheel
9. Don’t Run Me Down
10. Burnin’ The Midnight Oil
11. Night Shift [Side 2]
12. Hot Shot Love
13. Take Me To The River
14. I’ll Be Standing By
Tracks 8 to 14 are their sixth album "Night Shift" released
November 1976 in the USA on Bearsville BR 6962 and February 1977 in the UK on
Bearsville K 55511
Track 15 is a Bonus Track called "New Place To Call Home" - it's a Dan
Hartman composition and is a "Night Shift" outtake
FOGHAT was:
LONESOME DAVE (PEVERETT) on Lead Vocals and Guitar
ROD 'THE BOTTLE' PRICE on Lead Guitar and Vocals
NICK JAMESON on Bass, Keyboards, Guitar and Vocals
ROGER EARL on Drums and Percussion
(Nick Jameson) replaced by CRAIG MacGREGOR on Bass for "Night Shift"
Like all of these Edsel reissues in this series - the 20-page booklet is
pleasingly substantial. It features the front and rear artwork for each album,
the lyrics, reproductions of British Bearsville LP labels, live photos of the
band from Peverett's collection and a foreign picture sleeve for "Slow
Ride" b/w "Save Your Loving (For Me)".
More importantly there's
a detailed new essay by PAUL MYERS who has interviewed ROGER EARL of the band
especially for this reissue and has included relevant previous comments by
band-founder-member and principal songwriter "LONESOME" DAVE PEVERETT
and long-time band associate NICK JAMESON. PETER RYNSTON at Tall Order Studios
did the mastering and the sound apes the Rhino reissues of the Nineties – clear,
punchy and full. It's boogie all the way. Also – this CD is pitched at less
than mid-price – so it offers a lot of music for very little wedge.
Produced to perfection by Nick Jameson - "Fool For The City" opens with
a title-track killer. It was edited down from its album length of 4:33 minutes
to 3:28 minutes and put out as a 45 in March 1976 in the USA (Bearsville BSS
0307) with "Take It Or Leave It" as its flip. What a killer tune – to this day
it elicits a grin and is an oldies playlist regular. But it was the Side 1
monster "Slow Ride" that blew everyone away. Its stunning eight-minutes of
slide Blues Boogie was also edited down a more manageable 3:59 minutes and in
January 1976 it broke into the US singles chart peaking at a respectable 20 on
Bearsville BSS 0306 (the UK variant is on K 15522). Their take on The Righteous
Brothers hit "My Babe" gets a truly fantastic kick-ass makeover as does the
Robert Johnson Side 2 opener "Terraplane Blues". The girls and cars "Drive Me
Home" goes all barroom Honky Tonk with its sloppy piano backing supporting
rocking guitars. It ends on the rather sappy "Take It Or Leave It" – a stab at
MOR keyboard schlock – but by that time the rest of the album has boogied its
way into your heart.
The "Night Shift" album saw Nick Jameson step down on the Production front – taken
over by ex Edgar Winter Group keyboardist DAN HARTMAN. Right from the off we're
back to rocking business with a Price/Peverett crowd pleaser "Drivin' Wheel" –
a blaster that feels like it should have done better than its chart placing of
34 in December 1976 (Bearsville BSS 03313). We up the manic rock a notch with "Don't Run Me Down" and then get all sleazy Black Crowes with "Burnin' The
Midnight Oil".
Side 2 opens with the catchy fast Rock of "Night Shift" - but far better
is their inspired rawk take on Al Green's "Take Me To The River" predating
Talking Heads by a few years. It ends on ZZ Top slow blues – "I'll Be Standing
There" – a cool six-minute builder that features great guitar licks.
Production-wise the bonus Dan Hartman song "New Place To Call Home" is an
album-quality outtake – an acoustic attempt at Bluesy AOR that's a lot more
pleasant than I was expecting.
So there you have it - enough guitar rockers and slide boogie to worry
your dandruff phobic lady for months. Five-star presentation, great sound and a
cheap price – I’m a fool for it any day of the week…
PS: titles in the March 2012 FOGHAT reissue series are (LP releases
dates are USA):
1. Foghat (July 1972) / Foghat [aka Rock And Roll] (March 1973) – Edsel
EDSS 1066
2. Energised (January 1974) / Rock And Roll Outlaws (November 1974) –
Edsel EDSS 1067
3. Fool For The City (October 1975) / Night Shift (November 1976) –
Edsel EDSS 1068
4. Foghat Live (September 1977) / Stone Blue (May 1978) – Edsel EDSS
1069
5. Boogie Motel (October 1979) / Tight Shoes (June 1980) – Edsel EDSS
1070
6. Girls To Chat & Boys To Bounce (July 1981) / In The Mood For
Something Rude (November 1982) / Zig-Zag Walk (June 1983) / Rarities – Edsel
EDSD 2130 (2CD set)
PPS: this review is dedicated to Charlie Stewart from Dublin - an old friend
of mine who adored "Fool For The City"...
