To the best of my recollection, Jimmy was a really cool guy - and, honestly, it wasn’t his fault and it wasn’t my fault, because I was ready to play. “We didn’t really have any of the songs ready to go when we went in there with Jimmy. “The truth is, Rod and Dave were struggling with writing the songs this time around,” Roger admits. However, things just didn’t work out, as evidenced by the band and their newly minted producer butting heads about three songs into the process. But when Dave was performing - whether he was singing or playing his guitar - he lit up like a downtown Christmas tree.” (Lonesome Dave passed away at age 56 in 2000.) As the Night Shift rehearsals commenced in the British band’s adopted homebase of Long Island, New York - first in the backroom of a local pork store before moving to friendlier recording confines - Jimmy Iovine, a Bearsville favorite who at that point had engineered albums from John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen, was initially slotted as the album’s producer. When he wasn’t singing, he was very quiet. Dave was always somewhat of a reluctant hero, but he was one of the best. Dave changed some of the lyrics, the phrasing, and the melody. That song was particularly tricky to get the groove and tempo on, but Craig and I sat down together and worked it out. “Lonesome Dave had knowledge of all things music, whether it be blues, jazz, country, rock & roll, or any other genre. “The idea for covering that song came from Lonesome Dave - of course,” confirms Roger. “Whether you’re sitting behind your desk or you’re on the line putting wheels onto cars, that title is what grabbed people right away - and the music delivers on it.” Special note must be given to the band’s uplifting, funky cover of “Take Me to the River,” a version of Reverend Al Green’s 1974 soul classic so original and so musically compelling that it remains in the band’s setlist to this day. (Eagle-eyed fans will also note the acoustic-driven “New Place to Call Home,” an unfinished song unearthed from the original sessions that appears as a bonus track on the currently out-of-print 2006 Wounded Bird Records Night Shift CD reissue, among other places.) Why does Night Shift continue to hold such sway with Foghat fans both new and old alike, 45 years after its release? It’s really quite simple, according to Foghat’s founding drummer, Roger Earl: “This is a working man’s band, and the album has a working man’s title,” he observes. In addition to the aforementioned album-bookend tracks “Drivin’ Wheel” and “I’ll Be Standing By,” the gritty gear-shifting movements of “Don’t Run Me Down,” the keep pushin’ on thrust of “Burnin’ the Midnight Oil” (which also happens to be the album’s most played track on Spotify), the signature sizzle of “Night Shift,” the good-time jammin’ of “Hot Shot Love,” and the funkified recasting of “Take Me to the River” all serve to reinforce the in-studio mind meld between lead vocalist/guitarist Lonesome Dave Peverett, slide guitar maestro Rod Price, then-newly appointed bassist Craig MacGregor, and drummer/percussionist extraordinaire Roger Earl. The band’s eagerly anticipated follow up to September 1975’s uber-successful million-selling Fool for the City, Night Shift continued to creatively expand upon the special four-man groove that made Foghat a household name. Hot 100 singles chart, while the heartfelt, strings-drenched album-closing ballad, “I’ll Be Standing By,” made it to No. (It’s high time for an updated sales recertification, we say!) The hard-charging opening track “Drivin’ Wheel” reached No. 36 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and has since been certified as Gold by the RIAA, signifying over 500,000 copies sold. Produced by Dan Hartman - the acclaimed bassist for Edgar Winter Group and the solo artist behind the 1984 Top 10 single “I Can Dream About You” - Night Shift reached No. Night Shift, Foghat’s sixth studio album, was released 45 years ago by Bearsville Records on November 18, 1976. Episode #1 by Mike Mettler, official FoghatStorian 11-23-21
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