Foreigner: A Retrospective, 1976-1992

Foreigner A Retrospective: 1976-1992

Overview: English musician Mick Jones, formerly of Spooky Tooth, formed Foreigner in 1976 with Ian McDonald (formerly of King Crimson) and American singer Lou Gramm. He suggested the name “Foreigner” after the group had blossomed into a six-piece with three Brits and three Americans. In the short five years covered on this page, they lost three founding members and by 1981 were working as a four-piece unit. From 1977 to 1981 the band released four studio albums, all of which hit the top 5 on the Billboard album charts and sold at least five million each. Their most successful album was 4, which spent 10 weeks on top. They hit the top 40 eleven times in that same span with their biggest hit being “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” a #2 hit for 10 weeks. The Players: Lou Gramm (vocals, percussion): 1977-82 Mick Jones (guitar, keyboards, vocals): 1977-82 Ian McDonald (guitar, backing vocals, saxophone, keyboards): 1977-79 Al Greenwood (keyboards): 1977-79 Ed Gagliardi (bass): 1977-78 Dennis Elliott (drums): 1977-82 Rick Wills (bass): 1979-82 On the Web: A (official site) Facebook Wikipedia

Awards:

The Studio Albums: Hover over an album cover to see its title and year of release. Click on the album to go to its dedicated DMDB page. Compilations: R Records (1976-1982, released 1982) VB The Very Best…and Beyond (1976-1992, released 1992) Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted. If the song charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to singles charts.

Foreigner (1977): Feels Like the First Time (3/26/77, 4 US, 2 CL, 39 UK, 7 CN, 41 AU, 6 DF) R, VB Cold As Ice (7/23/77, 6 US, 1 CL, 24 UK, 9 CN, 32 AU, 3 DF) R, VB Long, Long Way from Home (12/10/77, 20 US, 7 CL, 22 CN, 70 AU, 9 DF) R

The debut album from Foreigner was an immediate success, spawning three top-10 hits and a third top-20 hit. The album sold more than five million copies and hit the top 5 on the Billboard album chart.

Double Vision (1978): Hot Blooded (7/1/78, 3 US, 2 CL, 42 UK, 3 CN, 24 AU, 1 DF) R, VB Double Vision (9/22/78, 2 US, 2 CL, 7 CN, 97 AU, 3 DF) R, VB

With two top-five hits, Foreigner wasn’t suffering from a sophomore slump. Not only did the album chart a notch higher (#3) than its predecessor, but it outsold it with more than ten million copies worldwide. A third song, “Blue Morning, Blue Day,” was a top-20 hit, but isn’t included on the Records compilation.

Head Games (1979): Head Games (11/10/79, 14 US, 6 CL, 14 CN, 8 DF) R, VB Dirty White Boy (9/8/79, 12 US, 6 CL, 14 CN, 9 DF) R, VB Rev on the Red Line (44 CL, 14 DF) VB

While Head Games still put two songs in the top 20 on the U.S. pop chart, it wasn’t quite the same lofty heights as the Double Vision album. Still, the album was a top-five hit with sales over five million.

Foreigner 4 (1981): Urgent (7/4/81, 4 US, 1 AR, 45 UK, 1 CN, 24 AU, 4 DF) R, VB Juke Box Hero (7/25/81, 26 US, 3 AR, 48 UK, 39 CN, 53 AU, 1 DF) R, VB Waiting for a Girl Like You (10/10/81, 2 US, 1 AR, 5 AC, 8 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU, 1 DF) R, VB

This was Foreigner’s most successful outing. The album spent a whopping ten weeks atop the Billboard album chart and gave them their biggest hit to date with the power ballad “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” which spent ten weeks in the runner-up spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

Records Foreigner

Released: November 29, 1982 Recorded: 1977-1982 Peak: 10 US, 58 UK, -- CN, 26 AU, 11 DF Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.06 UK, 11.4 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (1) Cold As Ice (2) Double Vision (3) Head Games (4) Waiting for a Girl Like You (5) Feels Like the First Time (6) Urgent (7) Dirty White Boy (8) Juke Box Hero (9) Long, Long Way from Home (10) Hot Blooded (live) Total Running Time: 39:23

