The Best of Foghat

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Like so many other bands who formed in the early '70s, Foghat's sound was based upon the wails and moans of the blues guitar. Foghat took this basic structure and added a rowdy four-bar boogie feel to it, cranked the amps to 11, and unleashed a series of LPs that would achieve gold or platinum status. Best of Foghat captures the band's finer moments. "Slow Ride" with its funky-boogie bass line and guitar harmony leads was every air-guitarist's dream come true, and the long breakdown at the song's mid-point that finally erupted into scorching fret work epitomized the "big rock ending" of the 1970s. "Fool for the City" was another rush of rock and roll adrenaline, with its repeated chorus and steady straight four/four beat. "I Just Want to Make Love to You" also demonstrated singer Dave Peverett's bluesy growl, an influence that often seemed more prevalent in the band's guitar work. --Steve Gdula

Tracks:

I Just Want To Make Love To You
Maybelline
Ride, Ride, Ride
Take It Or Leave It
Home In My Hand
Drivin' Wheel
Fool For The City
Slow Ride
Stone Blue
Honey Hush
Night Shift
Wild Cherry
Third Time Lucky (First Time I Was A Fool)
Easy Money
Chateau Lafitte '59 Boogie
Eight Days On The Road

Amazon.com

Like so many other bands who formed in the early '70s, Foghat's sound was based upon the wails and moans of the blues guitar. Foghat took this basic structure and added a rowdy four-bar boogie feel to it, cranked the amps to 11, and unleashed a series of LPs that would achieve gold or platinum status. Best of Foghat captures the band's finer moments. "Slow Ride" with its funky-boogie bass line and guitar harmony leads was every air-guitarist's dream come true, and the long breakdown at the song's mid-point that finally erupted into scorching fret work epitomized the "big rock ending" of the 1970s. "Fool for the City" was another rush of rock and roll adrenaline, with its repeated chorus and steady straight four/four beat. "I Just Want to Make Love to You" also demonstrated singer Dave Peverett's bluesy growl, an influence that often seemed more prevalent in the band's guitar work. --Steve Gdula

Customer Reviews:

Foghat - Decnt Career Overview.......2007-03-21

Back in the day I owned quite a few of Foghat's studio albums on vinyl. When CD's came along I decided to pick this (and Volume 2) up to get at least some of their stuff on CD. This CD covers material from their first album up through 1979's "Boogie Hotel". It contains all of the Foghat AOR and top 40 hits along with several strong album cuts. As a compilation the album contains all of their best known stuff and is for the most part good. The one big criticism for this collection is that in on at least four songs the "single" version of the song is included instead of the "album" version. For many bands this would not make that much of a difference, but with Foghat it is a big deal especially on longer cuts like "Slow Ride" and "Stone Blue". Both tracks were cut up significantly for radio airplay and the singles versions are vastly inferior. Other than that this is a nice compilation. Foghat always mixed up their originals with boogie based covers. If you are a newbie looking to explore Foghat I would recommend "Foghat Live" over this, but as an introductory compilation this album is a decent effort.

Good But Lacking.......2006-06-06

This compilation disc was produced for the music fan who either doesn't have any Foghat albums, or just one, maybe two at the most. There are live versions of songs included when the studio version was better, and vice-versa. Home In My Hand should be the studio version, I Just Want To Make Love To You should be live. Road Fever would have been a nice inclusion as well. I am glad Eight Days On The Road is here, it's a great song that is too often overlooked. I was really bummed when I heard Slow Ride, it's the single version, edited and shortened. Either the album cut or the live version is more appropriate, especially considering Foghat's legacy is they were a great live band and did a lot of jamming.

Lonesome Dave and Rod Price aren't with us anymore may their rock and roll souls rest in peace. Hopefully, someday, some company will put out an anthology that covers all the right bases.

