SACD Foghat – Foghat

Foghat as a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions’ Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series, mastered to DSD from the original master tape. All nine tracks play in one sequence – from “I Just Want To Make Love To You” to “Gotta Get To Know You”.

A new band with a shared past

Three of the four musicians already knew each other well when Foghat released their debut in 1972: singer and guitarist Dave Peverett, bassist Tony Stevens and drummer Roger Earl had played together in Savoy Brown. Rod Price completed the quartet as second guitarist – and his slide playing became a voice of its own beside Peverett’s singing, with its own ways to start a note, hold it and bend it.

Dave Edmunds produced most of the album at Rockfield in Wales and added guitar himself. For these musicians, blues and early rock ’n’ roll were everyday working languages, not distant models – and that is exactly what you hear: the band’s first approach, captured before later hits shaped the public picture of Foghat. According to the publisher, this is the debut that defined British boogie rock. Knowing what came next makes the return to this starting point all the more rewarding.

Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry and songs of their own

The album opens with Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want To Make Love To You”, and Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline” follows later. With these two outside songs, the band names its reference points without any detour: electric blues and rock ’n’ roll share the same table.

Yet the nine tracks add up to far more than a collection of role models – the band’s own material fills most of the album. Keep listening after the famous opener, through “Trouble, Trouble”, “Sarah Lee” or “Highway (Killing Me)”, and you can follow how the group builds very different songs from related foundations. The finale is another outside song: “Gotta Get To Know You” by Andre Williams and Deadric Malone.

Two guitars and a surprise guest

Try following Peverett’s rhythm guitar apart from Price’s lead and slide lines: one keeps the pattern going, the other answers it or breaks away. Bass and drums matter just as much – their shared pulse is what the guitars push against. The movement between accompaniment and a single voice stepping forward is your best way into these arrangements.

On the band’s official website, Roger Earl recalls Todd Rundgren’s part: “Trouble, Trouble” was recorded with him at AIR Studios in London, and he played piano too. Colin Earl is another pianist on the album. Details like these widen the picture of what seems a pure guitar album. And to be precise: this is the 1972 debut – Foghat released a second self-titled album the following year, usually known as “Rock and Roll”.

The hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions

CAPR 003 SA is a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions’ Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series. According to the publisher, it was mastered to DSD from the original master tape. The SACD layer plays on SACD-capable players, the CD layer on any conventional CD player. The disc contains the nine tracks of the original album.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and ship from Hilden.

More from the series: Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series

Also in another edition: Foghat

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.