Rating: 4.392 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Records: After four top-10 albums and 11 top-40 singles in five years, Foreigner took a break, offering fans their first compilation. It was a multi-platinum, top-10 hit just like its predecessors despite offering nothing new, save a live version of “Hot Blooded.” In fact, this wasn’t just a multi-platinum seller; it was Foreigner’s third album (after Double Vision and 4) to top ten million in sales worldwide. As packed as this is with hits, it still misses a few, most notably the #15 hit “Blue Morning, Blue Day” and the #41 hit “Women.” They could have easily been added, considering the album’s sub-40-minute running length. Still, there’s no arguing with what is here. There would be many compilations to follow over the years, but this was the first and most successful.

Agent Provocateur (1984): I Want to Know What Love Is (11/13/84, 12 US, 11 CB, 12 RR, 3 AC, 85 RB, 11 AR, 13 UK, 13 CN, 15 AU, 1 DF) VB That Was Yesterday (1/19/85, 12 US, 10 CB, 10 RR, 24 AC, 4 AR, 28 UK, 24 CN, 55 AU, 1 DF) VB

Foreigner’s fifth album couldn’t possibly live up the success of their #1, multi-platinum fourth effort, but Agent Provocateur was still a top 5, platinum seller. It also gave the group their only #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

Inside Information (1987): Say You Will (12/5/87, 6 US, 8 CB, 7 RR, 41 AC, 14 AR, 71 UK, 13 CN, 6 AU, 9 DF) VB I Don’t Want to Live Without You (5 US, 8 CB, 4 RR, 11 AC, 18 AR, 18 CN, 21 AU, 9 DF) VB

This was Foreigner’s first album to miss the Billboard top 10, but it was still a million seller with two top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Very Best…and Beyond Foreigner

Released: September 22, 1992 Recorded: 1977-1992 Peak: 123 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.06 UK, 4.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (1) Soul Doctor (2) Prisoner of Love (3) With Heaven on Our Side (4) Juke Box Hero (5) Hot Blooded (6) Cold As Ice (7) Head Games (8) Waiting for a Girl Like You (9) Urgent (10) Double Vision (11) I Want to Know What Love Is (12) Say You Will (13) That Was Yesterday (14) I Don’t Want to Live Without You (15) Rev on the Red Line (16) Dirty White Boy (17) Feels Like the First Time Total Running Time: 73:10

Rating: 3.774 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings)

About The Very Best…and Beyond: This collection essentially served as a super-sized version of 1982’s Records with the studio recording of “Hot Blooded” instead of a live version. “Long, Long Way from Home” is absent and “Blue Morning, Blue Day” still hasn’t made the cut on a compilation, but this set is superior to Records because of the inclusion of post-1982 hits “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “That Was Yesterday,” “Say You Will,” and “I Don’t Want to Live Without You.” This set skips over Foreigner’s 1991 Unusual Heat, which was made without Lou Gramm, and adds three fairly forgettable new songs. Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: Soul Doctor (9/26/92, 5 AR, 48 CN, 31 DF) VB With Heaven on Our Side (12/5/92, 85 CN, 31 DF) VB Prisoner of Love VB

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Foreigner WK Wikipedia First posted 9/20/2020; last updated 7/9/2022.

My First Album: K-Tel’s High Energy compilation

High Energy various artists

Released: 1979 Charted: 5/27/1978 to 3/24/1979 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: disco/pop/rock

