Live

Although they had scored some success on the album charts (Fool for the City being their biggest success), Foghat had always won the majority of their fans through their high-intensity live shows. Thus, when live albums became a salable rock music commodity in the wake of megahits like Kiss Alive and Frampton Comes Alive, it was only natural that Foghat would release a live recording. Live wisely restricts the running time to a single album (two album's worth of Foghat's boogie rock, no matter how energetic, would probably have been too much), resulting in a tight set that flows effortlessly and showcases the group's strengths in the best possible light. Everything is delivered with an energy and intensity that would be impossible to capture in a studio: good examples are "Honey Hush," a frantic hard rock blitz delivered at twice the speed of the studio version, and "Home in My Hand," a stomping anthem whose live version adds an a cappella break that allows the group to show off some impressive vocal harmonies as they get the crowd fired up. Elsewhere, the group transforms hits like "Slow Ride" and "I Just Wanna Make Love to You" into guitar-fueled epics that allow the group to show off its mastery of hard rock's sonic pyrotechnics. The end result is one of Foghat's finest albums because it cherry picks all the highlights of the band's catalog to that point and captures the band in its most natural and comfortable setting (i.e., in front of a group of adoring fans). These qualities make Live a gem of 1970s hard rock and a necessity for anyone who wants to understand the appeal of Foghat. ~ Donald A. Guarisco