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
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.
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
's live set. The one real downside of
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
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,
is a solid listen for anyone who gets nostalgic about 1970s
arena rock
, and a must-have for
fans. ~ Donald A. Guarisco