3 Stars Are for this CD, NOT for the Band Foghat.......2006-05-13

I have followed the band Foghat from their beginnings in 1972 on through at least 1982. I have owned, purchased, or had on tape their first twelve albums, from Foghat in 1972 on through to Boogie Motel, Tight Shoes, Girls to Chat & Boys to Bounce, and In the Mood for Something Rude in 1982. So I know something of the music of this band from before, during, and after their peak. No I'm some sort of Foghat head, that thinks that Foghat was and will always be the greatest band that ever existed. I have followed late 70's hard rock, and anyone that was into the music of that period had heard of and most likely enjoyed Foghat, that's how relevant Foghat was to the genre. IMHO, although one would be missing some gems, if one had to have only one album by them, it would be Foghat Live. (Don't consider what they write at allmusic.com, they tend to be anti-70's hard rock. Thus they try to confuse readers by writing misinformation, writing rave reviews of a band's mediocre albums, and panning their relevant offerings.) Of all the hundreds or thousands of live albums by rock bands over the decades, only a few have ones that match their studios offerings, or in exceptionally rare cases, surpasses them. That's what Foghat Live does. The band Foghat hit the big time with their 1975 album Fool For The City that included arguably their two biggest all time songs: Fool For the City and Slow Ride. Foghat Live, released in 1977, was recorded during that tour, was recorded at their peak, includes those two top songs, and they played them with even more intensity. Foghat Live may have only 4 other songs on it, but oh, how those songs are played. Foghat Live represented all that Foghat was at their peak. Chances are if you don't like Foghat Live you're not going to like Foghat. However, you could have this Best of compilation and still miss out on the best of Foghat. Recording technology improved considerably throughout the 70's. The first three songs of the cd are from the early 70's, are limited by the technology and budget of the time, and sound ooooold. The sound of an album is no insignificant item (look what the crispness of Metallica's Black Album did to break them into the mainstream). So as not to be turned off by Foghat too quickly, one might be better to start with track 5 (which to their credit is from the Live album, but the least significant song on that album).

The KEY problem with this compilation, and many others justifiably have mentioned it, is that it includes the single version of no less than four songs. They are: Drivin' Wheel, Fool For The City, Slow Ride, and Stone Blue. These are perhaps Foghat's most well known four songs. The absolute idiocy of having the single versions of these songs is unbelievably unfathomable. What did the money grubbing recording producers think; that people are going to miss the normal, regular versions of the songs and then go out to purchase the regular CD's. When it comes to the greed of those in the recording industry, there are no limitations. There are numerous Best of compilations where the single versions of songs are substituted in place of the regular version. Madonna's GHV2 is another one that comes to mind. I cannot think of a single case where the single version of a song is/was better than the regular version. (OK, Hocus Pocus by Focus is a worthy attempt, but we're really stretching the memories of 70's aficionados here.) Later, hearing the regular versions, they're so different as to be almost considered completely different songs. The single versions were made for radio, being impatient to play 5 minute plus songs. And although they were the lesser version, one would rather listen to a single version of Foghat than the 5000th radio playing of a Beatles song. However, for those into Foghat, know that Foghat is a *guitar* rock, and to cut out the guitar solo of the song is to cut out the heart. Listen to the unmolested version of Honey Hush on the CD. That still retains the guitar solo... and its heart.

Why would one get this CD... well because there isn't squat else in a Best of compilation to get. The CD Slow Ride and Other Hits also lists shortened versions of the key songs, meaning probably the singles. I picked this up because I was less than a buck from getting free shipping and couldn't think of any other CD to get. I figure an inexpensive CD of the lesser versions of the songs are better than none. That is the only recommendation I could write in its favor.

One other thing to consider, is that particularly for 70's music, CD's have not generally been able to capture the intensity of the record album versions. This is particularly true for bands such as Kansas and Rainbow. Remastered versions of 70's records come close to returning to that intensity. I have read articles about it, that CD's while removing pop and hiss, lost the higher harmonics that a phonograph needle in a record groove produced from the band recording. Whatever the reason, this had been noted by many other people. (I have remastered and non-remastered versions of the same Rainbow songs on my computer, and in random play, I can tell what version of the song is playing without looking.) Now I didn't notice that this Best of compilation was remastered. So that means that your Foghat albums packed in boxes in your garage are superior in sound quality (if unbrutalized from playing) to this CD. That means unless you find this CD dirt cheap, the memory of Foghat will probably also be better in quality.

THE VERY BEST OF FOGHAT.......2006-04-24

FOGHAT are arguably one of the best rock bands ever and as good as Pink floyd.This great compilation features hits like FOOL FOR THE CITY,SLOW RIDE,EIGHT DAYS ON THE ROAD and HONEY HUSH.gETTING THIS ONLY WILL SHOW THAT YOU HAVE A GOOD TASTE IN MUSIC.highly recommended.

Where's the rest of SLOW RIDE?.......2005-12-04

Did you guys at Rhino think we've never heard it? It's the same as when you hear Light My Fire on some stations that cut it down to a little over 3 minutes. For that reason alone, I had to knock 2 stars off the record, not because of the record itself, but because of Rhino's gaff. You Rhino wizards thought enough to put all those extra tracks on the re-released Yes albums, how did you clowns botch this?

