Three years in the making, and using various inducements (including a case of Foghat’s own wine or drummer Roger Earl to read a bedtime story to your child) to attract funding from fans, Under The Influence captures the cheery, hefty, block-rocking essence of this British band who have effectively made their pile as ex-pats.
With guests including husky blues vocalist Dana Fuchs, bassist Jeff Howell and Foghat’s Fool For The City album producer Nick Jameson, there’s an infectious, celebratory air about the album, most evident on the new version of Slow Ride (by chance marking the song’s 40th anniversary) which featured in the opening edition of the new Top Gear series. Kim Simmonds, guitarist with Savoy Brown, features dazzlingly on Slow Ride, as well as the title track.
Other highlights include the exuberant slide guitar on Ghost, and Upside Of Lonely, a wry celebration of the freedoms of bachelor life, including eating pizza three times a day. Elsewhere I Heard It Through The Grapevine is perhaps not the greatest cover of that classic.
