I was introduced to drummer Roger Earl, vocalist and guitarist Lonesome Dave Peverett, bassist Tony Stevens and slide guitar master Rod Price, collectively known as the band Foghat, during the middle of my junior high school daze. At that time, mid-70s, my friends and I all pretty much latched on to one or two specific bands we became synonymous with, and while I was well into all things progressive rock, my buddy Don kept bragging about this blues rock outfit from the UK called Foghat. He let me borrow their second, self-titled album Foghat (AKA Rock And Roll because of a literal rock and literal roll on its cover) and what would prove to be the band’s most popular studio album, Fool For The City. Even though Foghat was bereft of synthesizers and or long conceptual suites of music, I still got hooked to their solid brand of rock and boogie.
Foghat formed in 1971 when Earl, Peverett, and Stevens left Savoy Brown. With the addition of Price, post his stint in Black Cat Bones, the group released four albums before they hit one out of the park with 1975’s Fool For The City. Stevens left the band the year before Fool for the City came out, so producer and engineer Nick Jameson played bass, as well as keyboards, on the album and Craig MacGregor joined the band afterwards.
The original seven-song record, brought to second life on the 50th anniversary remaster by Jameson, starts with the infectious title track with its distinct chorus and bass whack-a-whacking middle. And of course, there’s FM staple “Slow Ride” with Peverett’s amazing lead vocal, Jameson’s popping bass, Earl’s in-the-pocket drumming, and that wild slide that only Price could serve. Listening now, we are reminded of what a classic it is, even having heard it umpteenth times. No wonder it recently surpassed 25 million plays on Apple Music.
Price might just be at his best on slide on the cover of Robert Johnson’s “Terraplane Blues.” That’s saying a lot because he is on fire across all of Fool for the City. The album ends with a call out for love on “Take It Or Leave It.” Jameson plays the keys and Price scratches out single high-flying sustained notes, while the rest of band falls into an almost Firefall-like MOR groove. That is until the end when Peverett starts wailing.
Nick Jameson also played a big role on the live tracks from two November 1975 shows at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago that are included on the 50th Anniversary Edition of Fool For The City. He played bass, as well as mixed and mastered these tapes from long ago.
“Slow Ride,” at halfway point, with a double-punch of the showstopper “I Just Want To Make Love To You,” rallies the crowd. An unrelenting attack and rousing cover of Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene” ends the eight. There’s also an extra bonus track of Roger Earl and Nick Jameson discussing “Slow Ride” and the Fool For The City sessions.
The band, currently led by lone surviving original member Roger Earl, saw their most recent album, 2023’s Sonic Mojo, hitting the top of the Billboard Blues Chart, and staying in the Top 10 for 34 weeks. With Foghat chugging along, it’s as easy to enjoy the band today as it is revisiting a classic like Fool For The City.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
