This
British/American (hence the name) Arena Rock Super Group has been my favorite
band ever since I was 16 and actually started to care about music (due to the
fact that I needed something to listen to while driving). I “borrowed” five
Foreigner tapes from a friend, and proceeded to play those tapes until they
would play no more. Foreigner just has so many great songs, but the strange
thing is that few people (of my age at least) can recognize the band by name. Similar
bands like Journey, Styx, and Queen seem to be much more widely known, and I
don’t know why. Maybe it’s this semi-exclusive quality that I like about them,
but anybody who has listened to classic rock radio should recognize at least a
half dozen of their songs. It’s the songs that are what I really love about
this band. I know virtually nothing about this band outside their music (maybe
a low profile lifestyle is why this band isn’t recognized), and I really don’t
care to. The songs are what I love so the songs are what I will talk about. In
the order in which they appear in the discography, here are discussions of my
favorite Foreigner songs:
 |
| The Self-Titled Album |
Feels Like The First Time – The aptly named first
song of their first album. In my opinion, a mandatory opener for any Foreigner
compilation tape. Nothing amazing in the lyrics department (most just
repetitions on a theme), but Lou Gramm is really belting it out in this one.
Off to a good start, let’s continue.
Cold As Ice – Now we’re talking. The piano part is so
simple yet so charming. This song is a good example of how well structured many Foreigner song are. The song is simply a Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge with
the ending basically just Cold as Ice being repeated as a round with some nice
background vocals. It’s nothing fancy, but it works. The lyrics even come in
within the first ten seconds, and I appreciate a song that gets right down to business.
Starrider – Definitely one of their dorkier songs,
but I’m a sucker for a sci-fi theme. Based on a true story of when the band was
abducted by aliens (the same thing happened to Styx). The crescendoing
“speed increasing, all control is in the hands of those who know” chorus is my
favorite part of the song.
Headknocker – This one has a bit of southern-rock
flavor to it with a theme about a bad-ass guitar playing, back seat mauler, bar
room brawler. This dude has a ’57 coupe (only rhymes with the American pronunciation), walks with a stoop, and swears James
Dean isn’t dead. The warnings not to mess with this guy and
his threatened violences escalate as the song progresses, which is a nice
touch.
Long, Long Way From Home – An up pace, somewhat
confrontational song. I enjoy the songs were they work in a saxophone since a
sax solo can wail just as hard as anything, if not harder (it is probably the
hardest rocking instrument that you need to blow into). The “I’m looking out
for the two of us” line is delivered as only Lou could do it, and is my
favorite part of this one.
I Need You – Starts with an amazing slow build up,
and I thoroughly enjoy all the instrumentation in this song. There are times
when I don’t even know how many instruments are playing, but I know that I like
it. This is true super group material, and everybody is bringing their A-game
to this one.
 |
| The Sophomore Album |
Hot Blooded – I really like how they jump right into
the chorus 15 seconds into the song. This is my ultimate pick up song, and I
don’t even live a pick up lifestyle. There are some legendary rhymes in this
song with stuff like you-rendezvous-do-who, but the whole thing is nearly
ruined for me by the fact that the first verse matches mind with mind. You guys
can do better than that! Here, how about this: “You don’t have to read my mind,
Baby it ain’t hard to find, honey you ought to know.” Was that so complicated?
They also rhyme sign with sign later in the song, but it works due to the
pleading nature of the lyrics, so I’ll let it slide. In the end, when they
change up the third chorus to say “burning inside of me” instead of “one
hundred and three” I totally forgive any bad rhymes. This song even got reference in Dinosaur Comics, so you know it must be good.
Love Has Taken Its Toll – A like a song that tells a
story. This is a plain story about a man winning over a woman who wanted nothing to do with him. You can’t really fit much narrative into a three
and a half minute song, but this one does a good enough job for me. She kind of
jumps right from backhanding him to pleading him (nearly), but they do drop a “to make a
long story short” in there, and that sax solo could melt any women’s heart.
