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Decades Live

Foghat - Decades Live Audio CD

A fair review of the Foghat "Decades Live" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Foghat reviews here, or go back to the Foghat tabs.

Band: Foghat
Title: Decades Live
Rating:

Release Date: 2003-12-09
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Louisiana Blues 2: Drivin' Wheel 3: Motel Shaker 4: Stone Blue 5: Nothin' But Trouble 6: Honey Hush 7: It Hurts Me Too 8: Sweet Home Chicago 9: I Just Want to Make Love to You/Satisfaction/Who Do You Love 10: Fool for the City 11: Slow Ride 12: I Ain't Got You 13: Chateau Laffite '59 Boogie 14: Loose Ends 15: Eight Days on the Road 16: Maybelline 17: Angel of Mercy 18: It's Too Late

the blues had a baby and they called it rock'n'roll
this live album was culled from performances during their tours in bakersfield california(1996),new york city(1977),denver colorado(1999) and portland oregon(1996) by the original lineup featuring the great rod price and lonesome dave peverett. decades live was in my opinion the best live albums from the great foghat which i rate as being even better than foghat live or even king biscuit flower hour. this double album has a fantastic collection of songs like SLOW RIDE,FOOL FOR THE CITY,STONE BLUE,SWEET HOME CHICAGO AND two superb 16 minute renditions of I JUST WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO YOU AND CHATEAU LAFFITE 59 BOOGIE. worth the price for the slow ride and fool for the city renditions. a few tracks that i thought should have been included in this compilation are TERRAPLANE BLUES,HOME IN MY HAND,MY BABE and RIDE,RIDE,RIDE. very highly recommended. R. I. P LONESOME DAVE,you are missed by your fans. [. . . ]. definately five stars. .

The best that live rock can offer
All the cuts are excellent and sound great, so crank it up! You just get that feeling of being there at the concert. This double cd is another example of the sheer power this band had when playing live. On disc 1 my favorite is Honey Hush, and I also like that they included the intro. (evolution of Chicago Suite as Rod now calls it on his new cd West Four)for Sweet Home Chicago. Disc 2 has two of my all time favorites Chateau Lafitte '59 Boogie, and Eight Days on the Road. Chateau Lafitte '59 Boogie (an encore version and almost 15 minutes long) will have you up an dancing. Eight Days on the Road just rocks! Showing here (standard guitar) as with Honey Hush and a few other songs on these cd's, that Rod Price is more than just a great slide guitarist, but can play with anyone on standard guitar. This (double cd) shows he is definitely one of the most versatile lead guitarist in Rock history.

Also the energy is felt with the band and in particular it's leader the late Lonesome Dave (a pretty good guitarist in his own right). I met this man many times, though he seemed to be quiet and in someways shy off stage. On stage the man was a raging tiger. He always gave it all he had to his fans 100%. That also is felt here.
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One reviewer mentioned about a dvd like Zep. I have also thought the same. I hope that someday soon it will happen. Another reviewer didn't seem to care much for some cuts or are poor performances. To me they all sound dynamite on my system. And I really don't agree about they should have used material from this pseudo (new line up) Foghat. The "FOG", without Lonesome Dave and Rod Price is like the Stones without Mick and Keith, or The Who without Roger and Pete. Sometimes legends need to be left alone and remembered what it was like when they played together. This I believe is what Decades Live is about.

Great Live Foghat
The music is all top-rate, even though 1977's FOGHAT LIVE remains the definitive live document of this great band. DECADES LIVE combines great live music from several Foghat tours. If you love FOOL FOR THE CITY, FOGHAT LIVE, NIGHT SHIFT, ENERGIZED, ROCK AND ROLL OUTLAWS, AKA ROCK AND ROLL, and ROAD CASES, you'll love DECADES LIVE.

An interesting live collection...
Heck, I'm thrilled to see the Peverett estate hard at work to shell out some additional goods to the legions of fans out there that'll never have enough Foghat to last a lifetime. As a long time Foghat fan, I'd intended to give this one a five star review before even listening to it. Now, after listening to this double CD for almost a week, I'm not so inclined to give it the glowing review I'd hoped to give it. Still, it deserves alot of recognition. So, here's a FOUR AND A HALF star review for DECADES LIVE.

Let's start with the good, and there is plenty of it. One: 2 CD's of previously unheard performances. And you get a great selection of songs, some classics, some classics that have never been released in a live format, some previously unreleased songs, and more! The first CD, and the first two songs on CD 2 is a complete performance from the reunited team of Peverett, Price, Stevens, and Earl. This is another solid set from the band that'd toured tirelessly after the release of their CD RETURN OF THE BOOGIE MEN. It's a solid set of songs, and even includes Honey Hush, which hadn't been released live from the reunited group. Very nice. Good versions of Stone Blue, Sweet Home Chicago, and I Just Want To Make Love To You. Dave seems to be losing his voice at the end of the set during Fool For The City, and Slow Ride, but it's a small distraction to the solid set. Next, we have a few great cuts from various concerts throughout the 70's and 80's, where, in my opinion, Foghat was at their strongest. I Ain't Got You is killer. And then, we have a few cuts from an 80's set that includes a great version of Chateux Lafitte '59 Boogie, and even a cut from Tight Shoes, a real treat for this fan who'd never heard anything live from that album. Maybelline is so fast, it's amazing that Roger Earl was able to keep up, and the bass work of Craig MacGregor is simply jaw-dropping (who, surprisingly, seems to be missing from the photo montage in the liner notes). All in all, a must have collection for fans.

Now, why did I subtract a half star? Well, we have already two separate releases from the reunited band from the same tour: Road Cases (2 versions), and Two Centuries Of Boogie, on DVD. Why release a third set from the same tour, which is nearly identical to the others? This Foghat enthusiast would like to see more classic sets from the 70's and 80's, and I'm sure they're out there. How about a re-issue of Foghat Live with the complete set? Those four songs on Decades Live from the 80's probably came from a complete show. As a purist, I'd rather hear this complete show. And also, what about some sets from the 82' Foghat with Eric Cartwright? I remember MTV airing a show from when they toured with Blue Oyster Cult. Wouldn't mind seeing this again. Or, how about a DVD retrospective, showing concert footage throughout the years, as Zeppelin did. Oh man, wouldn't this be a treat! Well, I can only hope that Decades Live is the beginning of a series of classic concert releases from Dave and the boys. Bring them on!!!.

I Love This Band, But.....
They are, without doubt, the best good time rock and roll band ever assembled. First of all let me say that I love this band, I have for over thirty years and still do, including its new lineup. However, I will not swoon and give five stars to everything/anything they (the Peverett estate) puts out. Mind you, there is some incredible material here - Honey Hush, It Hurts Me, Too, Louisiana Blues, Eight Days on the Road, I Ain't Got You, and Nothin' But Trouble to name a few. But others, like Chateau Lafitte 59 Boogie, Drivin' Wheel, Fool for the City and I Just Want to Make Love to You are not particularly well done - Dave's vocals are sometimes flat and Rod Price's slide work seems out of sync. A one disc compilation of the nine or ten best songs - the best performances - would have been a better choice. Or, eliminating some of the poorer performances and replacing them with some of the incredible stuff from the new lineup would have made for a better two disc set. I get the feeling that there's some friction between the Peverett family and the new lineup which continues to churn out the best blues boogie, both live and in the studio, on this planet.

Any Foghat fan needs to have this disc, if only for the fact that there are versions of songs never released live before. But, overall, this compilation is NOT that great.

You can see a complete list of all Foghat discography, or go back to the Foghat tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.