Foghat
8 Days On The Road
Foghat Records
When a band hangs in there 30 years after their heyday, one of two things typically happen: They drift away from what made them hit-masters, or they keep on doing the same thing until they die or reignite. Foghat came from London, but were an American-based band with their heyday in the 1970s. While they fell off my radar when punk arrived, the band kept chugging on with a reasonably steady stream of releases up to the present. This live blast gives a firestorm of classic rock and is every bit as sparkly as when they ruled my teenaged hormones. Fourteen tracks here, some new, some old, all classics. “Fool for the City” was always a fave; it celebrates urban living and avoided the hippy tropes of retreating to nature to grub out organic potatos while they went crazy hoping someone would visit. Title track “Eight Days On The Road” sets down that driving rhythm that all great blues rock is built upon, and it pays off. Funky covers of “Maybellene” and “Play That Funky Music” rock hard and owe their bones and blood to the black artists popularized by Motown. Live audience sound introduce the track, but then get mixed down allowing us to enjoy the vocals. We wrap up with the megarocking “Slow Ride,” a sex infused blues number that topped the charts once and might even do it again. Classic rock from a classic band that never died. Check them out!
