For Foghat, hard work and almost endless tours have paid off in gold albums for all but one of their previous LPs, including their last release, Fool for the City, which recently went platinum. Along the way, the band has quietly and noticeably improved from being just another British blues-boogie outfit. They hit hard but they don't bludgeon; and though each of their other albums has been carried by two or three heavyweight tracks, Night Shift runs a solid and steady course from beginning to end.

Dave Peverett has never sounded better as a vocalist. He is able to make the most of these simple but carefully written songs, the best of which—the title track, "Burnin' the Midnight Oil" and "Drivin' Wheel"—illustrate Foghat's finely developed vocal/instrumental balance and sense of melody. Everything works to good advantage, from Rod Price's slashing slide guitar to neatly placed twin leads to the tempo changes. New bassist Craig McGregor brings fluidity to the rhythm section, while Roger Earl continues to propel the beat with subtlety, wasting neither cymbal crashes nor snare shots. Foghat has brought taste and discipline to a genre stereotyped by its excesses. (RS 232)

BILLY ALTMAN