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Blondie “Heart of Glass” (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) [3:09] (1/3/79, 11 US, 11 CB, 11 HR, 11 RR, 44 AC, 14 UK, 11 CN, 15 AU, sales: 3.72 million) Amii Stewart “Knock on Wood” (Floyd, Cropper) [3:20] (1/27/79, 11 US, 11 CB, 11 HR, 3 RR, 6 RB, 6 UK, 11 CN, 2 AU, sales: 2 million) Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive” (Dino Fekaris, Freddie Perren) [3:16] (12/16/78, 13 US, 11 CB, 11 HR, 2 RR, 9 AC, 4 RB, 14 UK, 1 CN, 5 AU, sales: 14 million) Peaches & Herb “Shake Your Groove Thing” (Dino Fekaris, Freddie Perren) [3:25] (10/28/78, 5 US, 5 CB, 7 HR, 8 RR, 4 RB, 26 UK, 5 CN, 13 AU) Instant Funk “I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)” (K. Miller, S. Miller, R. Earl) [3:23] (1/6/79, 20 US, 22 CB, 26 HR, 13 RB, sales: 1 million) Chic “Le Freak” (Edwards, Rodgers) [3:36] (9/21/78, 16 US, 17 CB, 17 HR, 12 RR, 15 RB, 48 AC, 7 UK, 12 CN, 15 AU) Foxy “Hot Number” (Ish Ledesma) [4:12] (2/17/79, 21 US, 29 CB, 38 HR, 4 RB) G.Q. “Disco Nights (Rock Freak)” (Emanuel LeBlanc, Herb Lane, Keith Crier, Paul Service) [3:37] (2/10/79, 12 US, 10 CB, 11 HR, 22 RR, 12 RB, sales: 1 million) The Pointer Sisters “Fire” (Bruce Springsteen) [3:38] (11/11/78, 2 US, 2 CB, 2 HR, 2 RR, 21 AC, 14 RB, 34 UK, 3 CN, 7 AU, sales: 1 million) Foreigner “Double Vision” (Lou Gramm, Mick Jones) [3:25] (9/22/78, 2 US, 5 CB, 8 HR, 2 RR, 2 CL, 7 CN, 97 AU, sales: 1 million) Orleans “Love Takes Time” (Larry Hoppen, Marilyn Mason) [3:28] (3/24/79, 11 US, 12 CB, 18 HR, 7 RR, 13 AC, 23 CL, 23 CN) Pablo Cruise “Love Will Find a Way” (David Jenkins, Cory Lerios) [3:47] (5/27/78, 6 US, 5 CB, 4 RR, 28 AC, 18 CL, 5 CN, 8 AU) Farragher Brothers “Stay the Night” (Farragher, Farragher) [3:25] (2/24/79, 50 US) Captain & Tennille “You Never Done It Like That” (Greenfield, Sedaka) [2:58] (7/29/78, 10 US, 10 CB, 6 HR, 12 RR, 14 AC) Gino Vannelli “I Just Wanna Stop” (Gino Vannelli) [3:32] (9/9/78, 4 US, 2 CB, 8 HR, 2 RR, 4 AC, 21 RB, 12 CN, 59 AU) Styx “Renegade” (Tommy Shaw) [3:52] (3/17/79, 16 US, 18 CB, 22 HR, 17 RR, 10 CN) Total Running Time: 66:00

