Foghat
Under the Influence

The old geezers of Foghat are back with a new album, one that sees them being under the influence of something. Perhaps of their fans that financed the album, or by their very long musical history, or maybe they are under the influence of some fascinating drugs or anything else. I think this album has an amusing artwork and of course it offers up the music that they have always done and that music has led them to eight gold records, one platinum record and one double platinum record. It is an impressive history but that can work as something of a weight on their shoulder and you can hear that on the album, as it isn’t exactly as they move down paths they haven’t walked before.

Bluesy boogie rock with good sound and some very strong songs, and the great thing about it is that they are one of those bands that were around at the time, the time that all the plagiarisers try to copy, and that seems to make their music more interesting and better than all the copycats out there. I kind of like this album, it works quite well even though I don’t think it is one of the best I have ever heard and it is not really an album you just pick up and sit down to listen to.

Probably the biggest proof of this weight of history is that the strongest tracks of this album are covers or a very old hit, it feels like an album for nostalgic people more than for those who are looking for new and exciting stuff. It does its thing well but that thing have been done by them and others many times before, they seem to be too much under their own influence to really excite and thrill with this new album.

So it may not be exciting but it is certainly good, a very solid classic rock album that will excite all those endlessly dreaming of past glories and a future that is more like the past. Their 40-year old hit song Slow Ride is the best hit song of the album, I also like the opening title track and the tracks Upside of Lonely and Heard it Through the Grapevine are other ones that I find quite agreeable while the rest of the tracks feel like fillers more than anything else. And in the end I find this album being a good solid effort that will appeal to those stuck in nostalgia.

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