Foghat – Fool For The City

I really don't know how to take the previous reviews, nor even what seems to be the prevailing sentiment. Few (vast majority) do not describe their playback kit. This title is from my teens, and when I was working in the record store. I have an OG pressing from 1975 and used it plus a high-def stream to run what I hope will be good comps for others considering this pressing. First, I have 3 dozen MOFI pressings, and would consider myself a former fan. This title is from 2008, and predates (I believe) some of the recently revealed practices at MOFI. Now, I don't condemn them for these practices, as it seems dictated by best engineering practices available depending on the condition of the analog source tapes. But, I digress. For all the tests, I used a Parasound HINT 6 integrated amp driving ATC SMC11 speaks. I first played FFTC on my Lumin Streamer delivering a 192 kHz 24 bit file from Qobuz. Then the OG pressing and MOFI on Rega P6 with Dynavector 10x5 MkII fed into a EAR Phono Classic Pre-Amp. The Lumin was fine, and I would be happy with this anytime I don't have the luxury for flipping, although FFTC playback was harsher than either Vinyl, guitars seemed a little clipped and the "roundness" of this blues-based rocker was compromised. The OG vinyl is no-doubt a hotter mix than the MOFI, and at first I felt some of the emotion was lost in the MOFI mix. This is somewhat compensated for by offering better clarity. The OG is much more that "wall of sound" presentation so popular in the mid-70s. Instrument separation is more distinct with MOFI at the loss of the rock concert feel. Vocals on MOFI are a bit more upfront for me, which not necessarily a good thing for Foghat. I am pleased to have all 3 options, and while I have many things for which to criticize MOFI about, this pressing of FFTC is not one of them. If you desire a clean, clear, meticulously manufactured pressing of Foghat's most memorable studio LP, you cannot go wrong (provided you've ditched your Crosley!).

I’ve heard some great reissues, but man, sometimes the original pressings just can’t be beat. Example: Foghat “Fool for the City.” So good.

Finally took a chance with this one, and like others are saying, not good. Not completely horrible and unlistenable, but flat and very boring, sound wise, and beaten out tenfold by a good conditioned RL cut original. You can tell by the muddy guitars and practically missing hi-hat on the first track that this just isn't a very good release.

Easily blows the companion LP out of the water. They almost sound nothing alike.

Um, THIS is why we listen to vinyl. Crank this puppy up and rock out. Killer guitar tones and plenty of blues slide leads from 'bottle' man.

"Fool For The City" and "Slow Ride" are classic '70s rockers. Otherwise, the writing is a little weak. Respect for a nice cover of a Robert Johnson classic.

Beautiful analog sounding early reissue, super clean copy, punchy and sounds better the louder it goes. A slight bit less bass than I'd like, but normal for this era.

3.5 stars.

This is an alright sounding pressing. It still has the punch from the RL cut, but it's a bit muddy, and lacks treble at some points. One good thing, though, is that "Slow Ride" does not suffer from IGD on this pressing.

The RL cut of this album is an intense-ass spin, with a lot more midrange and high-end than the original pressings without RL. However, one irk with the RL cut is that "Slow Ride" suffers from slight IGD towards the last swell, though it's only during that part, and the album otherwise sounds fabulous here. Also, I think it's pretty neat that this album has two different cover variants, one of them has a painted-esque look to it, and has an additional illustration credit to someone named Brookie Maxwell on the back, whereas the other variant looks more like a real life photograph, and doesn't have that credit.

SCAM. Like everyone else has confirmed, this pressing is garbage. Be careful with Mofi releases today. Make sure and do your homework. They don’t always produce the best sounding releases. This pressing blatantly proves it. It is highly compressed and sounds like it was *no joke* cut from a CD. Stick with Analogue Productions if you want actual audiophile quality

This edition sounds amazing. I don't have another edition to compare but I was very glad to find it here in my area in mint condition. The MOFI looks good but there are lots of complaints about the high compression rate and the OG in NM condition have insane prices in Discogs. Go with the Japanese edition and be happy!!

This record sounds like Crap! It’s as if Mofi was playing a joke on customers. It doesn’t just lack “punch”. It’s like you turned your treble all the way down, turned your bass down to 2, and then threw blankets over your speakers! Then I threw on my original Bearsville press and everything opened right up! I don’t understand the purpose of this pressing At All! But I should’ve known better. No way a brand new Mofi would be priced under 40 bucks unless it was getting bad reception. Lesson learned. No more Mofi for me. They obviously have no integrity or credibility