Rating: 4.033 out of 5.00 (average of 3 ratings) Quotable: This is where my obsession with music began. Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: 1979. I was 12 years old. I plunked down my hard-earned allowance at K-mart for the K-Tel compilation High Energy. K-Tel was a Canadian-based company launched in 1962. They specialized in selling products like the Veg-O-Matic and the Miracle Brush via infomercials, but also pioneered the idea of producing compilation albums featuring original hits by the original performers. From their first set in 1966 through the end of the ‘80s, the company put out somewhere around 100 albums. The album didn’t achieve any kind of landmark status for K-Tel, but it was significant for me as my very first album purchase. On his K-Tel tribute website, Herc proclaims it one of his top 5 K-Tel albums and that nearly a dozen fans told him High Energy was also their first album. HK I use the term “album” loosely as I bought it in the decidedly unwieldy 8-track format. Sure it allowed for more portability and durability than vinyl, but the listener didn’t have the same control – and there was that loud ka-klunk sound signifying the jump between tracks. Over the years I changed with the formats, accumulating cassettes, CDs, and now some 40,000 digitized songs on my laptop. Of the some 4000 albums I now have in my collection, though, none measures up to the sentimentality of High Energy. The collection was an odd mix. Side one of the vinyl version consisted of seven top-ten R&B songs, six of which were also top 5 hits on the disco chart, and 4 which hit #1 on the pop chart. HK Andrew Weiss of Armagideon Time said it “had one of the strongest first sides of any K-Tel release, ever.” AT “The one-two electrodance punch of Blondie’s Heart of Glass and Amii Stewart’s spaced-out cover of my favorite Sixties soul track was reason enough to buy a copy. Throwing in the apex disco of I Will Survive plus the party jam combo of Shake Your Groove Thing and Le Freak bumped High Energy into the stratosphere.” AT Three of those songs (“Heart of Glass,” “I Will Survive,” and “Le Freak”) rank in the DMDB’s top 1% of all time. “The second side was K-tel's usual blend of Top 40 fare with both soft rock and hard rock.” HK Weiss says it was “all over the place…[and] never manages to hit anything close to a sweet spot.” AT Of course, it was precisely the disparity which drew me in. I loved “Heart of Glass” and “Le Freak” as well as Foreigner’s Double Vision and Styx’s Renegade and now I had them all in one package! Four decades later, “Heart of Glass,” “Le Freak,” and “Renegade” still rank in my top 100 songs of all time. Interestingly, while side one felt like the pinnacle of disco, Weiss considers High Energy “a significant artifact” in the death of the format because it marked “a looming shake-up of the status quo” and the extinction of a “bloated and complacent music industry.” AT “Hard rock, soft rock, easy listening pop, mellow soul, jazz rock — all would stagger into the new decade of diminishing returns and increasingly fractalized formatting and marketing practices.” AT The album was a mess and it may well have marked the end of an era. It was, however, the beginning for me. More than forty years later, I look around my living room at the jukebox, the chart book sitting on my coffee table, and the photo over my fireplace of my kids playing air guitar. Music has become a pervasive force in my life and I can trace it back to the point when High Energy entered my life. Notes: Confusingly, the same title was used for K-Tel collections later released on cassette and CD which had very different track listings.

Review Sources: Dave’s Music Database (4/27/2016). “K-Tel Top 100 Songs and Top 20 Albums” AT Armagideon Time (9/18/2017). “Do K-Tel #17: High Energy (1979)” HK Herc’s K-Tel Albums “ K-Tel Kollection 1973-1984: High Energy 1979” Playlists.net (a Spotify playlist of 15 of the 16 songs on the set) WK Wikipedia: K-Tel First posted 8/6/2020; last updated 9/5/2021.

Foreigner “Double Vision” released

Double Vision Foreigner

Writer(s): Lou Gramm, Mick Jones (see lyrics here) Released: September 8, 1978 First Charted: September 22, 1978 Peak: 2 US, 5 CB, 8 HR, 2 RR, 2 CL, 7 CN, 97 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 5.7 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Guitarist and songwriter Mick Jones formed Foreigner in 1976 with Ian McDonald, formerly of King Crimson, along with drummer Dennis Elliott. Those three were British while singer Lou Gramm, keyboardist Al Greenwood, and bassist Ed Gagliardi were American. Their self-titled debut was released in 1977. It reached #4 on the Billboard album chart and sold five million copies in the U.S. Matching such feats on a sophomore release was a daunting challenge, but Foreigner outdid themselves. 1978’s Double Vision got to #3 and outsold its predecessor with seven million copies sold in America. Like the Foreigner album, Double Vision also generated two top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and a third top-20 hit. The first single, “Hot Blooded,” reached #3. The title song was released as the second single and went a rung higher, peaking at #2. Gramm said, “A lot of people think it’s about being intoxicated or being high.” WK He said he was watching a New York Rangers game while in the vocal booth at the studio. WK Jones, however, says they were at the game. Both of them, however, agreed that a player was knocked out and it was later announced that he wouldn’t returning because he was experiencing double vision. SF Cash Box said the song has “slashing guitars and a mean, ticking beat.” WK Joseph Bensoua of the San Pedro News-Pilot said it has “just the right hooks, phrasing and simple lyrics needed for controlled rock ‘n’ roll.” WK Kim McAuliffe of the Detroit Free Press described it as “one of those ditties…that imprints itself on your brain whether you want it to or not.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Foreigner SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/10/2022.

Foreigner released Double Vision

First posted 9/20/2020; updated 10/17/2020.