Average customer rating:

Foghat - A Nice Companion To Volume 1
NEAR EQUAL SEQUEL
A good companion to Volume One

The Best of Foghat, Vol. 2
Foghat
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Best of Foghat

ASIN: B0000032G4
Release Date: 1992-01-28

Tracks:

Ubangi Stomp
What A Shame
That'll Be The Day
Step Outside
Dreamer
Take Me To The River
I'll Be Standing By
Fool For The City (Live Version)
I Just Want To Make Love To You (Live Version)
Sweet Home Chicago
Somebody's Been Sleepin' In My Bed
Stranger In My Home Town
Live Now-Pay LAter
Slipped, Tripped, Fell In Love
That's What Love Can Do
Bonus Track: All I Want For Christmas Is You

Customer Reviews:

Foghat - A Nice Companion To Volume 1.......2007-03-21

Since most of Foghat's best known material was included in the volume 1 best of set, volume 2 contains mostly lesser known songs that vary in quality. While volume 1 only contained material up through the "Boogie Hotel" album in 1979, Vol 2 includes cuts from latter albums "Tight Shoes", "In The Mood For Something Rude" "Girls To Chat And Boys To Bounce", and "Zig Zag Walk". These were lean years for Foghat as album sales took a nose dive during this time period and the band eventually called it quits (for a while anyway) after "Zig Zag Walk" was released. There were still some decent songs from these albums though, and several of them are included in this collection. The album also includes live versions of two of their biggest hits "Fool For The City" and "I Just Want To Make Love To You". Overall this makes a nice companion piece to Volume 1. The band do quite a few covers on this one including "Ubangi Stomp", "Take Me To The River", and "Sweet Home Chicago", all done well in the patented Foghat style. The tracks from the latter albums incorporate a bit of a new wave style into the traditional Foghat sound and it works quite well. This album is currently out of print, but available used.

NEAR EQUAL SEQUEL.......2005-10-15

Some might suggest that one Foghat anthology was sufficient, but if you are a die-hard fan of the British boogie boys and their hamfisted hits, everything that missed the cut on BEST OF is here for the partyin'. Besides perhaps obligatory live takes on two of their biggest triumphs FOOL FOR THE CITY and I JUST WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO YOU (available on volume one in their original versions), you get a fistful of near misses like the pumped up RNB remakes SOMEBODY'S BEEN SLEEPIN' IN MY BED and SLIPPED, TRIPPED, AND FELL IN LOVE, plus raucous readings of Sun Records shaker UBANGI STOMP and Buddy Holly's immortal THAT'LL BE THE DAY. Though personnel changes (notably the exit of slide guitarist Rod Price) led to a streamlining of the well tread Foghat sound, LIVE NOW-PAY LATER and STRANGER IN MY HOME TOWN remain catchy singles efforts. And NOTHIN' sounds better blastin' through the car speakers of your choice than WHAT A SHAME, a simply monstrous '73 slab of high octane rock that loudly demonstrates why Foghat, like a six-pack, goes down easily and leaves you feeling pretty durn good. RATING: FOUR BIC LIGHTERS

A good companion to Volume One.......2003-08-13

It's a shame Foghat tends to go unnoticed by music fans these days. Even fans of the band's genre, classic rock, tend to overlook them. That's terrible, because these guys were one of the greatest groups of the seventies. Who would've thought combining southern rock with boogie rock could be so cool? Read on for my opinions of this compilation.

PROS:

Rhino records must have learned you can't represent Foghat with just 75 minutes of material, because they released this as a companion to Volume One. Just about every hit the first volume omitted can be found on here.

CONS:

The only really bad thing I have to say is that this is really more a companion to Volume One than its own hits compilation. It's a pretty weak stand-alone item.

OVERALL:

Tracks:

I Just Want to Make Love to You
Slow Ride
What a Shame
Drivin' Wheel
Fool for the City
I'll Be Standing By
Stone Blue
Third Time Lucky (First Time I Was a Fool)

Customer Reviews:

good music, but way to skimpy!.......2005-02-19

Rhino record's The Best of Foghat is full of eight excellent tunes,but of course eight songs is an extremely skimpy cd. Of course the eight songs chose for this complation are good,but who the heak puts out a cd with only eight tracks on it? Heak in the 70's most best ofs and greatest hits had at least ten songs on them. Another complaint about this cd is that "Slow Ride" is the single version, not the full length album version. Buy "Fool for the City" to get the full length version of Slow Ride.

I've never cared much for budget-priced compilations..........2003-08-13

PROS:

If you want Foghat's two big radio hits, Slow Ride and Fool For The City, you've come to the right place. In addition, you get a number of other underrated tracks. Many of these are cover songs. Among the songs covered is Willie Dixon's I Just Want To Make Love To You. Why does nobody appreciate this band? This is a cheap and affordable way to get now-rare songs.

CONS:

I HATE BUDGET-PRICED COMPILATIONS. Whoever thought you could represent Foghat in just eight tracks must have been a very heavy drug user.

OVERALL:

This compilation bites. Get Rhino's The Very Best Of Foghat instead! It's WELL WORTH THE EXTRA CASH.

Vol. 1-Best of Hard Rock
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Vol. 1-Best of Hard Rock
Free , Guess Who , Foghat , Nazareth , and Best of Hard Rock
Manufacturer: Mca Special Products
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000002QPL
Release Date: 1996-03-21

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