Deep Album Cuts Vol. 352: Foreigner
Foreigner are nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, alongside Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Eric B. & Rakim, Peter Frampton, Jane's Addiction, Kool & The Gang, Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Sinead O'Connor, Ozzy Osbourne, Sade, and A Tribe Called Quest.
Foreigner album cuts (Spotify playlist):
1. Headknocker
Foreigner album cuts (Spotify playlist):
1. Headknocker
2. At War With The World
3. Starrider
4. Lonely Children
5. Spellbinder
6. Love Has Taken Its Toll
7. The Modern Day
8. Rev On The Red Line
9. Seventeen
10. Girl On The Moon
11. Don't Let Go
12. Woman In Black
13. Tooth And Nail
14. Stranger In My Own House
15. Out Of The Blue
15. Out Of The Blue
16. The Beat Of My Heart
17. No Hiding Place
18. Hole In My Soul
19. Can't Slow Down
Tracks 1, 2 and 3 from Foreigner (1977)
Tracks 4, 5 and 6 from Double Vision (1978)
Tracks 7, 8 and 9 from Head Games (1979)
Tracks 10, 11 and 12 from 4 (1981)
Tracks 13 and 14 from Agent Provocateur (1984)
Tracks 15 and 16 from Inside Information (1987)
Track 17 from Unusual Heat (1991)
Track 18 from Mr. Moonlight (1994)
Track 19 from Can't Slow Down (2009)
Bands who are nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are sometimes excited or embarrassed or indifferent about the whole thing, but Foreigner have engaged in an unusually aggressive Oscars-style campaign this year. Guitarist Mick Jones's stepson, the very successful producer Mark Ronson, has obtained endorsements for Foreigner's induction from a bunch of big names in a series of videos, including Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl. Along the way, Jones revealed he's been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and Ronson said they decided to go big to try to get the band in this year for that reason, which I can respect -- it'd be nice if Jones could get his flowers and perform at the induction ceremony now while he's able and Foreigner is still touring, rather than wait and see if it takes another 5 or 10 years. Foreigner already have Chuck Eddy's vote -- he recently called them and Kool & The Gang "the two most consistently interesting/enjoyable artists on the ballot."
Growing up, Foreigner and Journey were kind of synonymous with each other as the epitome of a certain kind of slick '70s/'80s band that dominated classic rock radio without commanding respect like, say, Led Zeppelin. Over the past decade or two, Journey and "Don't Stop Believin'" have experienced a big surge in prestige and pop culture canonization, with Journey inducted into the Rock Hall in 2017. Meanwhile, Foreigner's legacy feels pretty much the same as it ever was -- they feel more like they're on even footing with Bad Company now. Still, "Feels Like The First Time" and "Juke Box Hero" go hard every time I hear them on the radio, I've got love for some Foreigner hits, I wanted to give their album cuts a chance.
Mick Jones played in Spooky Tooth (alongside another future star, Gary Wright) before forming Foreigner, and he's been the only constant member throughout the band's history. Jones never sang lead on a Foreigner single, but he sang lead on occasional album cuts including "Starrider" and "The Modern Day," and his voice definitely feels a bit anonymous and meek compared to frontman Lou Gramm. It's also kind of jarring to from an American singer on most of their songs to a British accent on occasional songs. Gramm is not the most distinctive singer himself, but he's got a great voice and really belts shit out with infectious conviction, I almost wish he had gone all the way metal like Rob Halford or Bruce Dickinson. Gramm has been in and out of Foreigner over the years, and the first guy who replaced him on Unusual Heat, Johnny Edwards, didn't have the right sound at all. But the singer on Can't Slow Down, Kelly Hansen, pretty much sounds like Lou Gramm, they've got a solid stand-in these days, much like Journey.
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