Foghat : Energized 1974

Foghat are an English rock band formed in London in 1971. The band are known for the use of electric slide guitar in their music. The band have achieved eight gold records, one platinum and one double platinum record, and despite several line-up changes, continue to record and perform.

The third album proved to be the charm for Foghat. On Energized, their fusion of blues song structures and heavy metal energy comes into sharp focus. The group storms out of the gate with the opening track, "Honey Hush"; this inspired reworking of a blues classic moves like a locomotive about to run off the rails and dazzles the listener with a barrage of furious, metallic guitar riffs. Another sharp rocker along these lines is "Wild Cherry," a lascivious tribute to a gorgeous woman that is fuelled by a double-time beat from Roger Earl and some killer twin-guitar riffing from Dave Peverett and Rod Price.


Elsewhere, the group keeps things interesting by experimenting with their formula: an inspired cover of the Buddy Holly chestnut "That'll Be the Day" successfully recasts it as a bluesy vamp complete with saucy horn arrangements, and "Step Outside" mixes funk-styled instrumental breakdowns and a bassline that would be at home on a James Brown record into its hard rock song structure to create an effective funk-rock hybrid.

Energized also produced an enduring classic for the band with "Home in My Hand," an autobiographical tale about living a life dominated by wanderlust. It provided a fitting anthem for a band that toured incessantly and quickly became a beloved part of the Foghat's live set.

The one real downside of Energized is that the band gets so carried away sometimes that they let their songs go on a little too long. The notable example here is set-closer "Nothin' I Won't Do," an amiable blues shuffle that is inflated to an unwieldy seven minutes by a few too many guitar solos. However, the album rises above these occasional dips into excess thanks to solid songs and inspired performance from the band. In short, Energized is a solid listen for anyone who gets nostalgic about 1970s arena rock, and a must-have for Foghat fans.

 AllMusic Review by Donald A. Guarisco

Track listing

SIDE A

01. Honey Hush — 4:19 (Lou W. Turner)
02. Step Outside — 6:18 (Dave Peverett, Rod Price, Roger Earl, Tony Stevens)
03. Golden Arrow — 4:03 (Peverett, Price)
04. Home in My Hand — 5:09 (Peverett, Price)

SIDE B 

05. Wild Cherry — 5:27 (Peverett, Price, Earl, Stevens, Tom Dawes)
06. That'll Be the Day — 2:33 (Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly, Norman Petty)
07. Fly by Night — 4:47 (Stevens)
08. Nothin' I Won't Do — 6:54 (Peverett, Price)

Format : Vinyl LP
Label : Rhino Records
Made in : USA
Year : 1974
Genre : Rock
Style : Hard Rock

FLAC : Size : 280 MB