Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The closest they got to the Beatles. Closer than you think., December 1, 1998
By A Customer
Foreigner was one of those bands that "just couldn't get no respect." Like many of their colleagues in the so-called "corporate rock" pigeon hole, the reality is that Foreigner's music is listenable when bad and tremendous when good. For their second album they came up with a great set, only outdone (arguably) by "4", which sold far better and got some grudgingly good reviews. Double Vision very quietly remains a classic of power-chord, blues-derived manrock in the Bad Company mold. But Foreigner is lent an unusually high degree of cross-gender acceptability owing to Lou Gramm's unique and expressive sandpaper vocals, and a heavier dash of keyboards than most of the contemporary competition. Foreigner's love songs (at least from '77) are full of resolve for better or worse more than trite wistfulness, and "Love Has Taken Its Toll" and "You're All I Am" both, for different reasons, ring truer than any random dozen Top 10 luv songs. The power-pop singles have that instant-classic flavor you can't resist, among which "Blue Morning Blue Day" is especially rugged, and "Hot Blooded" the acknowledged classic. Foreigner albums always have a few I-hate-dangerous-women because I-love-dangerous-women songs (e.g. "Spellbinder"). These are usually effective without offending because the characters seem real and Mr. Gramm is always saying how stupid he was and warning you male listeners to watch out for femme fatales before they getcha. Being scared of difficult (intelligent, powerful, cunning) women is very different from advocating their destruction or even their suppression, and Foreigner's being branded "misogynist" from time to time is really ridiculous if you look at what's actually being sung. "Lonely Children" is one of the more compelling kids-in-the-street fables, underpinned by another memorable and often-copied Mick Jones riff. All in all, a great rock record full of inspired singing, top production, and nary a bad tune.
|
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FOREIGNER'S BEST ALBUM....., July 10, 2000
THIS IS THE FOREIGNER ALBUM THAT YOU NEED TO OWN. MORE WELL-ROUNDED THAN 4, MORE DIVERSE THAN HEAD GAMES, THIS IS THE BAND AT THEIR BEST. "TRAMONTANE" IS A GREAT INSTRUMENTAL ROCK SONG, "SPELLBINDER" IS A SUBTLE DIG AT ALL THOSE WOMEN YOU ARE STILL TRYING TO FORGET. THROW IN THE ASSORTED SINGLES ("HOT BLOODED","DOUBLE VISION") AND THE RARELY HEARD TRACKS LIKE "LOVE HAS TAKEN ITS TOLL" AND YOU HAVE A TERRIFIC ALBUM. COMMENTS WELCOME AT nick82e@hotmail.com
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Double The Fun, April 3, 2001
Foreigner took a nice step forward with their second album, Double Vision. Mick Jones knows a good hook when he hears one and the album is full of them. "Hot Blooded" has one of the chunkiest guitar riffs around and the keyboards on the title track perfectly pulsate underneath another meaty guitar hook. Although those two songs hit number three and number two respectively, the third single from the album, "Blue Morning, Blue Day" is superior to them both. With a punchy beat and a first rate Lou Gramm vocal, the song perfectly combines hard rock and pop. The album contains some other fine songs like the instrumental "Tramatone", "Spellbinder" and "Back To Where You Belong".
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
- the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.