Double Vision Foreigner

Released: June 20, 1978 Peak: 3 US, 32 UK, 3 CN, 13 AU Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, -- UK, 10.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Hot Blooded (7/1/78, 3 US, 2 CL, 42 UK, 3 CN, 24 AU) Blue Morning, Blue Day (12/23/78, 15 US, 6 CL, 45 UK, 21 CN) You’re All I Am Back Where You Belong Love Has Taken Its Toll (26 CL) Double Vision (9/22/78, 2 US, 2 CL, 7 CN, 97 AU) Tramontane (instrumental) I Have Waited So Long Lonely Children Spellbinder Total Running Time: 37:55 The Players: Lou Gramm (vocals, percussion) Mick Jones (guitar, keyboards, vocals) Ian McDonald (guitar, saxophone, keyboards) Al Greenwood (keyboards) Ed Gagliardi (bass) Dennis Elliott (drums)

Rating: 3.449 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings) Quotable: “Hard rock at its best” – Ace Adams, New York Daily News Awards:

About the Album: With their debut album, Foreigner immediately became players on the rock scene, sending two songs from the album into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 while the album was a top-five smash which sold five million copies. As high as they’d set the bar on their first outing, Foreigner managed to reach even greater heights on their sophomore outing. Double Vision reached #3 on the album charts and sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. The lead single, Hot Blooded, reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the title cut went an even notch higher and peaked at #2. A third single, Blue Morning, Blue Day, reached the top 20. The group had its detractors. Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times described the album as “slickly produced, commercially powerful, but artistically vapid.” WK Rick Atkinson of The Record attacked the album for using the same formula as the debut. WK Van West of Murfreesboro Press agreed that the album had similarities to Foreigner, but noted that Double Vision had “more individualistic interpretations” and “heavy metal tonal structure” instead of some of the debut’s “careful harmonies.” WK Ace Adams of the New York Daily News went as far as to call the album “hard rock at its best.” WK Notes: The 2002 reissue added live versions of “Hot Blooded” and “Love Maker.”

Resources and Related Links: Foreigner’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry WK Wikipedia

 

Foreigner “Hot Blooded” released

Hot Blooded Foreigner

Writer(s): Lou Gramm, Mick Jones (see lyrics here) Released: June 9, 1978 First Charted: July 1, 1978 Peak: 3 US, 4 CB, 4 HR, 2 RR, 2 CL, 42 UK, 3 CN, 24 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 7.0 video, 63.24 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Guitarist and songwriter Mick Jones formed Foreigner in 1976 with Ian McDonald, formerly of King Crimson, along with drummer Dennis Elliott. Those three were British while singer Lou Gramm, keyboardist Al Greenwood, and bassist Ed Gagliardi were American. Their self-titled debut was released in 1977. It reached #4 on the Billboard album chart and sold five million copies in the U.S. Matching such feats on a sophomore release was a daunting challenge, but Foreigner outdid themselves. 1978’s Double Vision got to #3 and outsold its predecessor with seven million copies sold in America. Like the Foreigner album, Double Vision also generated two top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and a third top-20 hit. The first single, “Hot Blooded,” reached #3 and while follow-up single “Double Vision” outdid it on the charts by hitting #2, “Hot Blooded” had more than double the sales. Songfacts.com said, “Nothing conveys testosterone-charged sexuality quite like this song.” SF It notes how the phrase “hot blooded” is used to “indicate a raging libido.” SF Gramm creepily acknowledged the song is about lamenting about missed hook-ups at shows (are we really supposed to feel sorry for rock stars not getting laid everytime they want?). He said, it is “a bit tongue-in-cheek, but really, it is a problem meeting ladies on the road. You see somebody in the audience you want to meet, but after the show, by the time you’re through doing interviews and getting cleaned up, there’s nobody around. You find yourself wandering around a city alone with nothing to do.” WK Billboard called the song “a high energy rocker that boils with a fervent energy” WK while Cash Box praised it as “driving, unadorned rock ‘n’ roll.” WK Conrad Bibens of St. Joseph News-Press called it a “Free soundalike that lets Gramm sing in the gruff manner of Paul Rodgers.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Foreigner SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/9/2022.