After several weeks' delay, the new Foghat album (entitled 'Night Shift') is due out this month. The delay was caused by the band's decision ... in the middle of it's recording sessions ... to change producers. Dan Hartman, bassist with the now defunct Edgar Winter Group, was brought in to replace Jimmy Lovine.

Lovine, who was producing Foghat from a mobile unit near the band's Long Island homes, is a well-known rock producer. He produced some of the basic tracks on 'Night Shift,' but it seems that there were some disagreements with the group on musical concepts. Hartman, who relocated the group to his home studio in Connecticut, is primarily a musician, and that apparently influenced Foghat's decision.

"Danny is a good musician," commented slide guitarist Rod Price, "and in the past we always worked with musicians. Dave Edmunds, Todd Rundgren, Nick Jameson, and Tom Dowd have all been musicians, and we could talk music and bounce ideas off each other."

"It all happened as a thing of the moment," said Hartman from his studio. "They needed a producer, and I was available."

"Foghat and the Edgar Winter Group toured a lot together, so I already knew the guys in the band. I really liked their 'Energized' album a lot, but I never dreamed I'd ever produce them."

In addition to producing 'Night Shift,' Hartman also mixed the tracks, and helped the band arrange their new tunes.

"Besides what Foghat is," Hartman explains, "these songs really have a lot of color. The band's writing is showing more professionalism. The songs are more commercial, in a sense that more people will enjoy listening to them. It's not a sell-out or anything. They're just doing things people like."

"Foghat has always evolved each album," adds Rod Price, "but it's still within the rock & roll framework we've maintained. There's regular Foghat-type songs, but also a couple of types we've never attempted. There's a real slow ballad, but it's still very much Foghat."

Some songs done in the Foghat boogie bag are "Drivin' Wheel," "Burning The Midnight Oil," and "Night Shift." A mild surprise is a rendition of Al Green's "Take Me To The River."

The band also begins another tour this month, cruising through the midwest, southwest, and up along the east coast by Christmas. After a holiday break, Foghat will tour through February, recording dates for a live album, proposed for a March release. Price promises the record will at least contain versions of "I Just Want To Make Love To You," "Honey Hush," "Home In My Hand," and "Maybelline," "if the tape can pick it up," Price chuckles. "It's usually faster than the speed of sound."

--- Circus Magazine