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Souvenirs: Raven Compiles Best of Foghat, Four Albums from John Prine

January 19, 2015 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Foghat - Drivin' WheelsThe Raven Records label closed out its 2014 with a pair of double-CD sets reliving the seventies – one, a retrospective of Foghat’s first decade, and another, a complete collection of John Prine’s first four albums.

Foghat’s Drivin’ Wheels: Best of 1972-1982 brings together 32 tracks from the FM radio titans, spanning the period of 1972-1982 and culled from ten studio and live albums.  The blues-rock band was founded in Manchester, England in 1971 by three Savoy Brown expatriates – vocalist/rhythm guitarist “Lonesome” Dave Peverett, bassist Tony Stevens and drummer Roger Earl – and slide guitarist Rod Price, but it was in the United States that Foghat took flight.  With the patronage of Bearsville Records’ Albert Grossman, Foghat found an audience for their blues and boogie-rock stylings which encompassed both original songs and rip-roaring covers from Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, Big Joe Turner, and even Al Green, The Rascals and The Righteous Brothers.

Drivin’ Wheels features tracks recorded by Foghat with producers including Dave Edmunds, Dan Hartman, Tom Dawes, and Nick Jameson.  Jameson replaced Tony Stevens in 1975, kicking off a series of personnel shifts that have continued through the 21st century.   It was Jameson who was at the helm of 1975’s Fool for the City, generally considered the group’s finest hour as well as its most commercially successful.  Though the LP had just seven tracks, one was “Slow Ride” – soon to conquer FM airwaves and reach a Top 20 Pop standing.  “Slow Ride,” of course, can be found on Raven’s new compilation.  It’s presented in its full-length, eight-minute-plus album version, as are other favorites like “Honey Hush,” “I Just Want to Make Love to You” and “Fool for the City.”  Drivin’ Wheels comes with a full-color booklet containing new liner notes from co-producer Ian McFarlane; Warren Barnett has remastered.

John Prine - AngelsOver the course of a career now in its fifth decade, John Prine has transcended the long-ago tag of “a new Dylan” to be appropriately recognized as one of the greatest songwriters of his generation.  Raven’s Angels from Montgomery: 4 Essential Albums 1971-1975 collects on two CDs the first four Atlantic Records albums from the troubadour as newly remastered by Warren Barnett.

Prine burst onto the scene with his 1971 self-titled release, establishing his own blend of folk, country and rock.  Though John Prine didn’t get any higher than No. 154 on Billboard’s U.S.  Pop Albums chart, it introduced a number of now-standard compositions including “Sam Stone,” “Hello in There,” “Angel from Montgomery” and “Paradise.”  Produced by veteran Arif Mardin and featuring session greats like Reggie Young on guitar, John Prine was soon raided by other artists.   Bonnie Raitt and Carly Simon tackled “Angel,” Bette Midler recorded “Hello in There,” and Swamp Dogg had an R&B hit with “Sam Stone.”  John Denver covered “Spanish Daydream,” and Prine’s friend Steve Goodman, who played on the album, recorded “Donald and Lydia” for a solo LP of his own.  It wasn’t long before “Paradise” became a bluegrass staple, and in fact, Prine embraced the bluegrass sound on his follow-up, 1972’s Diamonds in the Rough.  Again helmed by Mardin, Diamonds was recorded in New York but beautifully recreated the sound of Appalachia.   Prine's brother Dave was featured on dobro, banjo, and fiddle, with Goodman playing guitar and supplying harmonies.  Though the sound was modest compared to Prine’s debut – a fact that wasn’t ignored by critics at the time - the stripped-down approach allowed Prine’s distinctive voice as a songwriter to come through vividly.

Mardin recorded most of Prine’s third album, Sweet Revenge, in Nashville, with two more tracks taped in New York’s Atlantic Studios and one taken from a live performance.  The album’s title track reflected on his career to date.  He later explained, "I'd quit my job at the post office, I had this album out that got incredible reviews, and then this second one where the critics started to hit me. I think it got under my skin."  Bitingly humorous, cynical and  irreverent, Sweet Revenge returned to a fuller sound, with guest musicians including Goodman, Dave Prine, percussionist Ralph MacDonald, pianist Kenny Ascher, guitarist Reggie Young, keyboardist “Nashville” David Briggs, and background vocalists Judy Clay and Cissy Houston.  The final album in Raven’s collection, 1975’s Common Sense, marked a change of pace for the singer-songwriter.  He decamped to Memphis with Stax legend Steve Cropper, and welcomed Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Glenn Frey, J.D. Souther, and Cropper’s old bandmate in Booker T. and the MG’s, Donald “Duck” Dunn.  Ironically, critics gave Prine his harshest reviews to date for this album which concluded with a cover of Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell,” but proving Berry’s adage, it was Prine’s most successful LP to date, reaching No. 66 on the Billboard chart.  When he returned with his next studio album, it would be for a new label (Atlantic’s sister imprint Asylum) and with Steve Goodman in the producer’s chair.

