Another
of the 70’s and 80’s biggest bands have returned to give it
another go. Whilst Foreigner maybe a name to many
people that remembered purely for ballads then all I can say
is check out the back catalogue as nearly every album saw
finely crafted classic rock with impeccable melodies outnumber
ballads 4-1. After a few years of inactivity Foreigner main
man and guitarist Mick Jones has assembled a new cast
to sell the Foreigner brand to the masses once again. Once
click look at the personal should make any melodic/hard rock
fan start to salivate with excitement, with aforementioned
Jones being joined by vocalist Kelly Hansen (Hurricane,
Heaven & Earth, Tim Donahue) who posses a vocal somewhere
between that of Joe Lynn Turner and original Foreigner
vocalist Lou Gramm. On drums we get Jason Bonham (son
of Led Zep’s John) who anyone that has seen Jason live (and I
am one) can testify the guy is as good as you would hope from
that surname, on bass its ex Dokken man Jeff Pilson,
whilst Jeff Jacobs on keys and Tom Gimbel (Aerosmith’s touring
sax player in the 1990’s) on saxophone and guitar – both of
whom have been in the band since the mid 1990’s.
So to reintroduce the band back to the scene a live album has
been released called ‘Live In 05’ recorded live on
November 26, 2005 at Texas Station in Las Vegas, USA which was
initially only available through their website and at live
shows, however I believe a slightly cutback album entitled
‘extended versions’ has been releases.
Back to the cd and the live mix is flawless, great separation
between instruments and first off anyone questioning the band
without Lou Gramm just listen to Hansen singing ‘Waiting For A
Girl Like You’. I have always liked Hansen’s smooth but
powerful vocals but they sound like they have found their home
in Foreigner. The track selection is a veritable feast of
some of the finest melodic rock EVER written with ‘Head
Games’, ‘Cold As Ice’, ‘Waiting For A Girl Like You’, ‘That
Was Yesterday’, ‘Blue Morning’, ‘Dirty White Boy’, ‘Starrider’,
‘Feels Like The First Time’, ‘Urgent’, ‘Jukebox Hero, inc
Whole Lotta Love’, ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ and ‘Hot
Blooded’ to finish out the set. Any band would kill to have
tracks like this in their arsenal and the delivery on all is
perfect brimming with excitement, passion and pure class.
What makes this live offering is the new energy injection the
new members have given, each track sound vital and you can
tell the crowd are lapping up every second of it. My only
complaints are no ‘Double Vision’ and not another 10 tracks!
To pick out highlights is hard, but ‘Waiting For A Girl Like
You’, the energized ‘That Was Yesterday’ where Hansen soars
and the stunning revamped much heavier version of ‘Urgent’
complete with killer sax solo from Gimbel are worth the cost
of purchase alone.
SUMMARY
In short Foreigner are back, a live DVD is on the way and
there is a talk of a new studio album with this line-up. All
I can say is I seriously hope a new studio with this line-up
become a reality. Essential.
RATING
:
97%
HOT SPOTS : All of it.
Musicians
Mick Jones: guitar, piano, keyboards, background vocals
Kelly Hansen: lead vocals
Jeff Jacobs: piano, organ, keyboards, background vocals
Thom Gimbel: saxophone, guitar, background vocals
Jason Bonham: drums
Jeff Pilson: bass guitar, backing vocals
Tracks
01 Head Games
02 Cold As Ice
03 Waiting For A Girl Like You
04 That was Yesterday
05 Blue Morning
06 Dirty White Boy
07 Starrider
08 Feels Like The First Time
09 Urgent
10 Juke Box Hero / Whole Lotta Love
11 I Want To Know What Love Is
12 Hot Blooded
Official Website
http://www.foreigneronline.com/
Buy Online
http://www.foreigneronline.com/
