Review: Foghat – Live & Loud Across the U.S.A.
Foghat prove that their hard-rocking blend of boogie, blues and slide guitar still comes fully alive on stage
Foghat – Live & Loud Across the U.S.A.
Format: Double CD / Vinyl
Label: Metalville
Release date: 30 October 2026
Text: Martien Koolen
To be quite honest, I really did not know that Foghat, the brilliant British rock and roll band founded 55 years ago, were still alive and kicking. Foghat’s best-known hit song is, of course, Slow Ride from their fifth studio album ‘Fool For The City’ (1975).
These guys have always had a passion for blues-rooted rock and are famous for their extensive use of electric slide guitar.
Now, 55 years after the band was founded, Foghat will release a new live album called ‘Live & Loud Across the U.S.A.’, featuring fourteen boogie-blues and hard-rocking tracks. However, Slow Ride is not featured on the setlist…
This live album contains a splendid version of the Willie Dixon classic I Just Want To Make Love To You, which can be found on Foghat’s debut album from 1972.
Other highlights on this exhilarating live album are Home In My Hand from ‘Energized’ (1974), A Hole To Hide In, Sweet Home Chicago from my favourite Foghat album ‘Stone Blue’ (1978), and two songs from ‘Boogie Motel’ (1979): Third Time Lucky and Somebody’s Been Sleeping In My Bed.
Foghat live in the year 2026 are still a pleasure to listen to, for sure, but you must play this album at maximum volume indeed!
The second CD is called ‘Shaken & Stirred’ and features eighteen tracks by Earl & The Agitators, a Foghat-related side project.
The album was originally released in 2018 and explored the musicians’ passion for blues, roots rock and classic American music. The first thirteen tracks are studio recordings, while the final five tracks were recorded live.
Highlights on this rather “mediocre” album for me are the covers Wild Horses and Knock On Wood, together with a splendid, guitar-dominated version of Henry Mancini’s Peter Gunn Theme, also famously recorded by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
In conclusion, I would have preferred this release to be a real double live album, but the live CD, recorded across the USA, is rather brilliant indeed!
Tracks:
CD1 – Live & Loud Across the U.S.A.
01. My Babe (Ferndale, WA)
02. Drivin’ On (Miami, OK)
03. Road Fever (Atlantic City, NJ)
04. She’s a Little Bit of Everything (Atlantic City, NJ)
05. Let Me Love You Baby (Atlantic City, NJ)
06. Black Days & Blue Nights (Indianapolis, IN)
07. Home in My Hand (Great Falls, MT)
08. Slipped, Tripped, Fell in Love (Miami, OK)
09. It Hurts Me Too (Tracy, CA)
10. A Hole to Hide In (Great Falls, MT)
11. Somebody’s Been Sleeping in My Bed (Bethlehem, PA)
12. Third Time Lucky (Great Falls, MT)
13. Sweet Home Chicago (Atlantic City, NJ)
14. I Just Want to Make Love to You (Miami, OK)
CD2 – Earl & The Agitators – Shaken & Stirred
01. Upside of Lonely
02. Where’s the Rock ’n’ Roll
03. I’m Coming Home
04. Guess Things Happen That Way
05. Love Isn’t Kind
06. Fallen Angel
07. Hi-Heel Sneakers
08. Linda Lu
09. Honey Do List
10. Lonesome Train
11. Sunday Morning Coming Down
12. Gone Dead Train
13. All Because of You
14. Let Me Love You Baby (Live)
15. Shaky Ground (Live)
16. Wild Horses (Live)
17. Knock on Wood (Live)
18. Peter Gunn Theme (Live)
Website: https://foghat.com/
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