This celebration of the foundation of John Prine’s career features a full-color booklet with liner notes by Keith Glass.  Both Angels from Montgomery and Foghat’s Drivin’ Wheels are available now and can be ordered at the links below!

Foghat, Drivin’ Wheels: Best of 1972-1982 (Raven RVCD-382, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1

  1. I Just Want to Make Love to You
  2. Trouble, Trouble
  3. Maybelline
  4. Ride, Ride, Ride
  5. What a Shame
  6. Long Way to Go
  7. Couldn’t Make Her Stay
  8. Honey Hush
  9. Home in My Hand
  10. Wild Cherry
  11. Eight Days on the Road
  12. Trouble in My Way
  13. Rock and Roll Outlaw
  14. Chateau Lafitte ’59 Boogie
  15. Drive Me Home
  16. My Babe
  17. Slow Ride

CD 2

  1. Fool for the City
  2. Take It or Leave It
  3. Drivin’ Wheel
  4. Night Shift
  5. Take Me to the River
  6. Fool for the City (Live)
  7. I Just Want to Make Love to You (Live)
  8. Road Fever (Live)
  9. Honey Hush (Live)
  10. Stone Blue
  11. Easy Money
  12. It Hurts Me Too
  13. Chevrolet
  14. Third Time Lucky
  15. And I Do Just What I Want

CD 1, Tracks 1-3 from Foghat, Bearsville BR 2077, 1973
CD 1, Tracks 4-7 from Foghat (Rock and Roll), Bearsville BR 2136, 1973
CD 1, Tracks 8-10 from Energized, Bearsville BR 6950, 1974
CD 1, Tracks 11-14 from Rock and Roll Outlaws, Bearsville BR 6956, 1974
CD 1, Tracks 15-17 & CD 2, Tracks 1-2 from Fool for the City, Bearsville BR 6959, 1975
CD 2, Tracks 3-5 from Night Shift, Bearsville BR 6962, 1976
CD 2, Tracks 6-9 from Live, Bearsville BRK 6971, 1977
CD 2, Tracks 10-13 from Stone Blue, Bearsville BRK 6977, 1978
CD 2, Track 14 from Boogie Motel, Bearsville BHS 6990, 1979
CD 2, Track 15 from In the Mood for Something Rude, Bearsville 23747, 1982

John Prine, Angels from Montgomery: 4 Essential Albums 1971-1975 (Raven RVCD-383, 2014) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

CD 1

  1. Illegal Smile
  2. Spanish Pipedream
  3. Hello in There
  4. Sam Stone
  5. Paradise
  6. Pretty Good
  7. Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You into Heaven Anymore
  8. Far from Me
  9. Angel from Montgomery
  10. Quiet Man
  11. Donald and Lydia
  12. Six O’Clock News
  13. Flashback Blues
  14. Everybody
  15. The Torch Singer
  16. Souvenirs
  17. The Late John Garfield Blues
  18. Sour Grapes
  19. Billy the Bum
  20. The Frying Pan
  21. Yes, I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You
  22. Take the Star Out of the Window
  23. The Great Compromise
  24. Clocks and Spoons

CD 2

  1. Rocky Mountain Time
  2. Diamonds in the Rough
  3. Sweet Revenge
  4. Please Don’t Bury Me
  5. Christmas in Prison
  6. Dear Abby
  7. Blue Umbrella
  8. Often is a Word I Seldom Use
  9. Onomatopoeia
  10. Grandpa Was a Carpenter
  11. The Accident (Things Could Be Worse)
  12. Mexican Home
  13. A Good Time
  14. Nine Pound Hammer
  15. Middle Man
  16. Common Sense
  17. Come Back to Us, Barbara Lewis, Hare Krishna Beauregard
  18. Wedding Down in Funeralville
  19. Way Down
  20. My Own Best Friend
  21. Forbidden Jimmy
  22. Saddle in the Rain
  23. That Close to You
  24. He Was in Heaven Before He Died
  25. You Never Can Tell

CD 1, Tracks 1-13 from John Prine, Atlantic SD 8296, 1971
CD 1, Tracks 14-24 & CD 2, Tracks 1-2 from Diamonds in the Rough, Atlantic SD 7240, 1972
CD 2, Tracks 3-14 from Sweet Revenge, Atlantic SD 7274, 1973
CD 2, Tracks 15-25 from Common Sense, Atlantic SD 18127, 1975

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Classic Rock, Folk Tags: Foghat, John Prine

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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. Bill Janowski says

    January 19, 2015 at 12:32 pm

    Since I already have all 4 Prine titles this covers, I really don't need that 2-CD set. The Foghat sampler is OK, I guess, but since I already have the 2 Rhino Best Of's (Volumes 1 & 2 - those cover most of the same material), I can wait until it turns up super-cheap used.

    Reply
  2. Zubb says

    January 19, 2015 at 12:40 pm

    People like to criticize the cover art for Real Gone Music releases. Raven is far worse in that department.

    Reply

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