Foghat
Fool for the City (50th Anniversary Edition)
Rhino Records
Sporting fabulously feathered, shoulder-length coifs and well-cultivated Sam Elliott-sanctioned ‘staches, the blues-based British boogie brigade crashed through the door of their first after-show soiree back in 1972. In glittery jackets, satin scarves, and velvet britches, they sparked a joint, spiked the punch, and stuck their fingers in the clam dip with reckless abandon. By the end of the decade, Foghat would be one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
During a recent interview on my Garage Sale Vinyl Podcast, I mentioned to the band’s current longtime bassist, Rodney O’Quinn, that in my view, there was an ultimate album “holy trinity” that defined the Camaro-powered, four-on-the-floor rock sound of the 1970s: Fool for the City (1975), Foghat Live (1977), and Stone Blue (1978). Although O’Quinn agreed with my assessment wholeheartedly, he appeared to be particularly partial to Fool for the City. And who could blame him?
Following the late 1974 dismissal of original bassist Tony Stevens, co-founding drummer Roger Earl, frontman / guitarist “Lonesome” Dave Peverett, and guitarist Rod Price soon arrived at Suntreader Studios in Sharon, Vermont. And along with producer (and temp bassist) Nick Jameson, they embarked on their now iconic fifth album, Fool for the City — a platinum-selling masterwork that not only has become known for its timeless rock staples, but also for its famous cover depicting Earl sitting on a crate, while fishing from an open manhole in the streets of New York.
Opening with the hard-hitting, FM radio-friendly, Peverett-penned title track, Fool for the City went for the jugular, straight out the gate. However, it was another album cut that would provide Foghat with permanent keys to rock’s “Champagne Room” — the super-sexy, piston-poppin’, eight-minute opus, “Slow Ride.”
“‘Slow Ride,’ like most of our songs, is about sex,” Earl confessed during our 2020 phone interview. “The riff was basically a John Lee Hooker riff played in 4/4 and not in a shuffle. Nick and I knew that ‘Slow Ride’ was a single. We knew it was a hit.”
Fool for the City also delivered other soon-to-be fan favorites, including the infectious sing-along, “My Babe.” Birthed from Jameson’s high-octane arrangement, this riff-heavy rendition of the 1963 Righteous Brothers single continues to appear on Foghat concert set lists.
In the Jerry Lee Lewis-style romp “Drive Me Home,” you can even hear the real-life sounds of Earl himself crashing a car into a pile of trash cans. “The song is all about this chick who’s been drinking and she’s driving Dave home,” Earl recalled. “We went to the top of a mountain, and there’s this dirt road with trees, about a quarter mile up to the studio. We placed microphones all the way down the hill where we had all these garbage cans for me to hit. As I’m driving down, I hit trees and garbage cans. I did it twice. But on the second one, the car caught fire. If you listen, you can hear me crashing into stuff. It was a lot of fun.”
Despite their well-deserved rep as a hard-driving rock band, Foghat always possessed the creative courage to step out of their stylistic comfort zone from time to time and embrace a pure pop song. Hence, the record-closing “Take It or Leave It” was a golden album highlight. Owning a distinctive reggae-tinged bridge, this R&B-inspired gem was a delightful yin to the authentic “Terraplane Blues” yang.
In 1975, Fool for the City demanded (and attained) worldwide attention as an exciting and important rock release. And it never lost its luster. However, in 2025, the record has received a lil’ extra lovin’ in the form of a just-released, 50th Anniversary edition. Available as a double-vinyl or double-CD, it features shiny new remastered versions of the original tracks, as well as a very special bonus disc: a never-before-released live album, recorded in concert at the Aragon Ballroom in 1975. Resurrected after 50 years, the live recording was mixed and mastered by Fool for the City producer Nick Jameson. The result is an audio time capsule fueled by fire and fury. The CD edition also includes two bonus live tracks and a brand new interview with Earl and Jameson, diving into the making of “Slow Ride” and the magic behind the Fool for the City sessions.
“I was very proud of that record,” Earl added. “It was a great record!” Ah yeah, “a great record,” indeed. In sum, Fool for the City, even after 50 years, you know the rhythm is right!
Fool for the City (50th Anniversary Edition) Track List
ORIGINAL ALBUM
1. Fool For The City
2. My Babe
3. Slow Ride
4. Terraplane Blues
5. Save Your Loving (For Me)
6. Drive Me Home
7. Take It Or Leave It
1975 LIVE RECORDING
1. Fool For The City
2. Home In My Hand
3. My Babe
4. Honey Hush
5. Slow Ride
6. I Just Wanna Make Love To You
7. *Wild Cherry
8. *Maybellene
*CD only
