The third album proved to be the charm for
Foghat. On
Energized, their fusion of
blues song structures and
heavy metal energy comes into sharp focus. The group storms out of the gate with the opening track,
"Honey Hush"; this inspired reworking of a
blues classic moves like a locomotive about to run off the rails and dazzles the listener with a barrage of furious, metallic guitar riffs. Another sharp rocker along these lines is
"Wild Cherry," a lascivious tribute to a gorgeous woman that is fuelled by a double-time beat from
Roger Earl and some killer twin-guitar riffing from
Dave Peverett and
Rod Price. Elsewhere, the group keeps things interesting by experimenting with their formula: an inspired cover of the
Buddy Holly chestnut
"That'll Be the Day" successfully recasts it as a bluesy vamp complete with saucy horn arrangements, and
"Step Outside" mixes
funk-styled
instrumental breakdowns and a bassline that would be at home on a
James Brown record into its hard
rock song structure to create an effective
funk-rock hybrid.
Energized also produced an enduring classic for the band with
"Home in My Hand," an autobiographical tale about living a life dominated by wanderlust. It provided a fitting anthem for a band that toured incessantly and quickly became a beloved part of the
Foghat's live set. The one real downside of
Energized is that the band gets so carried away sometimes that they let their songs go on a little too long. The notable example here is set-closer
"Nothin' I Won't Do," an amiable
blues shuffle that is inflated to an unwieldy seven minutes by a few too many guitar solos. However, the album rises above these occasional dips into excess thanks to solid songs and inspired performance from the band. In short,
Energized is a solid listen for anyone who gets nostalgic about 1970s
arena rock, and a must-have for
Foghat fans. ~ Donald A. Guarisco
