3 Stars
Lonesome Dave Peverett, Tone Stevens, and Roger Earl were all in the most stable and popular lineups of Savoy Brown, along with band main man and guitarist Kim Simmonds. But after five albums and countless nights on the road, Lonesome Dave Peverett thought it was time to strike out on his own as Foghat with the addition of Rod Price, primarily on slide guitar.
After five albums and constant touring, Tone Stevens had had enough and was replaced by Craig McGregor.
One more studio album, and when ‘Live’ came out in 1977, it turned Foghat into one of America’s top-drawing live acts. To the rest of the world, they didn’t mean a thing. They would be lucky in their home country England to fill the Marquee Club, which holds about 200 people, and then it would be mainly American tourists. Whereas in America they could pull in audiences of up to 200,000 screaming fans, and ‘Live’ went platinum. Strange old world.
On ‘Live’ you get six great big slabs of Foghat’s boogie/rock. Right from the over-the-top introduction, where the announcer screams himself hoarse in six words, such is his excitement; it’s party time all the way. As you can tell by the titles, the songs do not have much prophetic reasoning behind them. All the lyrics are about living, loving, drinking, and surviving on the road.
For More Classic Rock, Click Here
At three minutes and thirty seconds of the second number in ‘Home In My Hand,’ the band gives the song a false ending, only to come crashing straight back in with another verse louder than previously played, breaking into an a cappella verse before finally finishing the song, showing off the dynamics learnt by the band during their continuous touring. Add to this Dave Peverett’s between-song stage banter and some explosive slide guitar from Rod Price, particularly during the versions of the hit singles ‘I Just Wanna Make Love To You’ and ‘Slow Ride,’ which are both extended to eight minutes. See what I mean about the songs now? I wonder what those two are about?
You have a truly entertaining, nearly forty minutes of great rock ‘n’ roll. Now, this is where Mott gets rowdy. Thirty-eight minutes, thirty-eight seconds is not long enough for today’s CDs. I am sure that when these concerts were recorded that Foghat were on stage for more than forty minutes. So, there must be some more recorded songs that could be slotted back in, now that we have the longer CD format. Forty minutes may have been OK in the days of vinyl because of time constraints, but a CD can take up to seventy-two minutes without any loss of sound quality. Then when you add to that the slipshod recording from the original, you can see why so many people get disillusioned by the music business—what a waste. Still, someday somebody will probably do it properly.
Later, Foghat would get the Spinal Taps and almost have a revolving door policy, with bass players in particular lasting alarmingly short times between coming and going. (I counted at least nine on their rock family tree, including at some time both the talents of Robbie Alter and Kenny Aaronson.)
For more news on concerts and live recordings, past and present, click here
In 1986, there were two Foghats, one under the leadership of drummer Roger Earl and one with Lonesome Dave Peverett, with none of the other founding members in either band. Even Spinal Tap did not have those problems. But in 1989, wise heads prevailed, and Roger and Dave patched up their differences while Tone and Ron were recalled to the ranks. For ten further years, the original members of Foghat ate up that road fever, after which Rod Price called a halt to his Foghat days and went solo.
In 1991, Lonesome Dave was cruelly taken from us by cancer of the kidneys. Rod Price had a fatal heart attack in 2005, and Craig MacGregor succumbed to cancer in 2018. Still today, Roger Earl and Tone Stevens keep the Foghat flag flying (although in different lineups of Foghat!), playing live the length and breadth of the United States of America.
Foghat Live is a fine album from the Seventies, which is just begging for a proper upgrade. If you want to have a listen anyway, remember to turn the bass up.
Musicians:
Lonesome Dave Peverett – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Rod Price – Guitar and Vocals
Roger Earl – Drums
Craig MacGregor – Bass and Vocals
Tracks Listing:
Fool For The City
Home In My Hand
Road Fever
Honey Hush
Written by Mott the Dog from Fletchers’ Folly on the Darkside of Pattaya.
Remember to visit and subscribe to Mott’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1003417143122919/