Double Vision – A song about parting hard and getting
mentally befuddled. The weird thing is that the tone is neither hard nor fast like
you would expect of a song about partying hard and living fast. It’s really a
fairly smooth and mellifluous song, and comes across as a praise of the
phenomenon of double vision rather than any causes of such phenomena. It’s strange, but I like it. The line “my mind is
racing, but my body’s in the lead” is my favorite part.
 |
| Who's been writing song titles on this stall, and what is this women doing in the men's bathroom? |
Dirty White Boy – The classic tale of a lower
class boy getting together with an upper class girl told in song form. This
theme shows up everywhere; from Billy Joel songs, to Star Wars, to Super Mario
Brothers. None of them coin such a stupendous term as Dirty White Boy though,
and I also get a hint of a dominant/submissive aspect to this relationship
(“you want me to be cruel to ya”), which is something.
Love on the Telephone – An angry song for a nice
change of pace. This one is the story of a relationship falling apart over a
long distance. Plenty of phone references to be found that aren’t applicable to
today’s world, but I still enjoy when he threatens to tear a phone out of the
wall (to an operator no less). One of a few Foreigner songs where days of the
week appear in the lyrics, but they are so easy to rhyme with that I guess it’s
not super surprising.
Women – This is kind of a silly song that just throws
out a bunch of different kinds of women (from those “behind bars” to “in
limousines”). That’s all it is; no story, no chorus; just... women. The word
“women” is used 35 times in this song, which is an average of once every 5.83
seconds. Another rhyme fest, which is something I like, and I don’t know what
is going on with the guitar in this song, but I know I like it.
I’ll Get Even With You – Revenge is this song’s
theme. The lyrics are mostly descriptions of the negative impacts on the
singer, and his assurance of getting even. I like how the target of this
revenge is never describe, and the nature of the offence is left vague as well.
It could be about anything and anyone and I appreciate how it’s so widely applicable.
Head Games – A person can only take so much psychological
warfare in a relationship. You can’t always solve a problem by talking and some
people are just bound to fight. Interpersonal relationships are hard, and
leaving can be the only good option left.
Rev on the Red Line – Hints of illegal street racing
before it was cool. This song was way ahead of its time. It discusses a
love a cars, women who love the best times (as in track times), high speed
chases, and paying off court officials. I think that pretty much covers it.
 |
| My favorite album of the bunch |
Night Life – Another song about partying, but with a
lively mood this time. This song glorifies all things nocturnal, and refers to
the day only with disdain. The life of the night is complete with everything
from neon and noise, night owls, and girls “never doing what they oughta.” I
have no desire to live this life for myself, but I do enjoy the occasional song
about it.
Juke Box Hero – A coming of age tale about a boy who
goes from listening to concerts from the rainy alley outside, to a rock legend.
A tale about the power of one guitar. A tale about struggling to get on top,
and struggling to stay there. A tale about stars being in people’s eyes. This
song just rocks so friggin’ hard that I can’t help but feel good when I listen
to it. This is early 80’s rock at its finest.
Urgent – Some love songs just don’t have any room for
romance. A body has needs, and these needs can get Urgent. When two people can
satisfy these needs for each other it’s something worth singing about. Another
great saxophone song, and there is also some synthesizer work by Thomas Dolby, which is always excellent.
I’m Gonna Win – The greatest tragedy of the 1980’s
what that this song never made it into a montage. This song oozes that 80’s
motivational charm. The grim determination towards winning just makes me feel
capable of anything (“I want to taste it while its hot”). Even the instrumental in the song reeks of the will to succeed. This is my favorite Foreigner
song due to these stimulating qualities, and a good song to end on.
After their
first four albums I haven’t found any Foreigner songs that I really love. They
still have some pretty good music there, but it just isn’t at the same level
for me. All the non-Lou Gramm stuff I just don’t have any interest in. One disappointing
thing about Foreigner is that they never really figured out music videos. Maybe
this is why they aren’t well known by my generation (I also don’t judge them to
be the most attractive musicians of the era). It isn't hard to find a radio station that doesn't play at least a few of their songs, so they aren't that obscure. My old tapes have now been replaced by CD's and it is only a matter of
time until those will be worn away by use as well.
