Foghat? Really? Wait, let me check the calendar... nope, it is the 21st Century. And I haven't used a time machine (at least for this). But, I am really pleasantly surprised by this NEW, 2010 release.
I am currently listening to this online. CBS Records did a good thing and was streaming the entire new release, in a loop. I'm glad I found that stream, because I never would have thought of buying a new Foghat album. Last Train Home
This is not the Slow Ride 70's anthem rock, and it is not the horrible stuff they put out in the 80's. (I listened to a greatest hits, and the post-70's stuff were neither greatest, nor hits). But, wow, this new release sounds like a mix of old, very old Fleetwood Mac blues, some early bluesy Aerosmith, a little Black Crowes, and a bit of Buddy Guy.
I am not a history buff of Foghat, so I did not know that they originally had their roots in the old Blues Rock. I just knew of the blockbuster Foghat Live album, with Slow Ride. Oh, those Seventies Arena Rock Blues Anthems that really got you grooving... (Slow Ride, Sweet Emotion, Walk This Way, Stranglehold, Do You Feel Like I Do). This album is NOT that. Instead, it is a Blues Album, period. Electric Rock Blues.
I don't know what the first track was that I heard (the stream was looping, so I came in the middle somewhere), I thought I had the wrong stream. I tuned in for some vintage sound, and here I was getting something new but old, something old, something blue. I thought it might be Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. I listened on, still thinking that the stream label was wrong.
Then a song that sounded like early Black Crowes. Well, it was Shake Your Money Maker, which the Crowes did. Then another track that really sounded like a blues-wailing Steven Tyler, who had never made it with a lady till a girl gave him a little kiss, like this...
And I swear I heard the blues master himself Buddy Guy, that same hard blues rock sound that Stevie Ray Vaughn loved.
The guitars are solid. No, we are not talking guitar gods like Jimi, Jimmy, Jeff, Eric, and Stevie. But they rock, in a hard blues groove. Good solos, good vocals, good all around blues rock, without that often overkill of blues. (yes, I'm looking at you EC). Foghat mixes up the sound a bit, swaps singers, swaps style, and makes a nice listening experience.
It is at least worth a listen for those who like Buddy Guy and Peter Green. Listen to a few of the preview tracks at Amazon - Foghat: Last Train Home and see if you aren't surprised also.
Now, let's all get back to work. More work allows us to buy more music.
-Brian
For daily song posts and site updates LIKE US ON FACEBOOK !
